February 12, 2018

Captivity Return!



What is Captivity Return?


Captivity Return is a comeback show based on my original Captivity exhibit, which became a media controversy during the 2012 ArtPrize competition.

Captivity was to appear at the B.O.B. in Grand Rapids, but the venue owner, Greg Gilmore, took down the show and threw my art in the trash. Controversy flew out of control when the media interviewed me and Greg Gilmore, back and forth, to fuel the debate. Of course, it’s tough to win against the rich and powerful, but I thank all my supporters who stood by my side.


The rich and powerful had the media in their pocket, and the money to buy it all. Though I felt defeated, I still wanted to fight back, so in protest I burnt the entire Captivity exhibit. I did this to be at spiritual peace with myself, or perhaps I was captive to finding closure to six months of hard work and an investment of $100,000 to put up a show that never took place.
Right after I burned Captivity, my creative spirit gave birth to a new idea—Captivity Return—my greatest idea ever. I would redo the show, but it would be one painting that included all of Captivity’s 19 ideas. This would be the most seen, most printed, most exhibited painting ever; it would be the most shared, most famous, and most viral painting on social media, representing the artist’s freedom of expression. 

Unfortunately, I couldn’t paint it then as I had no funds with which to accomplish my great vision. But I am ready now, and in fact, Captivity Return is nearly completed.  


What is the Captivity Return painting about?

Captivity Return is a single large-scale painting embedded with a code to a treasure worth 1 million dollars. The original painting will be housed in a gallery or museum, available for the public to see. 
Of course, not everyone can visit the original in the museum, but a print of the original will be available to see. And the print—as well as detailed information about the treasure, the painting’s history, and the painting’s contents—will be found in my latest book, My Experiments with Art: An Artist’s Memoir.
Why I decided to do Captivity Return 
Freedom in art!
Without the freedom to create, my soul would freeze, my imagination would come to a halt, and I would feel as if I didn’t exist. I would feel like a machine that takes instruction from others to produce in mass quantities that which already exists. If I don’t have freedom, I’m not going to invent or discover new ways of doing things, and I’m not going to have any impact on the arts and culture, on the economy, on our health and wellbeing, or on our society and education. 


And if that’s the case, I might as well surrender and not ask for artistic freedom. But fortunately, I will always seek and find artistic freedom, one way or another.

ArtPrize is supposedly an art contest in Grand Rapids where “everything goes.” This sounds like complete freedom, yet in my experience, it isn’t true. They banned me for bringing an educational show to Grand Rapids, Michigan. Apparently, they didn’t want my art show Captivity displayed in the contest. Otherwise, the organizers would have intervened to resolved the issue between me and Greg Gilmore, but instead they had another plan cooking in their heads—to ban me. 


I had no choice then but to accept the situation. Now, you and I—meaning we—will turn something negative into a positive. We will make Captivity Return a fun-filled event and keep artistic freedom intact.


Visit the website  for more information



June 10, 2015

Artist SinGh's Blog: Artist SinGh's controversy Article by Derek DeVrie...



Artist SinGh's Blog: Artist SinGh's controversy Article by Derek DeVrie...: How Not to Handle Controversy You Invited Upon Yourself – ArtPrize at The BOB   As ArtPrize opens in Grand Rapids, an actual controv...

June 26, 2013

Understand Captivity


Artist Singh's "Captivity" at the Artprize

The project was aimed to encourage peace, freedom, and nonviolence in day-to-day life.  Singh’s intent is to inspire many to break away from these captive ideas of life because they are horrific in nature. Artist Singh’s “Captivity” was an installation art piece that explores human behavior, lack of renounced order of life, imprisonment and not able to see as things they are. The focal point of this project was a Bird Cage 16 foot in diameter and 25 feet tall. The cage was equipped with curtains to cover more horrific elements of my art and have an entry via will. The show was cut off by the Gilmores and was not given any opportunity or second chance to understand the inmost and core philosophy behind it.  It was a conversational piece to make visitors ask yourselves what holds them captive.
“I very well had the opportunity to sue Greg Gilmore for his act. But I soon realized that it is against my principles and the message that I am giving via my art. My mission is not all about making money but it is to make Art. Singer and Song writer “John Kite” wrote a song on me that explains who really is in captivity. As an artist I feel: “The art is dead when an artist holds himself down from the fear of public scrutiny”


 

February 06, 2013

video by John Kite on Artist SinGh

We found this on Youtube today. Song on artist SinGh by John Kite


 
 
Thank you John,  I appreciate it !!! --Artist SinGh

September 20, 2012

Artist Singh burns all his art in protest


Artist SinGh burns all his art in protest that he made for the Artprize 2012

I have failed to negotiate with big establishment like BOB and artprize. It is unfortunate that I did not get any support from the Artprize. G Gilmore took away all my privileges at the BOB to show my art and he have shut me down at his venue, I am left with no option but to walk away from the art prize altogether. I urge the art prize to kick the venue out like the BOB that have double standards about art. If they want to be moral police censoring art they should get out of art business.

I will not take part in the art prize if the BOB and the artprize did not apologize to me for damages they have caused.

And to protest on this issue I am going to burn all me art works that was suppost to be show in the show hoping this pave the way to for the future artist and for their freedom to do art.

I urge all my fellow the artists and my supporters all over the world not to give up hope and fight for freedom of expression of an artist. This time establishment has won but in future I would like to see artists win.




September 18, 2012

Hanging of Saddam Hussein


 
Day 1
Hanging of Saddam Hussein

This installation depicts the irony of the tyrant Saddam Hussein by hanging that was carried out from a military base called Camp Justice. Was this just a revenge killing? Did this resolve Iraq’s leadership problem? Was Saddam captive to the idea of dictatorship? George W. Bush had mentioned that he wished the execution “had gone on in a more dignified way.”  After all it was mob justice.