Presentation that she wanted an art career · PAGE 6 / Sunday, April 8, 2012 Tallahassee Democrat /...
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Tallahassee Democrat / TLH Roopali Kambo knew early on that she wanted an art career Artist Roopali Kam- bo describes herself as “totally international.” “I feel like I’m a little bit of a mutt,” she laughs. “I was born in India, but my family emigrated to the U.S. in the mid-’80s. I went to col- lege and grad school here, and I go back and forth a lot. I love trav- eling and I like having that kind of exposure to different cultures.” Kambo grew up in Jaipur, the capital and largest city in the Rajas- than province of India, a cosmopolitan cultural center. She was interest- ed in art early in life, and always knew she wanted it to be her career — it was only ever a question of what kind of art it would be. “My father was an architect and both of my sisters are architects. Growing up, I saw lots of other artistic profession- als in and out of the house at all times,” she explains. “Those were the kinds of books my parents read and those were the maga- zines we subscribed to. Pursuing art as a career was never looked down upon.” Kambo settled on graphic design as her pro- fession, first earning a BFA from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, and then an MFA from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. When her father began teaching at FSU 18 years ago, she took the opportu- nity to follow her family to Tallahassee and warm- er weather. After stints designing for the Supreme Court of Florida, the State Office of Technology and the FSU Law School, Kam- bo is now the communi- cations coordinator for FSU’s Division of Under- graduate Studies. She cre- ates all the publications, materials and web sites for the office. She is also an adjunct online faculty member for the Art Insti- tute of Pittsburgh. Kambo says her person- al artwork is completely different from her graphic design. “My own work is very much about my highs and lows and dilemmas and emotions,” she explains. “My design work is not about me at all. I need to actively disassociate from myself, always keep- ing my target audience in mind and my client’s tar- get audience in mind. To mentally switch from one mode to the other, I have to really think about it.” When Kambo paints for herself, she creates large canvases with strik- ing images, distinct tex- tures and often — but not always — Indian faces and scenes. “My artwork tends to have an Eastern look but that is just on the sur- face,” she explains. “Peo- ple respond to it at a very emotional level. While uti- lizing a distinctly Indian face, I try to capture the essence of human emo- tions that are universal, transcending time and geographical location.” Her work often reflects the places she has been and the people she has met during her travels; she sketches along the way and takes many pho- tographs to bring home and use as “little seeds” for future paintings. But Kambo says her work is just as likely to be stimu- lated by the things around her every day. Kambo
Transcript of Presentation that she wanted an art career · PAGE 6 / Sunday, April 8, 2012 Tallahassee Democrat /...
PAGE 6 / Sunday, April 8, 2012 Tallahassee Democrat / TLH
Roopali Kambo knew early on that she wanted an art career
Artist Roopali Kam-bo describes herself as “totally international.”
“I feel like I’m a little bit of a mutt,” she laughs. “I was born in India, but my family emigrated to the U.S. in the mid-’80s. I
went to col-lege and grad school here, and I go back and forth a lot. I love trav-eling and I like having that kind of exposure to
different cultures.” Kambo grew up in
Jaipur, the capital and largest city in the Rajas-than province of India,
a cosmopolitan cultural center. She was interest-ed in art early in life, and always knew she wanted it to be her career — it was only ever a question of what kind of art it would be.
“My father was an architect and both of my sisters are architects. Growing up, I saw lots of other artistic profession-als in and out of the house at all times,” she explains. “Those were the kinds of books my parents read and those were the maga-zines we subscribed to. Pursuing art as a career was never looked down upon.”
Kambo settled on graphic design as her pro-fession, first earning a BFA from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, and then an MFA from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind.
When her father began teaching at FSU 18 years ago, she took the opportu-nity to follow her family to Tallahassee and warm-er weather. After stints designing for the Supreme Court of Florida, the State Office of Technology and the FSU Law School, Kam-bo is now the communi-cations coordinator for FSU’s Division of Under-graduate Studies. She cre-ates all the publications, materials and web sites for the office. She is also an adjunct online faculty member for the Art Insti-tute of Pittsburgh.
Kambo says her person-al artwork is completely different from her graphic design.
“My own work is very much about my highs and
lows and dilemmas and emotions,” she explains. “My design work is not about me at all. I need to actively disassociate from myself, always keep-ing my target audience in mind and my client’s tar-get audience in mind. To mentally switch from one mode to the other, I have to really think about it.”
When Kambo paints for herself, she creates large canvases with strik-ing images, distinct tex-tures and often — but not always — Indian faces and scenes.
“My artwork tends to have an Eastern look but that is just on the sur-face,” she explains. “Peo-
ple respond to it at a very emotional level. While uti-lizing a distinctly Indian face, I try to capture the essence of human emo-tions that are universal, transcending time and geographical location.”
Her work often reflects the places she has been and the people she has met during her travels; she sketches along the way and takes many pho-tographs to bring home and use as “little seeds” for future paintings. But Kambo says her work is just as likely to be stimu-lated by the things around her every day.
Kambo
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TLH / Tallahassee Democrat Sunday, April 8, 2012 / PAGE 7
“Inspiration could come from sitting with friends and having a con-versation over a glass a wine,” she says. “Those feelings stay with me, and I come back and work with them. I love seeing people and dif-ferent expressions. See-ing them right here at home at Publix can be just as inspiring. I paint the whole gamut, from the exotic to the down home.”
Kambo is particularly inspired by color, both in her work and in every-day life.
Two of Kambo’s works are currently on display in the Creative Tallahas-see juried art exhibi-
tion at City Hall Gallery, along with the works of 43 other local and regional artists.
To see more of Roopali Kambo’s artwork, visit http://myweb.fsu.edu/rkambo.
— Amanda Karioth Thompson contributed to
this story.
ArtistConley principal saw Eagles in the Swamp
A few artful questions from COCA for Laura Brooks, principal of Con-ley Elementary School.
Q: Can you play a musi-cal instrument?
A: I play the piano. I don’t play for others, but usually spend a few min-utes every once in a while playing (when no one is home) just for me. It serves as a type of stress-reducing therapy for me.
Q: Do you own any origi-nal art?
A: Yes, I have three of Russell Grace’s pho-tographs. One is a scene from Maclay Gardens at sunrise, one is a beach scene from Pensacola, and one is an aerial of the Destin Harbor back in the ’80s.
Q: What was the first concert you ever attended?
A: The Eagles in the Swamp at UF. I am pretty sure I attended some oth-ers prior, but this is the one that sticks in my mem-ory most.
Q: What book is on your nightstand right now?
A: A how-to book on sail-ing.
Q: When was the last time you danced?
A: Last night in my kitchen. I love to dance. When I hear music, it is difficult for me not to move!
Q: What was the last live performance you saw?
A: Our Conley fourth-and fifth-grade chorus and guitar groups performed during the holidays here at school. They were awe-some! I am so grateful for the extra time and energy our music teacher, Megan Buckley, puts into these programs. Also, in Febru-ary I saw our second- and third-graders from Mrs. Fogler’s classroom per-form a song in three lan-guages and poetry they had written during their Pizza and Poetry night. We had all but one family
attend. It was awesome!Q: What movie has most
affected you?A: One movie I watch
over and over again is “Remember the Titans.” I love the message that those boys (football team facing the conflict of integration in the ’60s) learned, to trust the soul of a man, not the look. Hard work, integrity, respect and doing what is right always wins.
Q: What was the last thing you made by hand?
A: I sewed a ruffled pil-low for my grandniece’s
birthday. She loves horses and had read her favor-ite horse book to me, so I found a beautiful piece of material with horses on it.
Q: When was the last time you were on a stage?
A: In January I was on stage presenting citizen-ship awards to our stu-dents who had earned the honor during the sec-ond nine weeks of school. These students earned grades of “Excellent” for behavior and study skills on their report cards.
Q: What artistic talent do you wish you had?
A: This is a difficult question. Some days I wish I could sing like a bird, some days I wish I could paint a beautiful picture, some days I wish I could take a striking photograph and some days I wish I could play a guitar. When I see a piece of art that moves me and makes me feel something deep inside, I wish I could do that for others!
— Visit COCA’s websites at www.cocanet.org and www.
morethanyouthought.com. Send suggestions for artist profiles, news items, story
ideas or fun facts to COCA at [email protected].
