ART SCAPE
Commercialisation is seeping into art frat 
Rana A Siddiqui

A galaxy of artists: (From left) Saurabh , Pratibha Dhar, Sanjay, Sonal Deore and J R Chowdhuri

Art is an individual expression, they say. Still, the expression has to be restricted, they add. If you try to gauge the art today, you would probably be at a loss to understand as to what the artists are painting these days.

The more you visit the galleries, the greater is your confusion. What is the contemporary trend in art? Realistic, impressionistic, cubic, abstract, mythological, scenic…? What is happening to art, specifically painting and sculpture-making these days? Is it getting commercialised as many veteran artists feel? Or, is it fast catching up with people? What is the end product of so much of artistic activities these days? Let's try to estimate.

In the realm of art, the best thing that has happened in India is that it has never followed a trend, opines a well-known art critic and curator, Suneet Chopra. They could not care less for what the trend is. They have always created without following, be it a symbolic work or an impressionistic art. It varies from young Atul Sinha's sculptures to a chaste realism of Sudip Roy.

India's art speaks in equal terms with those of the West as also China and Japan. "The best thing happening to our artists is that they are not accepting the schools of art now. They are breaking free from the set norms and traditions but not from the aesthetics, basic principals and discipline," he chuckles.

While a young, Deepak Tondon, arguably India's first and amongst the world's very few artists who have worked on the concept of polymorphism through art, disagrees, "I belong to the young generation of artists. I meet artists of my age whom I find are engulfed by a 'commercial drive'. So, they paint anything that is only visually appealing though lacking in depth, say, a flower or a figurative work because visually appealing paintings are moving faster than a thorough work of art."

He strongly feels that Indians are still to be made artistically aware. He gives the example of his own work Polymorphic 1, which signifies the synthesis of mono and polymorphosis. With a monochromatic, monoramic effort and using a polygramic technique, the work produces a polyoptic effect, though it is monomial in nature! More, because a rotar mechanism is used to convey the polyoptic effect. (In simple words, his work, when seen from different angles, seem three-dimensional. It involves the visitor in its angular motion as if moving circular like in a giant wheel)

"If this work had been exhibited in an artistically aware country like England, the USA or Germany, it would have created a 'tehelka', but here, despite knowing that it is a new concept, people are taking it lightly," he moans.

Sanjay, a young artist and India's only artist after Mr Aku, who is working primarily on leather, echoes the same opinion. "Instead of using their skills and senses, the younger generation is imitating other artists. To cap it, they are more into copying than following. Take for example, if they go to Jammu and Kashmir, they copy the work of a talented artist there, who is not known to Delhi or elsewhere, label and sell these duplicates work as their own. The act is fast catching up with not-so-serious artists," he moans.

For R N Singh, a curator and promoter of young artists, the trend amongst the present generation is more of a following than creating. They are misdirected. They are short of patience and still want to paint abstract out of a fad. While an abstract painting is a meditative form of art that comes only after a thorough knowledge of figurative work. When an artist has no knowledge of a figurative work, how can he paint an abstract? he questions. "Art is transforming into craft because of too much imitation and repetitive work. Take for example, the entire Delhi is selling imitated paintings of Rajasthan folks, their women in veil, a camel and so on."

While Sandeep Magazine, a curator and promoter of ancient and modern works, says, "There is no trend as such. The artists all over India are painting what they perceive best. Yet, there are two ways on which market is going these days: Themes on orders and parroting. The first group of artists paints as a job work on themes/topics as told by the ordering party. The second group incorporates in its paintings the best of what is selling in the market." However, he agrees that both the groups are inclined towards the monetary part involved in the making than the real artwork.

Talk to the present generation about the trend and they will disagree with their seniors! "I only paint and make in which I will be able to express myself best," says Saroubh Majumdar, a young relief painter and sculptor of bronze, whose figurative works are precious collections in France, Switzerland, Belgium, Austria and Japan.

"I never followed or imitated others. I only effectuated that I saw around me and it is only the originality of my work that is paying me," adds a proud Saurabh, whose works found many admirers in his recent exhibition at Lalit Kala Akademy.

Sonal Deore, another young artist who works primarily on clay and bronze, says, "There is always a craze for technical achievement in this realm. So, I find new works are more important than the old ones as they are incorporating the best of old and new techniques. That cannot be labelled as aping, though the fact goes that many of us are afraid of doing a realistic work for fear of mistakes. I have seen many young artists doing an abstract bronze, clay work by just putting different pieces together that could finally be labelled as 'abstract'. I would ask them, 'why and what are you making it'. They would answer, 'don't know what, but it is looking nice'. Amazed, I continued doing my work that is now paying me in terms of art direction in films."

But, Joy Ray Chowdhuri, a silver medallist in art and a young painter, thinks otherwise: "I feel, our generation is going back to rediscover the charisma of our traditional art heritage. But it is an experimental transformation. Maybe, the efforts of individual expression in this process is getting marred and people are taking it as aping."

Pratibha Dhar, another young painter, agrees: "By and large, the concept of beauty is still traditional. Through our work of art, we are only trying to change that. Here, we can't be confined to a group," she asserts.

These young artist refute the charges that commercialisation is creeping into their work. "This concept is more prominent in the West. They would sell worst for the best of prices while Indians are more honest and least commercial-minded when it comes to art," proclaims Tondon.

But Virendra Kumar Jain, the director of one of the oldest art galleries in Delhi and Mumbai, said, "Commercialism is fast catching up with the young artists. They have come to realise that now, out of fad, people buy anything for great prices. So they paint anything that sells, be it imitated abstract works or figures. It has to be restricted. It will spoil the taste of up-and-coming artists," he warns.

Sandeep Magazine voices a different thought, "Actually, the market is going in a totally wrong direction. There is too much of art and art-related activities these days, to the extent of confusing our young minds. Kumud Mohinder, an artist and sculptor, agrees, "All of a sudden, there is so much they are exposed to each day. Even their seniors are puzzled. But they should only follow the dictates of their heart rather than what is selling. It will end their confusion, she suggests. "They should go in for thematic works. For example, I am working on a series of paintings on 'Human rights', an idea that no one has picked up so far. I feel a work of art should convey a message also," opines R N Singh.

While Sandeep has another point to make. "This is the responsibility of the art galleries and people in power associated with it. Despite Delhi having around 1600 galleries, big and small, there is virtually no standard in most of them. For making quick bucks, they are compromising with our artistic legacy. Instead, all the galleries must unite to form an association. It should hold a regular interaction with the artists, old and new, and thus give this rich legacy, a right direction. It will not only help our young artists follow discipline and guidance but also stop the works of art becoming an object of fad than admiration." True, with the market on a saturation point, this is the responsibility of the senior artists and art lovers to take the mantle of guiding the impressionable minds. For now, it is just a wait and watch approach.

Court-Martial tugs at viewers’ heart-strings

Anyone who disobeys the law of the army in the world is court-martialled. And the one, who is court-martialled, cannot appeal in any civil court, whether he is imparted justice or not! In the world of defence, where the soldiers of all casts, creeds and religions apparently live in harmony, cast consciousness is deep-rooted even after five decades of Independence.