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ARTSCAPE
Depicting the concept of unity in diversity
Garima Pant
Prakriti Purusha - Eternal Images of Indian Art’, is an exhibition on display at the National Museum. It examines the significance of the Indian civilisation, starting from Harappan culture.
A number of finest and most famous art-treasures from the collection of the National Museum have been selected for this exhibition, depicting its four sections: Prakriti, Purusha, Prakriti- Purusha and composite deities. The art objects have been solely created to express philosophical, religious or mythological content.Prakriti (nature/ female form) and Purusha (male form) are the two most significant representations and complementary themes in Indian art forming a part of an age-old tradition. The male and female forms are the most popular motifs appearing repeatedly in different periods, schools of art, styles and media. In the present exposition, an attempt has been made to show the concept of unity in diversity that Indian civilisation represents by absorbing various cultural and artistic streams over the ages. The male and female forms have been taken as the symbol and its universal manifestation in a different historical, cultural and sociological milieu bring in the unity of expression. This exhibition has tried to bring into focus the fact that “art” is a timeless tradition (Anadi) that flows like a river irrespective of time (history) and space (cultures) and to explore how this eternal theme of Prakriti- Purusha works in relation to the visual arts, specifically sculpture and painting.
Brushstrokes from AnupAn exposition of paintings in oil on canvas by Anup Gomay is on display at the Art Konsult till January 31. A self-taught artist and in the words of many renowned people of the art world, he holds a lot of promise. In the words of the artist, “The incentive for my works come from the perception of things around me and the questions arising thereof. A lot of things around us are taken as a part of our lives unquestioningly, without trying to delve into the truth. It is this truth that I am trying to arrive at through my paintings, be it on the subject of love, truth, destiny, relationships etc. I hope I have been able to achieve a small measure of success towards this end in my current series of works.”
Nature BazaarDastkar, a society for crafts and craftspeople, organised its annual craft and environmental fair, ‘Nature Bazaar 2003’, for the ninth consecutive year at Dilli Haat. The fair is on till January 31 at Dilli Haat in the Capital. The bazaar is showcasing a wide range of crafted products in natural fibres and materials including garments, soft furnishings, pottery, paintings etc, all exemplifying traditional crafts and techniques adopted by Dastkar to suit contemporary lifestyles and tastes. Around 140 craft groups and NGOs have come together in the ‘Nature Bazaar 2003’ to exhibit, sell and promote their cause and craft skill using over a hundred different traditions and skills, natural materials, vegetable dyes and motifs, inspired by nature and their environment. It was a huge crowd puller in the previous year. Currently, Dastkar has based the ‘Nature Bazaar’ on the theme of ‘kids’. In addition to this, folk artists from Jodhpur and Jaisalmer have been performing Teratali, Goomer and Bhavai to the accompaniment of the Langa musicians. The ‘Nature Bazaar’ not only provides a platform to all the artisans and art lovers to exhibit and admire the diverse and rich craft traditions of India, but has also become a forum for environmental, social and cultural concerns.
Bride - painting by Amrita Sher-Gil.
Veiled Woman by Rabindranath Tagore. |
In 1981, six women come together to start an organisation that dealt with the problems of traditional artisans in contemporary India. They all shared the belief that craft, despite the strains of urbanisation and industrialisation is still viable with a vital role to play in the economic mainstream of the country. With this view, Dastkar came into existence. The philosophy behind Dastkar is to provide ideas and stimuli for creativity and innovation in the craftspeople themselves. Dastkar is a registered non- profit society that is dedicated to enhancing the economic well-being of the large craft community of India, thereby helping preserve the rich craft heritage of our country. Dastkar’s primary objective is to empower the artisans to use their own inherent skills as means of employment, income generation and economic self-sufficiency.
Pictorial transformations‘Pictorial Transformations’, an exhibition was organised to commemorate the Pravasi Bhartiya Divas at the National Gallery of Modern Art. It was a widespread representation of leading developments of Indian art. The exposition provided an insight to some of the leading schools of thought since the early 20th century, starting with Bengal school’s fascination with Indian history and myth. It traced broadly the leading engagements of Indian art. It opened with the flowing together of British Indian art and the already existent taste in landscapes and studio portraiture and also acknowledged the unknown Indian artists of the 19th century. Some of the artists whose works were exhibited in the exposition, including Raja Ravi Verma, Jamini Roy, Amrita Sher-Gil, Manjit Bawa, Anjolie Ela Menon, M.F.Hussain and so on. ‘Pictorial Transformations’ records the quest for modernism and the use of an abstract language in the 1960’s and 70’s. The exhibition presents the artist’s adaptation to abstraction with distinct western and Indian elements. One section was devoted to the NRIs artists who marked their contribution in the national and international mainstream.
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