30 March–5 April 2012
B on V ivant
PRAKHAR PANDEY
Emerging, Yet Not Modern { Srimati Lal }
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eveloping the courage to make visual breakthroughs – to depart from staid academic conventions, and evolve towards the necessary relevance of a Contemporary Art-language – is the most important challenge for emerging Indian painters. The idiom of Contemporaneity, however, requires the extensive experience of contemporary living; and an ability to un-learn – to discard outdated academic notions. These are intellectual challenges that do not come easy. Repeated risk-taking, visual guts, and a staunch avoidance of cliches and sentimentality, are vital to arrive at the realm of painterly originality. Further, painters must embody a very sharp observation of their surrounding realities. It is far easier, and so much more convenient, for artists to comfortably take shelter in outdated visual conventions – rather than bravely express their actual experiences of a more difficult prevalent Truth. Two painters, now on display in Gurgaon, exemplify the above dilemma: albeit in different manner. Kolkata artist Sukanta Das held an exhibition,’Seamless Challenges’, at Gallery Alternatives in DT MegaMall; and NCR Pottery-maker Anju Kumar displayed her fledgling paintings, ‘Vibrations’, at The Gallery Mall, on MG Road. Both these artists long for painterly exposure as ‘modern artists’; but the moot question is, do their efforts sufficiently embody contemporary energies? The 21 Acrylic on Canvas paintings on display, by Sukanta Das, indicate the 39-year-old artist’s level of conventional draughtsmanship, set within a traditional ‘romantic’ mode. The problem, however, is Sukanta’s tendency to visually repeat him-
self. His images cover the same outmoded sentimental ground – both in terms of his RadhaKrishna imagery, and his restrictive palette of grey, moss and sepia. When new, free visual energy is held back, a kind of claustrophobia is the inevitable outcome – which is inimical to artistic evolution. That is, sadly, ever-present in Sukanta’s recent body of works. A Bachelor of Visual Arts from Rabindra Bharati University, Sukanta was trained by stalwarts of the Kolkata art fraternity, including the late maverick painter Dharmanarayan Dasgupta – an artist whom I con-
Anju Kumar’s creativity
sider a visionary ahead of his time. Dharmanarayan’s quirky, witty and charming depictions of the Bangali-Bhadralok embodied his ability to break-free from Bengali visual stereotypes, and to avoid the monotony of a sepia palette. Sukanta confessed that he is also inspired by the late Bikash Bhattacharya, another leading Bengali visionary. But, unlike Sukanta, Bikash managed to express his inner nature via his own unique genre of ‘North-Calcutta Surrealism’. It is in such vital areas
{ Bhavana Sharma }
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e should follow nature’s lead as much as possible, with the aim of creating harmony and balance. Joyful feng shui energies in your garden design will contribute to more healing energy to your home. Here are some tips to help you plan your garden. Paths should never be straight; let them meander through your garden. A curved path encourages chi to move slowly and freely. If you already have straight paths, then allow plants to grow over them – for circulation of chi around them. Trees or large shrubs at the back of the garden provide privacy and protection. A garden should have these spaces, to help one relax and enjoy the sunshine and gentle breeze. Energise your plants by placing a few crystals from the quartz family. These will keep the entire garden energised, by bringing in a good measure of yang energy and brightness. Another group of earth energisers are decorative objects, made of porcelain or clay. These are excellent for creating strong earth chi. You can keep some urns, mud pots and fengshui wealth vases in the North-
that Sukanta’s art falls short. There is neither Dharmanarayan’s boldness and wit, nor Bikash’s depth and dramatic pathos. One must not take the names of such formidable artistic Gurus in vain; but instead introspect long and hard upon their courage, originality, genius – and most importantly, visual daring. Sukanta’s repititive figurations appear frozen – stylised, yet not enough to reach contemporaneity; classical, but not enough to convey depth. His lack of a wider visual imagination has resulted in his paintings being titled ‘Radhika, 1 - 21’. When I asked Sukanta to explain his inspiration to me, he said: “I am mainly inspired by the realistic artists of Bengal. Nature inspires me a lot. I love to do figurative paintings, showing the co-existence of human beings with nature. Indian miniature paintings inspire me, and the love scenes of Radha & Krishna move me. The ‘Gita Govinda’, ‘Rasa-manjari’ and ‘Nayika-veda’ series of India’s traditional Basholi miniatures enriched my paintings, and found expression in my recent works.” Among senior painters, Manjit Bawa and Bhupen Khakkar too were inspired by Basohli – but they brought to it an entirely modern energy, wit, and rhythm. Sukanta’s works are at best pretty; but they are also rigid, trite, and static in terms of overall emotional tonality. Every figurative artist has a Muse, but the imaginary face of Sukanta’s femme-ideal Radhika recurs a little too much. ‘Radhika-20’ is the only work in this show that stands out in a crowd of sameness – due to its sharper concentration on Radha’s profile, and a less clichetic rendering of Krishna emerging from her mindscape. Had Sukanta draped his Radhas and Krishnas in more modern
Sukanta Das with his paintings at Gallery Alternatives in DT MegaMall
garb, and employed some less pretty contemporary life-details, his work would have borne a more lasting impression. Anju Kumar has worked in the field of commercial interiordecor – making pottery forms, rather than working on serious painting. Sketchy figurations and an unvaried palette are at an
Garden Chi ern area of your garden. This will activate your wealth luck . To invite chi towards your home, place a small water object— such as a bird bath or fountain—near the front entrance of your garden. Be sure that any waterfall, runs towards your home, not away from it. Flowers that are obscured by weeds, overgrown lawns, hedges, rotten leaves, tree stumps, piles of grass cuttings,
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dead plants and rubbish, will impede chi flow—to and from your home—and create an over-riding sense of gloom. The North-East area of your garden is connected to the energy of personal growth and self-cultivation; and the element is earth. This would be an excellent area for a contemplative Zen garden, with beautiful rock formations. If you are looking to add a water feature to your garden, then areas such as the South-East—representing money and abundance— are ideal for this. The East represents health and family; and the North, career and direction. So energising these areas, accordingly, can bring in various benefits. If you want to create a play area for your children, the West area is recommended – as it is connected to the energy of children and creativity. Wind chimes are a wonderful addition to any garden, as their sound creates
obviously-raw stage here – lacking in contextual meaning, technique and depth. Although the artist breathlessly says that “she loves experimenting with various techniques, such as parallel knife oils creating thick heavy textures (by adding layer upon layer of paint),” her paintings do not successfully express the difficult and multiple tonalities of layering. These quickly-rendered works thus remain monotonous, in a jarringly-loud palette that lacks sufficient nuance. In order to avoid the danger of slipping into mediocrity, emerging artists require more intense discipline, experience, study and introspection – before they embark upon exhibitions of their work. Rather than churningout facile solo exhibitions every year, it is far better (for the development of both galleries and artists) to display select, meaningful and evolved artworks less frequently. u Artist, Writer, & Curator
healing vibrations in the air. While each element of the wind chime design is important, the sound of the chime is always a deciding factor in creating energies. Working with colours is a great way to emphasise various rhythms in your garden. In feng shui, colour is used according to the Five Elements theory; and you can bring healing harmony and joy to your garden by choosing colours that emphasise specific energies – such as the fire energy in the South, with red or purple flowers; or earth energy in the South-West, with light yellow colour. To acquire balance and harmony, always mix different sizes, shapes and colours of plants, of different species. Place big round terracotta or earthenware pots, that symbolise the earth element, as the focal point of your garden. Place them in the SouthWest for marriage and romance, and in the North-East for education and knowledge. Sculpture or stones will absorb energy or force energy, to move around them – thereby slowing it down. Gazing balls strategically placed can deflect negative chi. Different types of trellises can be used for trailing plants, to soften cutting corners or walls – or to conceal dull sheds. u Tarot Card Reader