In Conversation
Ushmita Sahu speaks with
Sculptor Pankaj Panwar
Pankaj Panwar in his studio
Ushmita Sahu : Can you tell us about the experiences & opportunities which have helped you in your development as an artist?
Pankaj Panwar : I was born in a family of artists, so right from the beginning I was familiar with the art world. It was only much later, while I was doing my graduation in science that I realized art was what I wanted to do as full time occupation, so I decided to go to Santiniketan. I was very lucky that when I joined Kala-Bhavana there were some excellent artist teachers at Santiniketan like K.G.Subramanyan, Somenath Hore, Sarbari Roy Chowdhury, Sushen Ghosh and others, My father had told me about K.G. Subramanyan and had told me to make best use of this opportunity. So even though Mani da as he is fondly called, was a teacher in the painting and design department, I used to interact with him often, and show him my works after the classes. Then Kala Bhavana’s strong art history provided in depth understanding of Asian and world art. Tagore’s philosophy and overall environment of Santiniketan helped in building deep rooted confidence. During that time Tyeb Mehta came to Santiniketan as a visiting artist for two years and I was lucky to help in his sculptures which he did here in Santiniketan. I also assisted Somenath Hore in his mosaic mural, for me that period was very important. Baroda, where I went for my Masters degree was a different kind of experience. There at the time sculpture department was very vibrant, specially teachers like Raghav Kaneria and Chatpar were exceptional. I became more familiar with contemporary and global art issues. Later when I went abroad on Henry Moore fellowship to London, Studying at the Royal College of Art was a huge opportunity. I was absorbing everything around me, seeing original works by Picasso, Matisse, Hockney, Eduardo Paolozzi etc. was mind boggling. Royal College threw me a lot of challenges. These 3 institutions played a huge role in what I am today.
U: Can you take us on a journey through 2 to 3 of your works, which will help reader understand about your way of conceiving and creating art work? P: I have no fixed agenda or preconceived themes when I create, I love to challenge my visual language both by material and idea wise. Let me give you 3 different types of works which will give you an idea of the range. When I was in England I got the opportunity to create an open air sculpture in the Grizedale forest under “Site Specific Sculpture in the forest scheme”. I decide to depict a group of howling dogs looking upwards with their mouth open. To create feel of sound I used the technique of working with large clay slabs and modeled it from inside with hand pressure to create the feel of inner breath and a visual equivalent of sound. This life size work “ Night cry” is placed inside the forest.
“Night Cry” High Fired Terracotta, life size
Later when I came to Santiniketan, I created a large work called “Uruvashi in Santiniketan”. This is a very different work to the howling dogs, technically, visually and conceptually. In this work the sculpture released itself from the constraints of a pedestal. The figure of “Uruvashi” is sitting on a swing with small wings and some dogs are fighting in the foreground. It’s a sculpture installation, where you can walk around the space and experience it. In this work, I think the feeling of Santiniketan is quite intense.
“Uruvashi in Santiniketan”, life size sculpture installation
Another very different sculpture dates from the time I got the opportunity to work with steel. I had based myself in Gurgaon to work in this very new medium to me at the Jindal Steel factory where I was working, it was half an hour drive, and on both sides of the road were construction zones, buildings covered in scaffoldings and it was visually very stimulating for me to see this semi-transparent and solid forms. That visual experience triggered the whole processes for this Sculpture. From this the idea of “Houseboat” came into being.
“Houseboat� Industrial Steel
U: The use of the human & animal figures in your work is almost iconic in nature. How do you see and interpret these and what influences inform your choices?
P: I was born in a house which was like an animal farm. I was surrounded by a variety of dogs, cats, birds, goats, cows ...etc. When you grow up with animals all around, you start communicating with them in many ways. You can sense their body language and what they are trying to say. Animals are there in my work right from the beginning. They co-exist with humans and have their parallel territories. This translates into my work and becomes iconic as well as ironic. Some time I add small wings to the animals or human figures in my sculptures. These are not wings to fly, but wings of desire. In most of my works animal and humans complement each other.
“Magnificent five” life size sculpture installation
U : Keeping in mind the gradual shift in focus from sculptural practice to installations, in context of Indian Contemporary Art in the last 20 years; how have you addressed this shift in terms of your art practice?
P : Personally I don’t feel there is shift from sculpture to installation. Installation has a huge range by its very character. You can say for example Anish Kapoor’s “Void Field” which is a sculpture and also an installation. I think it adds a new dimension in visual Art. There is no pressure to shift. Practices like painting or sculpture have their own possibilities and flavor. Installation adds to its possibilities, where space becomes an integral part of the work. I observe new happening in visual arts with lot of interest, some time it is very exciting and some time not so. I do what I feel like to do. Recently I have done a sequence of photographs which I have enjoyed a lot. I am basically concerned with my art works and not bothered where I will be slotted !
“Chess Players�life size, Fiberglass
U : You talked about photography. Is this a new dimension to your art practice? What are the other areas of concern that you are dealing with at present in your own practice?
P : As I said anything visual interests me. I used to do a lot of photography but never thought it is going to be a work of art but recently I used my mobile camera from a moving train on the Mughal Sarai bridge, I took a sequence of pictures from the inside the compartment of the sunset on the Ganges. When I put those 5-6 photos together, it gave m a feeling that it is a complete work. I have recently exhibited this in Kolkata. As for new projects I am continuing my work but at present I am building my studio / residence (laughs).
“Ganga” Series of five Photographs of Ganges taken from Mughal Sarai bridge
U : At present you also a Professor of Sculpture Kala Bhavana. As a practicing artist, the decision one makes are from a very personal point of view; but the art of teaching young minds is extra- personal in nature. How do you bridge these two aspects of your persona and has teaching brought about any change of perspective into your personal practice?
P : I practically grew up in a art college environment as my parents taught in one! So I feel very stimulated to be in that kind of environment. It is an interesting challenge when you are teaching in an institution. An artist has to forget about himself and unlearn so many things to understand what the student is trying to do. In today’s situation art teacher is like friend who has similar interests and fascinations, except that he has more experience than the students. So a teacher can only help and guide students to find solutions to their problems themselves , they are not supposed to give readymade solutions. When I was studying abroad I realized how every generation challenges the previous one. I think that one needs to strike a balance where you understand and learn from your heritage and at the same time you are open minded to accept new change. Sometime young artists do something so fresh and new, it is very exciting for me to watch young minds working, I myself get a lot of feedback and energy. I feel it’s very reciprocal, guiding students and the process of talking to them makes many things clearer to us as well. So, for me it’s a nice situation to be in an Art institution. From a professional point of view, yes, teaching takes away some of our time, but I am more than willing to accept this situation. Santiniketan December 2013.