Two coats of paint

पार्क में बैंक्विट हॉल, नींदें हराम

beti bachao abhiyan

बेटी बचाओ अभियान के तहत बनारस में आयोजित प्रोग्राम की कुछ तस्वीरें।

Prayers For Nirbhaya

Art exhibition

beti hai to duniya hai.

बेटी बचाएगी दुनिया

अमर उजाला के एक अभियान बेटी बचाओ  के तहत वाराणसी में

An Enlightened Yogini

GOMANTAK FILMCITY

44th international film festival of india, goa

Art strives to stop gender violence

DOWN TO EARTH

WE LOVE OUR MEALS

An Interview

    Struggle of female artists is like walking on razor’s edge (A conversation with renowned artist Ms. Arpana Caur by Bhuneshwar Bhaskar)

Caur’s fictional and philosophical approach and experimentation with her art work has gained her a special place in Indian contemporary art.

Bhaskar: Please tell us something about your childhood and family background.

Arpana: I have been a woman of independent thought since my childhood. As a child I wanted to fly under the open sky and wanted know the secrets of nature. I always wanted to fathom the depth of water and height of the sky. I always use to be absorbed in contemplation. Most of my family members and relatives are doctors by profession. My mother Ajeet Kaur is a writer. It was because of her that I developed interest towards art. She always encouraged me and supported me. She made it very clear to me that I must follow the art form which attracts me the most. I must contemplate upon it and surrender my thoughts to that particular art form. I use to study in Shimla in my childhood. The natural surroundings of Shimla always enamored me I was in ecstasy while painting. At the age of 9 I made an oil painting “Mother and Daughter” which was inspired by the creation of Amrita Shergill. I would also like to tell you that in sikhs the names of men and women are almost similar. At the age of 15 I changed my name to Arpana and this was due to my independent thought process. I kept on painting but there was lack of self confidence. In 1974, (my first time in Delhi) two group shows were organized by German Embassy and for one the curator of art work was M.F Hussain. J. Swaminathan, Paramjeet Singh and many other well known artists participated in that exhibition. There my paintings were written about and appreciated which gave me self confidence. One day family friend Bhavesh Da (Sanyal) came to my place and he encouraged me to do a solo show of my paintings (it was 1975) and since then I kept on moving.

Bhaskar: Are you satisfied with what you have accomplished so far in this field? If yes, then how?

Arpana: (smiling) I am satisfied. I never believed it in the beginning but now I feel amazed when people admire my work. After understanding the importance of art, whatever I experienced in society, I projected it through my paintings. I felt overwhelmed when I won the gold medal at the Sixth Triennale International exhibition in 1986. I am continuously active in creating new art works therefore many research scholars are doing their M.phil and Ph.D on me. One can’t ask for more.

Bhaskar: Women have to face a lot of struggle to carve a niche for themselves in art field at national and international level.

Arpana: Initially there was a lot of struggle. At a point of time artists were not taken seriously and the state of women artists was not good. People use to think that painting is a hobby and I will not take up arts as my profession. Nor I will devote my entire life to art. After a span of time they realized that it was their misconception. When I won the Triennele award in 1986 their notions were proved to be wrong. In 1994 Hiroshima museum of modern art commissioned 10 artists from world over. I was also invited and the amount of seven lakhs was decided for my painting which created a lot of sensation in the art field. That painting is still part of the collection of that Museum. Initially people use to think that I am Mr. Arpana Caur (including Hiroshima Museum) and they were surprised to learn that I am Ms. Arpana Caur. The struggle of women is quite long as they have to walk on the sharp edges of two swords at a time. Struggle of women artists is like walking on razor’s edge. I consider myself lucky enough as that sword changed its side for me or its edge lost its sharpness !

Bhaskar: How do you view and manifest the positive and negative aspect of the synchronization of the social structure as female artist?

Arpana: I have opposed social inequality. In my childhood I use to see my mother helping beggars, poor people and orphans. Being sensitive in nature I use to get affected deeply by looking at their miserable life. Whenever I use to interact with them I use to feel depressed. I see many children on the road side at various areas of Delhi picking up waste. I feel bad about it. Since my early years of life these situations always affected me deeply and I effortlessly manifested them in my paintings. In 1970 I created a series on the theme ‘Naukarani’ and some of the paintings of this series were published by Faiz Ahmed Faiz in ‘Lotus’ magazine. Similarly paintings of ‘Umbrella’ series are also based on social inequality. In this some fair women are shown under the ‘umbrella’ while labour class women are shown with wrinkled and dark faces. I have also projected the pain and miseries of widows of Vrindavan through my canvas. I feel painful when I see such people in society and by projecting their miseries somehow gives me a little relief.

Bhaskar: What is your definition for Art?

Arpana: This is a very good question. Art manifests all the dreams, experiences and aspirations of one’s life. The essence of various experiences of life and its philosophy is art. It has a story, a philosophy and most importantly a secret which has various elements. In art one speaks but also maintains silence as it needs space. The drama of colors is very surprising. The form and color synchronization should be amazing. Art is the medium of expressing our feelings and experiences of inner self with an element of surprise.

Bhaskar: What is formless in art and what is its aesthetical aspect?

Arpana: Whatever is figurative or metaphorical, it is successful only when it is abstract. Westerners retain a photographical point of view while looking at a painting. They expect a Photostat projection. But the folk arts created in various parts of our country are abstract. The content of Indian folk art is indicative and symbolic in nature. I studied various folk painting styles. After in-depth study for several years I understood the formless state of art. Beauty has no limits, but I like beauty till an extent. Form should not be decorative. There is a special beauty of a form which is visible before its decoration, and this is what impresses me the most. Beauty is truth and that truth is artist’s own truth – ‘The soul Of the Artist’.

Bhaskar: The themes or the subjects of your art pieces are always familiar. Why do you give importance to these themes?

Arpana: I have always given preference to social issues on my canvas. I have taken up serious issues like Maya Tyagi rape case in 1979 as a theme along with these themes like ‘Naukarani’; ‘Shaher main akela’ etc. I could not resist myself when Maya was raped by police and I created a series of paintings titled as ‘Rakshak hi Bhakshak’. One of the paintings of that series is part of the Museum of Mr. M.F Hussain. In 1987, visited Mathura Museum and I felt terrible when I saw 10,000 widows in Vrindaban and I almost ended up vomiting. Then I did a series of paintings on these. In 1984 when massacre of Sikhs occurred all over India, I projected my experience through my paintings. I think an artist is always sensitive towards his or her society. Apart from that I have also created many paintings under the series titled ‘Samay’ as Time is a favourite theme, so is Day and Night. Today life of people has become very hectic and unmanageable. They are running continuously from one pole to another.

Bhaskar: You have created many paintings on the theme ‘Sohani’. Who is ‘Sohani’?

Arpana: Sohani was a real person 500 years ago, but for me any person irrespective of gender is ‘Sohani’ who can dare to jump in the water. Those who can take risks are Sohani. Those who know how to struggle in life and reach the pinnacle are Sohani. I think every person is a pot and world is clay. In the end we all have to merge ourselves in that mud. I always get inspired by this couplet: “Visham- Visham Rahe Vishmaad, Jin Dekhya Tin Aya Swaad”

Bhaskar: You have also given importance to Nanak, Buddh, Kabir etc. Are you inspired by their teachings and thoughts ?

Arpana: In my childhood my house use to resonate with hymns and gurbaani of the Gurus and since that period I have carried a very different image of Nanak in my mind. All of these eminent personalities have given a new dimension to our society. They tried to evoke a thought of living guileless life among the general masses. Their philosophy is still very relevant in our society. I want to understand their philosophy of life. I have visited various places related to life of these mystics like birth palce of Kabir i.e Kashi and Boudhgaya in Bihar etc. Since then all these images started taking place in my canvas. It is not feasible for me to convey their message to general masses as artists in general don’t have many viewers and art is a subtle language.

Bhaskar: Please tell us more about the concept of using scissors.

Arpana: I am using scissors since 1988. When I was in process of creating ‘Samay’ series I used scissors a symbol. According to our ancient texts when our life span gets completed then Yamaraja cuts our thread of life. Satish Gujral started calling me ‘Kainchi’ (scissors) !

Bhaskar: You have used various folk forms like thread, tree, scale, human figure, cloud, water and you have taken folk art to a new dimension. Kindly give us more information on this context.

Aparna: I like the circle of Warli Folk Art as it indicates time. Thread ties everybody in one bond and sometimes it also breaks the bond. These creative elements of Folk art produce magic on canvas as a secret is created. I have experimented by marrying Folk art and Contemporary art on one canvas. First time in nineties I asked Godna artist Satya Narayan Pandey to draw folk images. Then I painted in my images. Like that together we created many art works and it had our joint signatures for the first time. It was a new experiment and gained a lot of attention. In the same way to indicate death, I have used the image of water since 1984.

Bhaskar: You have mostly used even colors in the background of your paintings. Usage of these colors is symbolical or aesthetical?

Arpana: Black can be used in the background in order to make images look more luminous. Even colors create space which has its own language and images can breathe easily in that space. Colors have their own quality and characteristics. I like moving towards light from darkness. Apart from that to create surprises there is different synchronization of colors. Sudden prominence of certain color maintains the curiosity of the viewers.

Bhaskar: Indian art is not only expanding but it is also creating place for itself in the Art market. Nowadays price of the art piece decides the significance of the artist. How fair is it?

Arpana: Market has supported the artists and they are becoming financially sound. Previously one had to take up some other profession to earn a living, but now the situation is better. Now artists don’t have to worry in this regard at least. Evaluation of the artist on the basis of the price given to his/her art piece is not fair at all. Art cannot be measured by any criteria. An artist creates with his/her passion. This should not be the criteria to evaluate the creativity of an artist. Apart from the efforts of artists role of media is also important in this regard. A painting gains attention of thousand people when it is published in a news paper or a magazine. When a Mural or a Sculpture is created in a public place they tend to catch an eye of the passers by. This results in awakening the general knowledge about art among the masses.


(Courtesy: Samkaleen Kala, No. 35, Edited by: Dr. Jyotish Joshi, Lalit Kala Akademi, N.Delhi)
by-pritima vats.

Caur and colour

• The Hindu Arpana Caur. Photo: Thulasi Kakkat

Special Arrangement One of Caur's works.

Celebrated artist Arpana Caur talks about the deep connect between art and realism at her Chennai show

Arpana Caur has just been transported from a pleasant New Delhi to a hot Chennai on a sultry afternoon. Her simple white kurta has been squirted liberally with yellow colour while she was struggling to get her interactive installation just right at Gallery Veda. And as we begin this interview, there’s a power cut.

But the celebrated artist remains calm, handling it all with trademark grace and simplicity. A minor breakthrough on the installation earns the young artist who helped her liberal praise (“you’re a genius!”), the heat is resolved by sitting out on the terrace with chai, and the kurta, well, that’s just written off as one the joys of “old-fashioned painting”.

“There’s a sensuous pleasure in the weight of the paint when you lay it on the brush, just as there’s a pleasure in being splashed with colour, even if you know you’ll never be able to wear the dress again,” she says, looking down at her kurta ruefully. “Nowadays, I feel that old-fashioned oil paintings are increasingly being replaced by new media, graphics and installations, but they’re just as valid as those other forms.”

Infusing life into this art form was the inspiration behind her new exhibition in Chennai, provocatively titled ‘Painting is not dead’. The show is her first in Chennai in 25 years, and her first solo show in a long time.

“When I came in 1988, there was hardly an art market in Chennai; the show was mostly an excuse to visit Mahabalipuram,” says the 59-year-old with a smile. That previous trip’s legacy can still be seen in her works today, in the yogis and yoginis standing on one foot doing penance, inspired by Arjuna’s Penance relief.

Her travels over the years have taken her from the temples of Thanjavur to the monasteries of Leh, from caves in Sri Lanka to holy sites in Jerusalem, and she draws inspiration from their ancient folk art and spiritual traditions. “There is so much richness and colour in tradition and myth; it’s a well one can keep drawing from,” she says.

Collection for Chennai

This collection in Chennai is a microcosm, in a sense, of Arpana’s works over the last two decades (“I thought, let me have bits and pieces of all I’ve done in the last 25 years”), with many paintings having been done specially for this exhibition. You have, for instance, her famous ‘thread of life’ series about the passage of time, with the scissor as a recurring metaphorical motif (“my husband is quite sick of scissors — I’ve been drawing them for 15 years!”); you have the meditative abstract figuratives featuring Kabir, Buddha, Sikh mystics and yogis. Graceful figures — usually female — flow against vast oil canvases filled with bold yellows, reds, blacks and mystical blues. Powerful symbols of bones (a new motif used in this show) and swords talk of the violence and inequalities of our world, and broken-backed figures of labourers and starving children speak of the cruelty of poverty. A graduate in literature, Arpana has, since the start of her art career in the 1970s, been speaking out on such themes through her paintings, whether it was the 1984 Sikh riots or the “atrocious condition’ of the widows of Vrindavan. It was only natural, then, that she was moved to create an installation depicting the horror of the recent gang rape in Delhi, which was shown in both Delhi and Kochi this year. “The first time I painted rape was 33 years ago, about the Maya Tyagi case,” she says. “It was exhibited at my first solo show and bought by M.F. Husain.”

Her public art — done in places as varied as Bangalore, Kathmandu and Hamburg, and in most cases for little or no money — is as famous as her oils. “Very few people go to galleries,” she says. “Nehru said that one per cent of public buildings should have art, but that remained on paper.”

But what makes her truly happy is knowing that her paintings are housed in 12 museum collections all around the world. “I’m crazy about museum collections!” she says. “They ensure that your work outlives you.”

Arpana Caur’s legacy will most certainly outlive her — not just her remarkable art work, but her charity work as well, such as the vocational training institute for women she and her mother run, funded entirely with what she earns from her paintings. “Thankfully good times have come for artists in the last 10 to 15 years, so we manage,” she says with a smile.

The exhibition at Gallery Veda is on until May 8.

Keywords: artist Arpana Caur, art exhibition

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AUR BHI GAM HAI, JAMANE MAIN AURAT HONE KE SIVA.

POSTED BY- PRITIMA VATS

बारिश से बेहाल

दिल्ली में कला की दुनिया की इतनी महत्वपूर्ण जगह एकेडमी ऑफ फाइन आर्ट एण्ड लिटरेचर , दिल्ली-49 को भारी बारिश ने बहुत नुकसान पहुंचाया। साथ ही नगर निगम बालों की लापरवाही भी झेलनी पड़ी, जिसकी वजह से बहुत सारे महत्वपूर्ण पेंटिंग्स, दुर्लभ मिनिएचर और किताबें बर्बाद हो गई। इनकी भरपाई शायद हीं हो पाए।
-प्रीतिमा वत्स