DID ANYONE NOTICE.?

February – March 2012

Artists Proposed

Charmi Gada Shah, Maadol Mukherjee, Soazic Guezennec, Grandmother India, Mukul Deora, Pat, Vivek Vilasini, Ratna Gupta, Ali Akbar Mehta, Munir Kabani, Rajendra Kapse

In a city like Mumbai, there are many times when we experience a moment of beauty, the observation of a detail or a revelation within, but this moment of sudden clarity is immediately vaporized by the distraction and chaos of an accelerated life. In growing cosmopolitan environments survival and competition hypnotize the mind into mechanized robots and it becomes increasingly exasperating to cope with an internal emotional calling. This unnoticed compromise becomes a way of life, leading to a vapid existence in search of the ‘soul’ of the universe.

With incessant redefinition of technology, fashion and media, we are becoming victims of this system, which feeds into mind space until we no longer have the inclination to pause and absorb a moment of penetrated truth.

Our vanity, desires, our abstract intelligence, our tendency to simulate, our habits and our passions have been evolving relentlessly, and it is the engagement in art where we undo the external influences and decipher the language of this clarity.

Without a warning, this moment appears with an element of contemplative surprise, which feels like slow motion in fast paced environs, and passes by so quickly before it could be shared with a witness.

“Did Anyone Notice.?” And before you turn back, it’s gone.

 The artists in this exhibition have been selected from various practices and schools of thought, working with diverse media, like Painting, Installation, Photography, Video, Performance and Design. Their works reflect individuality, socio-economic issues, sexuality and cultural satire. Their works enable the viewer to go beyond the visual object and evoke thought processes.

To stop and think. To absorb.

To notice.

Avega, The Passion - Pushpamala N

Nature Morte, New Delhi

Solo exhibition of recent works by Pushpamala N

“Avega, The Passion”

Pushpamala N is a photo and video performance artist who is the protagonist of her own elaborate compositions, exploring the medium in various ways to document ethnographic prototypes. In her recent body of works exhibited at Nature Morte, New Delhi, “Avega – The Passion”, Pushpamala N. selects three women from the Ramayana as the exemplar of Indian culture and society. These photographs also describe a genre of visual representation of ancient Indian literature with stylized costumes and exaggerated props, which add to the melodrama on emotional effect.

Indian Mythology of both, Ancient and Modern India is a mere allegory to convey spiritual truths amongst the believers.  One of the greatest epics of all times, the Ramayana, ascribed to the Hindu sage, Valmiki, has been modified over generations through several expressions of artistic liberties to make it relevant to their time.

Pushpamala’s photographs have been composed and staged very dramatically, similar to the classical paintings of Raja Ravi Varma (a royal painter of the 19^th century in India), recreating episodes from the epic, which were centric to the woman who, throughout history has been the zenith of strength, but yet subdued by men.

In ”Abduction”, the artist is portrays herself as a banished queen, seized and held captive by a demon-esque man wearing an elaborate gold embellished costume, heavy eyebrows and menacing eyes. In spite of a struggle at first, she accepts her fate and courageously withstands the hardships of captivity. Each image is powerfully composed, transforming that moment into an emotional labyrinth.

The other series in this body of work, “Intrigue” are individual photographs to illustrate an episode of betrayal within the Royal palace. She performs as the queen who has just been informed by her confidante of a situation of backstabbing by an insider.  Disillusioned, she then uses this information to her strength and advantage to influence the king in “The Game of Chess” and take over the situation. The elements of each image, the expressions, the metaphors, the heightened drama, all combine to compliment the virtue of the artist.

An aesthetically powerful rendition of the subject, Pushpamala has incessantly re-invented herself over the years, combining theatre, photography and video to explore and magnify the satire of culture and society.

The Placebo Effect

“Placebo” or a sugar pill is a medical treatment for patients suffering from a psychological predicament who believe the medication will cure their problem. Artist L.N. Tallur’s recent body of work reflects this phenomenon very discreetly. His works have several layers of social, political religious undertones, which cleverly integrate to express the subject. Tallur was a student of Museology, and later trained under the late acclaimed painter Bhupen Khakar, whose imagery was audaciously filled with covert wit. Although his works have a “post-conceptualist” extraction, his installations have many traditional insignia, which are translated into philosophical or contemporary concepts and a collage of technology.

We believe that we are moving ahead with the world, pacified with the way of life. We have problems, we have solutions, not knowing if these are really the problems or the solutions will indeed solve them. There are so many options through which we continue to live our lives, hoping for the problems to be solved ‘some day’. A classic example of this concept is Tallur’s work, “Souvenir Maker (2) – Designed in America, Conceptualized in India, Made in China, Sponsored by Korea… We are Conditioned to Think Under Flags”. Created in 2009, this work is a barbed wire making machine, with the national anthem of 40 countries playing on repeat in the background and alongside displayed 17 Karat gold plated barbed wire in several glass jars. A complex installation, Tallur describes this work as a ‘contradiction between human freedom and Global capitalism’. The barbed wire is relevant to geographical and political boundaries that divide cultures and people in a global utopian world. He has shrewdly cut small lengths of the wire, plated them in gold and displayed them in glass jars as a souvenir. In turn calling this a “souvenir making machine”

 

"wisdom of unseen ways"

It was a perfect Thursday morning in Goa. The sun was generous, the sky was clear, and I was on my way to the Kerkar Art Complex on Calangute beach. The Maruti van pulled over a large plot of land that consisted of an art gallery, a studio, a restaurant and a retreat. Subodh was in the process of experimenting his new project that involved a video projection and a kaleidoscope, mischievously trying out all the permutation combinations possible that were associated with the concept.

The entire space was energized with sculptures, installations and paintings that were created by the artist over time. Wood, metal, clay and fiberglass were among the few materials used in his works apart from rope, light shells, and other natural elements found on the beaches of Goa. Each work was aptly displayed, and all the evidence converged on the fact that the artist was in love with the sea and its offerings.

Subodh’s initial art training was given by his father, a student of late Prof. S.L. Haldankar, after which Subodh developed a natural hand at landscape paintings at fifteen. Being student of merit in high school, the best obvious option for Subodh was admission in the Goa Medical College at the age of eighteen. Even as a medical student, he continued to paint and illustrate. After completing his medical studies in 1983, Subodh ran his own hospital for 6 years in Goa before giving up his medical profession for his passion, visual art.

We sat in the verandah over a cup of Chai and cigarettes and spoke of Walter de Maria’s Lightening Poles, Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty, Tagore’s poetry and Dhruv Mistry’s metal cut outs and Anish Kapoor’s unparalleled concepts. “All these artists have clearly derived some amount inspiration from other artists and fused it with their vision. I personally, am pro plagiarism,” he proclaimed, smiling confidently, “it doesn’t rediscover the will, and there are always ideas that offshoot from ideas. It’s allowed…” This statement reflected spotlessly in his works, and allowed the artist to be free to absorb from cultures and concepts only to understand his own better.

Growing up at the beach impacted Subodh to a degree where the sea has become his muse and his inspiration. “…the sea has been my Guru, and my installations are a Gurudakshina to the sea…” His works have been displayed boldly on various beaches in Goa. Sand mounds fringed with lights, thousands of clamshells, coconut shells, clay sculptures filled with lights. His works become alive simply because they belong where they are created. Absolutely surreal. “My installations are ephemeral like the writing of the sea on the sand. The temporary nature of the installations gives them a playful character and certain spontaneity. The installations present a continuous change especially the ones with sand and light.”

Subodh spoke of ambitious upcoming projects and exhibitions that he has lined up around the world. He had the energy and enthusiasm of a child in a toy store, hypnotized by every object in his daily life. “They give me what I want to give back…” Completely thankful for all that he has in his plate, Subodh has found his calling. He had to travel a long way to understand that he only wants to create. As we parted ways, he looked me in the eye and recited a verse from Rabindranath Tagore’s poem, ‘Fruit Gathering’,
“Where roads are made I lose my way.
In the wide water, in the blue sky there is no line of a track.
The pathway is hidden by the birds' wings, by the star-fires, by the flowers of the wayfaring seasons.
And I ask my heart if its blood carries the wisdom of the unseen way.”

Metamorphosis

Metamorphosis is the transformation, or transmutation of the bizarre caterpillar into an elegant butterfly, truly one of the regularly performed miracles of Nature. To grow into an adult they go through 4 stages: egg, larva, pupa and adult.
The term relates to every animal, as a process of transformation from one physical/mental phase into another. Mainly, birth, isolation, death, and rebirth/reintegration. Human beings experience these during the course of their lives. They play a significant role in the psychological, and physiological alteration of the mind, body and soul. As women, we undergo this Metamorphosis at every stage in our lives, at a cellular, and hormonal level. These changes occur due to three inevitable stages, as well phases; before menopause, during menopause, and after menopause.
This phenomenon of change is all around us, and is taking place within us every moment. The way our perception and views of life change at every stage is the result of what goes on within.
The colours that I relate to metamorphosis graduate from dull to bright. The way a chapter ends, and becomes the past, into one that begins, fresh, and nascent to become the future. The forms that I relate to are more abstract. However, they go through a process of organization, with changes that occur, and by acknowledging them at every stage.
I was inspired by Franz Kafka’s “Metamorphosis”, a book I read ten years ago, based on the context of the author's own experience of alienation from his overbearing father, and social pressures it is about an individual’s reactions against bourgeois society and its demands, that converts him into a vermin, circumscribed by authority and routine.
This recognition of the process is necessary in order to deal with “metamorphosis”. To achieve a positive outcome and prevent stagnation, rather than one that Kafka describes, where the person regresses into a vermin, rather than progress into becoming a butterfly.
This work reflects the butterfly that has emerged from the caterpillar. However, in a larger picture, it also reflects every minute change that takes place within and without us. The bright colours of the butterfly are portrayed with an abstract flow of forms. Dull greens and blues depict the caterpillar that gave up its existence to succumb to a newer life form it would evolve into, that is aesthetically beautiful.
Salvador Dali painted “The Metamorphosis of Narcissus” in 1937, based on the Greek Mythological character Narcissus, who fell in love with his own image reflected in a pool of water. In the work, He is metamorphosed, on learning the fact that it was just a reflection, as a result, the death of something that was once beautiful, or the death of vanity. This death is related to the transformation of one belief into another, with is life altering.
All these references, and many more that have been made, reinforce the fact that the phenomenon of “metamorphosis” has been, and will always ironically be a constant in our lives.

Contemporary Art Market, Who..??

I read two books, "The Worth of Art, Pricing the Priceless" by Judith Benhamou-Huet, and "Art Incorporated" by Julian Stallabrass. Both focusing on the Contemporary art market, but in very different styles. I had to write a little 'review' on the two books, while automatically comparing them.

The art market has always been hovering in the periphery of the world market for many centuries. However, since the mid twentieth century, art has trickled into the mainstream, fusing with contemporary culture. Movements no longer defined changes; it was the evolution of Modernism, and Post Modernism that defined contemporary art. Globalization of the economy gave birth to this ‘ism,’ where culture, politics, issues of identity, religion, etc were freely being expressed through art. Each artist created one’s own manifesto, and struggled for self-recognition. Elements like dealers, critics, auction houses, galleries, collectors and recently, corporations, molded themselves to fit into this hybrid culture, depending on one another to keep themselves, and the market afloat. This exciting turn in the field of art generated many critics, historians and even artists to write about the art market, and numerous theories and insights have been published on this subject. Two such books are, The Worth of Art, Pricing the Priceless by Judith Benhamou-Huet, and Art Incorporated by Julian Stallabrass. Each book highlights different facets of the art market according to their outlook and knowledge in the field.
Heut’s The Worth of Art focuses on how each element in the art market, like the buyer, auction house, dealer, seller, artist and the place of sale affect the price of art. How a work of art is glorified before the sale, kind of like feeding the lamb for the lion. The author uses satire, wit and humor to describe the market. She speaks of the buyer, or the collector as a fragile human being, who needs expensive works of art as a ‘comfort blanket.’ This is the comfort that brings him power, recognition and boosts his ego. Private collectors depend on the ‘trends in art consumption,’ and ‘top dollar prices’ to desire a work. This is why newer collectors aim at popular contemporary art, because as Huet mentions, ‘To understand an Old Master painting, a certain amount of intellectual effort is required.’
Video art does not have as much demand as painting or sculpture today. However, using the example of C. Richard Kramlich, Silicon Valley’s key financers acquiring works of video , by Bruce Nauman and Matthew Barney, the awareness is immediately increased. This in turn rockets the prices and demand of the medium, the artist and the work. It all depends on who has which work, which ultimately tells the price the work will fetch. The author points out how collecting has become a competition among the buyers and collectors, where a work of art has to be acquired to belong to an aristocracy. New York City is invariably the place where money flows like water, and the rich and elite need to show their richness by owning the finest art. These classes of buyers depend on auction houses, the ‘intermediaries,’ where their claim to fame is immediately approved.
It is all a game. The artist depends on the buyer, the buyer depends on the dealer, the auction house depends on the seller and the collector, and so forth. Each one cannot survive without the other, and at the same time each one wants to out do the other. The two largest auction houses, Christie’s and Sotheby’s, competitors and enemies, at the end need each other to survive, kind of like Coke and Pepsi. The anti-campaigning works towards their benefit, creating an illusion of competition.
My favorite part about this book was how the artist transforms the price. I believe, the artist is ultimately the best judge of art. ‘The prism of myth’ that is associated with the artist’s life has been the biggest promoter of art. The idea of a poor, bohemian, depressed artist creates a sort of a mystery, and the elite classes are fascinated by this romantic concept. Interestingly, Andy Warhol took advantage of this notion, and ‘created a character that probably had very little in common with his true nature.’ His appearance and persona that he portrayed to the public was very different from who he was, and it was this public persona that worked in his favor. Even his chosen subjects, like Marilyn Monroe were public figures with a mysterious personal life. Warhol wanted his work to be popular, and he wanted to be a star. Like the author says, ‘Such an objective has little to do with art in the strict sense of the word but it does give the artist an emblematic role in what is known as the “society of the spectacle”.’
Pricing the Priceless is in itself an ironical title. Today art is seen more monetarily than aesthetically. Every work of art produced has a price to it. Whether it is a reproduction or a genuine piece, the market creates a grandiose around the work, and also picks the best-suited buyer. Judith Benhamou-Huet has described this aspect of the art market in a light hearted, but solid manner.
Julian Stallabrass, in Art Incorporated speaks of contemporary art, which has become a ‘zone of freedom.’ This niche that the art market has occupied is steadily growing in size, supported by strong pillars like collectors, dealers, auction houses and corporations. Artists have a license to incorporate any subject, converting it into art, whether it is accepted as a creative gesture, or a slap in the face. In this book, he reflects deeply into this system and analyses the complex and diverse market, that ‘democratically reflects popular taste.’ He points out that the market, depending on the demand, controls the making and selling of art. The dealers direct the artists to create work that would best suit their clients, in a way, leaving no choice for the buyer other than what is available.
Not only the dealer, but the artist also plays with the ways of the market to his advantage. By reproducing work in limited editions, the artist is creating a high demand for his work, as only a chosen few would be privileged to acquire the copies. At this rate, the price is also manipulated in favor of the buyer, like Stallabrass mentions, ‘…the supply is regulated, the demand managed, and pricing highly susceptible to fashion and circumstance.’
Stallabrass also describes the myth of the artist, but in a more analytical manner, using the theory of Hans Abbing. He says, that the art market’s ‘idiosyncrasies condemn the great majority of artists to penury.’ He believes that artists hold an important place as professionals, as they stand out from every other field because of the persona linked to them. They are oblivious to the returns their work will bring, and open to experimenting with their subject. He very gently slices the attitude of the art market by saying, ‘…the poverty of the artist contributes to the status of the arts…and all the artists should be seen to risk poverty in pursuit of free expression.’ This is similar to what Huet describes of the myth of the artist, but in a different light. Stallabtass is more serious and intimate when it comes to the art market.
In his writings, Stallabrass looks at the larger picture, explaining that even though art has become a dirty business, it nevertheless emits positive energy to the viewers, forming a bond among people. This visual language is universal, and one does not need to know French, German or Japanese to understand it. He uses the example of Gavin Turk’s The Che Gavara Story, based on the famous South American martyr. Turk’s work, Stallabrass explains, generated social interaction between people who identified with this immortal figure. He says, ‘the use of audience interaction reintroduces organic and irrefutable presence to an art that threatens to become an evacuated play of ready made signs. The presence is no longer that of the artist-genius, but of the audience temporarily warmed by the glow of a democratic ideal that treats their thoughts and actions as valuable…’ It creates a temporary utopia in the minds of people, reassuring them of their ability to recognize creativity, also agreeing with Baudrillard’s theory.
Both, Judith Benhamou-Huet, and Julian Stallabrass have brilliantly compiled their theories and views on the art market, attacking as well as defending certain areas. However, they both have a different approach to their opinions. Huet’s style is more easy-going, written for everyone to comprehend, more like light reading. Stallabrass, on the other hand is more descriptive, serious and analytical in his writing. He uses theories of Hickey and McEvilley to elaborate his theory. To read his book, one must have some insight into the art world to keep up with the writer.
Both these books answered many questions and also cleared certain stereotypes that I carried regarding the art market. It made me look into books like Art and Fear, by David Bayles, and also The Art of the Market, by Bob Tamarkin to recognize newer styles of writing.

Tribute to the Chameleon

The Chameleon, (family Chamaeleonidae) are squamates that belong to one of the best-known lizard families. The "ground lion".
All chameleon species are able to change their skin colors. Different chameleon species are able to change different colours which can include pink, blue, red, orange, green, black, brown and yellow. Recent research indicates that they do not typically change their colour for reasons of camouflage, but instead use colour changes as a method of communication, including to make themselves more attractive to potential mates.
Many have head or facial ornamentation, such as nasal protrusions, or horn-like projections in the case of Chamaeleo jacksonii, or large crests on top of their head, like Chamaeleo calyptratus. Many species are sexually dimorphic, and males are typically much more ornamented than the female chameleons.
Chameleons are didactyl: on each foot the five toes are fused into a group of two and a group of three, giving the foot a tongs-like appearance. These specialized feet allow chameleons to grip tightly to narrow branches.
Their eyes are the most distinctive among the reptiles. The upper and lower eyelids are joined, with only a pinhole large enough for the pupil to see through. They can rotate and focus separately to observe two different objects simultaneously. It in effect gives them a full 360-degree arc of vision around their body.