Reimagining Democracy

Sometime when I reflect I think the parliamentary system we have in world currently with a divison of ruling and opposition, itself is one of the rootcause for the larger division in the society. This division of two primary opposing units further becomes secondary and territory strands, while it cuts down the social streams of a nation and reach to the most single unit in the democracy, the individual. By then it would have formed so much force and capacity of establishing this division as a form of conflict. A symbolic condition of governance thus becomes opposing forces rather than parts of a singularity that needs to mutually strengthen the state. By then this falsity of dulaity would have already assumed the form of truth. This is then unconditiinally and forcefully stereotyped by each and every partciant of the social democracy, from political parties to fourth estate to beurocratic systems to local governing systems to peoples' sense of social existance. If not checked this ripple effect would eventually weaken the very basis of democracy, unity and collaboration.

Keeping this, I think it is time to redefine the role of ruling and opposition units in the parliamentary system. We should have options for potential cooperation between both these units, through an interploration of talents and capacities and expertise. The system should aspire for a stronger representation of peoples mandate and not just based on majority based mandate alone. Probably we should have options to chooses ministers directly along with MLAs and MPs, something that enables a higher democratic choice beyond the boundaries set by the political parties. After all democracy too should grow beyond it's initial stages and develop capability to accommodate new aspirations and interests of human populace which day by day thrives in a world of diminishing the boundaries and reforming human capacities (but at the same time stereotyp it's conflict manuals).

For example consider the able representatives in opposition in an elected body. Potential capabilities of thier social contribution is compromised during thier tenure in opposition benches. In case their party remains in opposition for more than a couple of electoral term, it is a loss for the society. But if an inclusive policy is adapted to parliamentray system, the best talents in the overall elected body can be placed along vatious ministerial portfolios making the best use of the talent pool of a society. But for that the political thinking needs to be much more evolved, and elevated.

This may sound very unrealistic and utopian. But democracy too sounded as an utopian one for many at the time of its inception in the history.

Figure Study

During my years of Fine Arts education in Kerala, my peer group and I were deeply influenced by the formal aesthetics of the German Expressionists and the figurative stylisation followed by the IRPSA. This formed a kind of aesthetic school that many student groups aspired to emulate once they became immersed in the cultural environment of Kerala’s Fine Arts institutes in the 1980s and 90s. Those who later moved to Baroda, Delhi, Santiniketan, or Hyderabad for their postgraduate studies often carried this visual language into their advanced work, and many continued using it in their professional practice.

By the later part of my master’s program at the College of Art, New Delhi, I had begun shifting towards a more personal exploration. I found myself inspired by the unique characteristics and the cultural or regional codes of the figures I chose to study carried with them. Living in Bangalore for the past two decades—a city that holds deep Dravidian cultural continuities—further encouraged me to integrate vernacular codes and local cultural aesthetics into my figure studies. This marked a clear departure from the earlier stylistic premises I followed, moving beyond the figurative traditions that shaped much of my generation’s art in Kerala. Working within a rigid stylistic framework like that, I felt, limited the visual possibilities—especially in a country like India, where the dynamic coexistence of vernacular cultures and its interaction with modernisation process create a layered common culture. Considering this aesthetic pluralism felt like a more authentic and original path than continuing with a ‘habituated’ notion of form. It also allowed me to include subaltern elements while staying close to the edges of contemporary art practice in a meaningful way.

Most of these recent figure studies emerged during studio sessions originally designed for 12th-grade students as part of Aditi’s Pre-University Art & Design programme, including the College Portfolio Programme, which I headed for over fifteen years. Though my role was primarily that of a facilitator, these sessions gave me a valuable space to explore and practice drawing. Alternatively, it provided me a hanging spot for my art practice, otherwise so alienated for last many years. Many of the figures I portrayed reflected strong South Indian identities—they often looked like they had walked straight from their village homes into Aditi’s studio. For instance, in the works shared here, one model was a gardener at Aditi and the others were part of the housekeeping team. These individuals form a sub-layer of Bangalore’s broader tech-science- educational profile. They don’t just represent the vernacular; they reflect Bangalore’s micro-economy and its culture of sustainability.

What was interesting is that their appearance and grooming subtly carried certain aesthetic codes and identities of rural Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu. Yet what stood out to me even more was the quiet dignity they embodied and their fondness for their own sense of femininity. That made all the difference. The resilience of rural womanhood is something I’ve observed repeatedly in my visits to many villages in South. While portraying them, I wanted to maintain that same dignity, and express that quiet celebration of their femininity!

In the most recent study I completed this June, I noticed the colour palette of the model’s sari closely echoed the hues often seen on South Indian temple structures. I decided to develop this character as a central visual code to explore the aesthetic nature of the work.

21ST CENTURY SCHOOLING

Culture of Education

One complexity of teaching art is that it can be very confusing and is always debatable. It is subjective and abstract yet at the same time needs to have concrete methods. Taking the students out of their conditioning, and perceptions and working from preconceived notions is one of the prime tasks. Thus, developing a perception of the student's traits and then helping them develop a sound perception of the creative process is a central concept in teaching art. I do not start teaching a student with an end objective or a specific result. I start with start principles – the student’s intrinsic ability or natural talent and fundamentals of visual art; a combination of these. Any methodology that I might opt for is usually based on the potential and scope of the student and changes are accommodated as the student makes further progress in the course. For me, each student is an assignment in hand. I would opt for any method if finds it effective, however unconventional it may be!

It is very effective if one could inculcate sound observation and drawing skills from direct observation. It is equally important to develop visual thinking. Like the student seeks motivation from a teacher, as a teacher I would like to be motivated by the students too. Students who are ready to learn are one of the most inspiring aspects of a classroom. As we all know, good culture develops good taste, so it is important to develop a good learning culture, especially in art. I prefer students of different age groups sharing the same classroom at the same time as it provides a better learning experience. Encouraging students to discuss their work as well as their peer’s work in terms of concepts, expressiveness of the work, use of imagery and metaphors, skill, and the process is what I would encourage in a classroom. A good library helps a lot in today’s art education, though it is not a very real thing in Indian conditions. The pandemic has opened up a whole lot of new opportunities for accessing the best galleries and museums throughout the world through online platforms; this is surely an advantage.

To me, a great level of interaction with the students is central to the facilitation process. These discussions would result in exchanging many views; information and knowledge that are otherwise less explored in conventional school classrooms. I believe that connecting to one’s own culture and living environment is important and this is constantly addressed in my classroom. Direct, primary-level study of one’s own environment and documentation by noting down personal observations and responses forms a central part of learning. These are then analyzed laterally against other available resources and information, both primary and secondary. Students visit museums, galleries, and monuments with historic significance to study the art and understand the nature of the larger aesthetic practices. All visits are supplemented with actual works on the site. Direct personal one-to-one interactions with artists are highly encouraged.

I try to maintain a healthy level of interaction with my fellow practitioners, both the art world and art educators. This helps me share views and validate my own practice and gain new insights into professional practice. Interacting with the class teachers within the school, students' own peer group outside the art class, and parents and other stakeholders of students' life is very important in understanding and shaping up the pedagogical units to support the learning of a student, who attends an art class only for a few hours. Inviting all these stakeholders in a student’s life to art room learning helps me to not only share the learning that each student experiences but also support a balanced and healthy learning atmosphere. In fact, the development of a good learning atmosphere is the ‘hidden curriculum’. I would like to see pedagogy as ‘a culture for learning’ than just a method of learning. I strongly believe that the collaboration of ‘tasteful’ people in the area of education is a must. It is not the curriculum that calls the shots, but this collaboration of tasteful people. The curriculum is a by-product of such collaborations. To know how and where to follow, invent, change and evolve, contribute or even resist, sensitize and empathize is a part of the learning process. A curriculum is merely a tool that we adopt to bring culture into human life!

I strongly believe that socially we have moved from a position of transforming the knowledge from elder to younger to what could be called a ‘simultaneous knowledge acquisition’. The authoritarian positions have withered, and so has the pedestal. In a sense, the structure of hegemony has been broken down and collaborative forms have developed in their place. Wherever this is not well understood there is a conflict. This new condition has changed the configuration and dynamics of the traditional concepts of the cultural equation; of parent-child at home and teacher-student social equation at schools. Both these, homes and schools, are institutions in a sense, and hierarchical in their nature. Sharing positions with a sense of equal hierarchy may be perceived as a threat in its conventional makings. So the need for a triangular discourse of home -student- the teacher is crucial in our times because parent and school or teacher is a partners in a student’s learning.

The At Education conference, 2012

Currently, art exams for ISC and ICSE have three hours, which is still less, when compared to the time required at times the setup is complex or large in size. However, this is still a much better situation than it was ten years back. This makes me look back to some notes I have written in 2012 after an art education conference in Bangalore.

The Art Education Conference, 2012

The Art Education Conference held at NGMA Bangalore was jointly organised by the Goethe- Institute/ Max Muller Bhavan, Bangalore, and the India Foundation for the Arts (IFA). It was informative and contributive in terms of current educational practices. It was an opportunity to hear a set of stakeholders, decision-makers, and practitioners in the area of art education providing their views on educational practice. The speakers included nd a set of teachers from Rural Karnataka who were part of the Kali Kalisu Programme, Dr. Pawan Sudhir of NCERT, Prakas Belawadi, Deborah Thiagarajan, Jinan K. B.,  Kirthana Kumar, M. K. Raina Manford Schewe, Dr. Vivek Bengal Sabina Wush, Kotiganahalli Ramaiah and Suresh Kumar Reddy of the Samuha Art initiative and collective Bangalore. 

The perspectives they provided were interesting and varied such as 'nurture learning centers' or to say 'ban the schools'! Presentations included a study from the tribal societies of Kerala on how children learn themselves when left alone to explore (A video presentation by Mr. Jinan), and how the brain responds and enhances brain capacity when involved with the art activity (Dr. Vivek Benegal, NIMHANS, Bangalore) and implications in excessive use of computers, to mention some examples. But all sessions were not equally effective, I guess. I think the opening and concluding sessions were not as effective as the presentations. The tour of the gallery was interesting but not very informative. The session by Nikhil Chopra too had nothing much to offer in terms of classroom practice and the work he showcased, a project from Kashmir, sounded very ordinary.  

The second day was very contributive with excellent discussions and presentations. It also seemed that the discussions were more effective on day two compared to day one. The presentation of a workshop conducted by Mr. M. K. Raina in Kashmir sounded more effective. Presentations by Ms. Kirtana Kumar and Shri. Kotaganahalli Ramaiah too received good attention. Probably the time given for each presentation and for discussion was short which impacted the overall output.

During the conference, I had a chance to interact with Dr. Pavan Sudhir from NCERT and had a brief discussion about the need for more time for the Art Board examinations. At present, the time given for both ICSE and ISC is two hours and thirty minutes. This seems to be too less for students of 14-17 years can handle very effectively. Sometimes even the climatic conditions of each region also impact the effective running of art examinations, for example, the use of watercolur in winters in the northern part of the country. So if the time frame is increased it will not only help students to improve their work quality but also help to avoid unwanted emotional stress that was caused by the time constraints. It will give them more confidence to approach the examination and a certain level of happiness while leaving the examination hall.

26/11, ALTBL, Bangalore- an exhibition; looking back to 2010

 Around the year 2010 Bangalore saw an increase in contemporary art events and there were many more new galleries opened around the turn of the decade. Some of the spaces still seemed elusive for those artists who were lesser known or beginners. Some alternative venues and spaces have formed by then such as Samuha and Shanti Road 1 were a couple of them. The ALTBL was conceived in the same order, as an alternative art space, an art collective, and an interactive space for photographers and artists to meet and exhibit their work in an informal manner. The objective of ALTBL was to function as a facilitator between a set of stakeholders in the art world that include artists, connoisseurs, critics and writers, curators, gallery owners, and buyers. The show 26/11, the second event from ALTBL, held during 26-28 November 2010 was a humble step towards this.

26/11 was much more than a coincidence. When ALTBL planned a show in November, this title provided a curatorial scope, with a relevant context to reflect upon. 26/11, as all know was not just another political event but a significant one that stands or points to a set of problems that imply both the historical as well as contemporary concerns of the subcontinent. In a sense, it had formed a parable for our times. It was something that should not have happened. So this irony in this incident was a strong element for artists to reflect upon. Thus 26/11, as an exhibition, formed a platform to bring divergent art practitioners into a single context. The works included in the show echoed some underlying conflicts of our time. They had a set of codes or images that reflected certain social narratives of social realities of our times but are problematic in all aspects. 

My work in this show was titled 'Basic Alphabets'. It was a way of locating a set of visual options, and images that speak primary characteristics of a culture, to be precise 'conflict'. Conflict is a conceptual thread that runs through most of my works since 2000. The exhibit in this show was a metaphor intended to reflect the implicit conflict within both the existing as well as evolving cultures. It seems to me that it is the protagonist himself who eventually turns out to be the antihero. This is the irony of our times.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_Sdbpe1-NbERAOJ36mIAAB2hFF8Ot2ka/view?usp=sharing

Meeting Anish Kapoor

During the summit, I had this joyful experience of meeting Anish Kapur in person along with my friends for about an hour, Thanks to my friends, Anshul and Manika (of course to Anshul’s parents as well). It was great to talk to him and he allowed us to take a peep into his process and what goes on in his mind. We were completely overtaken by his charismatic presence and modesty. It was like a dream. Looking at his work and the entire exhibits at NGMA and what I have seen earlier when I had traveled abroad and from what I have read and seen in books, I tended to think that at times his work moves to excess. So talking to him was as if I was back in the history of art and aesthetic classroom and learning again. He talked about his approach, the element of play, scaling, dreaming about form (his pre-occupation), what fascinates him in India, etc… We had an interesting discussion about bindi and its application in art. He talked about his journey from his early pigment sculptures to mirror-polished stainless-steel work and then the ‘Svayambh’ project and ‘Shooting into the Corner’. It is interesting to see that the creator is also a spectator in the case of these works. The next day Homi Bhabha (Speaker’s forum) observed this aspect of his work and referred to it as ‘actor and spectator’. When he said that ‘the scale is not about the size but the complexity, I realised that the scale and the overall nature of his work are not about excess -as I had thought earlier- but about this complexity. There is a sense of unfolding and discovering of the form as you approach it and move around and the work grew further as you experience it.

During my days in Delhi, some years ago, alternative art and iconoclasm were something my friends and I often discussed. The edge and iconoclasm, that was brought by postmodernism and its baby - the art at the turn of the 21^st Century, had the ability to challenge the notions of gallery and the convention of its space, ideas, and practice beyond the image, relooking at the nature and character of the narrative. These were dear to us and unfortunately, many works in Delhi seemed to miss it this time. Many artists who were showcased at the summit failed to rise to this level. Instead of challenging the seemingly trendy, works these days seem to be tricked and guided by the gallery or display space. The concept of alternative space, in art, seems to be limited to the alternative physical space than a conventional gallery, not changing the given space. The ability of a work to influence its surroundings and alter it and be mutually enhanced is its strength and seemed to be lacking in many work. Exceptions are very very rare. What Anish Kapoor could do by throwing wax into the interior of The Royal Academy of Arts to defy any clinically crafted end result and ‘display euphoria’ is what one would call iconoclasm. It is a ‘Duchampian act’ with a twist.

The presence of Anish Kapoor in Delhi- his works and person - has given a great edge to the City and an interesting appeal to its art circle in January. It was fantastic to meet the artist and listen to him. The conversation between Homi Bhabha and Anish was the biggest draw of the first of the speaker’s forum at the Summit. The 3^rd edition Art Summit may eventually be remembered most for this.

When the corporate takes over the aesthetics. Art Summit, New Delhi 2011

It was enjoyable to be back in Delhi to attend the Art Summit, a city I love a lot, a city that has given me a lot - an educational phase that would always remain in my memory, terrific friends, the experience of a vibrant art world, a set of jobs and yes real mistakes too, that had changed life forever.

Delhi has changed. The art scene too! Friends with whom I use to hang around have become the face of Contemporary Indian Art. It was good to meet them again, though briefly.

Not being in Delhi I miss a lot of exhibitions and I looked forward to Art Summit as a chance to see new work and listen to artists and critics. This absence from Delhi, from the thick of the action, also provides a chance to be the outsider. So what I see and listen to, partially, is from this perspective.

It was as if one is witnessing all the exhibitions that would happen over the span of a year or two in one shot and at one place. The mela of course had an energy that was enjoyable. Both a reeling head and hallucination were assured. Unfortunately, it was also a bit ‘toxic’ rather than ‘intoxicating’.

Reaching back to Bangalore, I decided to wait for a few days to reflect on the summit. I thought this would allow me to reflect more calmly and at school, the exams are around and there was a lot of work to complete.

Art Summit, to start with, is not a gallery space. Art Summit, by objective, is to endorse the art market, the value of branding, and not necessarily about aesthetic value. It is not a group show or anything curatorial. It is a fare to energize business ties. It is a forum for art galleries and independent artists (who can afford it) to showcase their set of art and it is widely and truly addressed to the potential buyers and investors. It is a forum to form new connections. In this regard, space here is a ‘point of purchase’ (POP) and not necessarily related to a conventional sense of gallery. The presence of work in the gallery and experiencing it cannot be possible in an atmosphere of stalls. There is always this limitation of ‘art space’ to the summit. However, criticism is only an extension of experiencing arts and an intrinsic element of its culture, and Art Summit too cannot escape from it. The large public turnout to the Summit is primarily because of its aesthetic and experiential reasons- to see artworks and not to buy (a sort of window shopping).

A note about the summit, either reflective or critical, is problematic in that sense. However, I would like to approach it from the premises of being an artist and as I mentioned earlier, from the freedom of an outsider. It is looked at as ‘art culture’ and exhibits as a work of art. In short, the Summit is the best example of what happens when the corporate world takes aesthetics over. The discussions about the aesthetic or critical aspects of art practice were limited and the focus was on the ‘commodity value’ of art. There is nothing wrong with selling and buying and having a robust art market. but it is equally sad in a way that art culture limits itself to the ‘art corporate’ and ‘art estate’. The displeasure at such a situation was apparent when Atul Dodiya said in his opening note at the Speaker’s Forum that, ‘it is not a corporate event but an art event and things should be in that context.

There is a fundamental shift in recent times and that shift is from art/artist to the buyer. The locus has moved from aesthetic value to resale value- from art collection to art investment. That is where work moves from the realm of aesthetic to that of the commodity. Such a situation may not promote a free and sound art culture but only a nexus between the curator, galleries as well as the buyer, and often, the artists themselves. Daniel Baumann (Director of Adolf Wolfli Foundation, Museum of Fine Arts, Bern) has clearly indicated the situation by saying that ‘one needs to stay away from the market if she/he wishes to be an independent curator.

Modern art, for a large part, towards its fag end became stereotypical and was made to be ‘look like modern’. Looking at the Summit one could say that contemporary art also has its share of this trajectory. What one could observe at the Summit and various other shows happening in Delhi in January 2011 is a kind of despair in making a contemporary piece of art.

Any art that belongs to a genre or an era in history would have common aspects and resemblances. Such visual codes would denote a genre of art. No period in history has escaped it. However, the work at the Delhi in January 2011 looks too deliberate and seems to have emerged out of restlessness and the desperation to be fashionable and catch up with the wagon. The trends are unbelievably funny. I do not mean to hurt anybody here and many who participated are my good friends and I wish that it would remain so even after their reading this.

It looks like a Bollywood masala mix, a formula to make an art piece. There are too many examples to miss- by the choice of themes, images, the style of execution, by the display. There is too much similarity in the visual adaptation, scale, process, and display- something like a membership to the club. On top of that, there is too much of an ‘Anish Kapoor syndrome’ and a POP infection. Of course, one can argue about similarity. All new cities are similar in many ways, all have malls and all malls look the same and feel the same. We all wear increasingly the same kind of dress and will try to look in the same ‘happening’ way. Isn’t it? What is wrong in it and what alternative conditions are you talking about, right? All news tends to be sensational and edgy. Isn’t it a common thing? Why does art alone need to be so different?

It is not easy to settle for such an argument. Many works that you see in the Summit, unfortunately, remain more as still life studies and curios than as anything significant. Many others have moved marginally only over the years (and I mean over many years). Their work looks almost the same, as it was many years before. This is not about such senior artists like Raza or Souza but those among the young and contemporary category. A large part of the remaining looked pathetic for the simple reason that they are into the lifting of forms from other parts of the world. Sorry guys, the king is naked!

Postmodernism heralds the death of the author and postmodernism is synonym with the reshuffling of the existing. So simulacra can be accommodated. Isn’t it? Or is it the other way as Homi Bhabha puts it -“Collecting art based on authorship/signature value can be a kind of a neurosis, sometimes a good neurosis”. However put, authorship is both good and bad in the current context, like many other symptoms of our time, because the irony of our time is that it is often the protagonist himself who is or becomes the antihero. To be honest, simulacra, if seen outside its euphoria, can be a limiting experience. ‘The notions of anxiety are important to an art object, says Anish Kapoor. Contemporary Indian art sometimes misses the point. In our context, the anxiety (mostly) is missing the wagon.

The absence of many who participated in its second edition was visible and notable among them was the Gallary BMB. I attended eight sessions of the speaker’s forum, four on 21^st and four on 22^nd, and none on 23^rd. The speaker’s forum too, for the most part, was obsessed with the art market and collecting. Sessions such as the one about urban popular visual culture and making Indian modern/ contemporary and forms of public address in contemporary art were some breathers that discussed the wider aspects of art. These sessions to an extent discussed conditions that shape work, visual codes, and how artworks are shaped at a given cultural condition. The conversation between Homi Bhabha and Anish Kapoor was very enjoyable and it also witnessed the largest turn out of people. Incidentally, the presentation by the Outset had the smallest group of listeners. Though there were insights about curatorial practices, how and why people collect, and when they wouldn’t, the forum could have had more intense discussions and dialogues.

Note 01

Teaching is a full-time job. Lesson planning, individual attention, pedagogy, worksheets, student tantrums, counseling, demonstrating processes and techniques, disciplining, assessment, and report writing skills (all thanks to Kokila Katyal, Rekha Krishnan, Malvika Vohra, and Charu of Vasant Valley School) portfolio guidance, mentoring and many more! It is a huge task- a job needs great aptitude and tremendous organising and archiving skills and extreme patience.

It is challenging, hectic, and very draining, especially when you work in high-end schools like Mallya Aditi and Vasant Valley. The Other side, probably the most enjoyable of it all, is the interaction with young and brilliant brains. Adolescence and the pre-teenage group is a dynamic world of their own kind. They test and tease you to the bottom of your coolness, yet they are examples of great optimism. I am very lucky to have excellent students all through the last ten years (oops!). Most of them take up courses in Art and Design at Colleges and Universities of great repute in India and across the world. Few of them from the first batch I taught are now professionals and doing well. 

What happens is that by the end of a day at school one feels very drained. There is hardly any energy left in you, it is drained by the noisy classroom/students and by constantly talking to them and coordinating various departmental activities and reporting. Every day I get up with a lot of thoughts in my head and then by end of the day, I go to bed with a lost feeling of not being able to do any of my own work, my own creative career, the real stuff! ‘When Bala’, some good friends often ask! Meanwhile (last 10 years) young Indian Art become happening all over the world and gleaming in glory it looks brilliant. Sometimes I feel frustrated and depressed about what am I doing, or to be more correct, what I am not doing. Why I am not able to work like all others- Just to sit and work for a few hours a day for myself? I know that there is no point in cribbing, right? Better do it, Yeh?! Yes, Yes hopefully soon! Ha Ha, Bala, we've all been hearing it for some time!; the same good friends and Priya (my wife) would respond.

Jokes apart, it is a serious concern. Anyway, I do some project planning and preparatory sketching, etc… It is slowly happening. I had two shows in 2010. Meanwhile, for fun in school, I started photographing. Mallya Aditi with its beautiful walls and corridors and its environment provided me a little ‘possible space’ to shoot, without the need to stretch beyond the situation. It is an attempt to keep me sensitive to the spirit of ‘rasa’, and maybe in tune with the moods captured in the songs that I like from the Malayalam films of the 70s and 80s, the so-mentioned middle cinema. I am fascinated by its gentle charm and the evocative silence. I had two shows in 2010 which is a good development. I also get inspired by some of the projects that students do in school and a set of new works are in the process.

 February 2011