A city and its artists
Art-felt
How does a city impact its artists? Are straightforward linearity and figurative elements, so typical of traditional Indian art, dead in contemporary Indian art iconography?
Did it get swallowed by the sway of global influences which seems to be making an overwhelming pitch for abstraction and installation art? Such questions are not easily answered. But interesting art concoctions like ‘Deccan Musings’ do give the mind cud to chew on.
This repertoire of works of Hyderabadi artists, curated by Shallini Biswajit, artist and director, Forum art gallery, is an intriguing collection of works of Hyderabad-based artists, and brings to the observer’s eye the reflection of a city on the mind space of its artists. It throws the focus on how a city has gone on to influence or leave uninfluenced, the artists who have made it their home. “The idea was to experience the linearity based on figuration that has a distinct reference to the cultural milieu, and the city’s artistic inheritance. Musings as they may be, conversations they may dial, expressions they may erect, characters they may fashion, relationships they may perceive — the train of thought travels in an unreserved compartment that freely allows viewers to get in and out with ease,” says Shallini Biswajit.
The city’s psyche
Fawad Tamanakat, for instance, who in the past had experimented with cityscapes and portraits of women, conjures up a sense of Hyderabadi streets. “Caught up in the humdrum of our lives, quite often we miss the ‘essence’ of our surroundings, the architectural details and socio-economic scenario,” he says. His latest series, ‘Street Observations’, is a contemporary, sophisticated representation of fast changing Hyderabad as it is transformed from a sleepy town to a suave modern city. Some of his works gaze upon the iconic destinations in the city like the Irani Cafe, or its living icons like the Hyderabadi rickshawala. Meanwhile, Gurram Mallesham’s paintings reflect on society, and how individuals respond to it. It is definitely a metropolitan work, as seen from the imagery it sports. “I feel art should address contemporary cultural issues and evoke subtle witticism. My paintings embody narcissistic entity in a novel society, which is a resultant of globalisation,” he says. As if to emphasise the narcissistic element in contemporary society, he employs his own self-portrait in decoding a city’s psychological and cultural leanings. Loudness is the thought which registers in your mind, amply conveyed by the loudspeakers which sprout from his self-portrait. Perhaps, it is a comment on city folks who seem to have become more vocal about the ‘I’ factor than ever before.
Move over to Ramesh Gorjala’s work and the traditional line play of Deccan temple art is immediately evident. As he puts it, his work focuses on Indian culture and heritage, the pantheon of Gods and Goddesses and mythological forms. Of course, the contemporary element does get introduced into it, as in the modernistic, the way he chooses to split the background or compose it. On the contrary, Srinivas Reddy’s fibre-glass heads are startling, and are definitely more synchronous to cosmopolitan influences than to local ones.
Artists like Mohammed Osman and Laxman Aelay take a detour from this metropolitan mood. They paint the people, animals and places in their villages, focusing on moments, rather than movements. While Aelay pauses on personal moments, Osman looks at public moments like the decorated bull during the harvest festival, sankranti. Sachin Jaltare’s mixed media work is a subtle and sophisticated work that generates the energy inherent in the Shiva-Shakti bonding. Sayam Bharat Yadav is a recall to childhood influences and he uses the bovine form to comment on social, not just personal, references. Meanwhile, Rohini Reddy’s bronzes are a natural outpouring of her happy marriage and motherhood, and focus on the person, rather than the city setting.
Likewise, the cast and flame worked glass pioneer of Indian art, Sisir Sahana who has made Hyderabad his home, too focuses on the individual, rather than the context of the city. “Looking at mankind, I tend to juxtapose physical references and feelings with the environment, colours and forms in a sculptural concept,” he says. Another artist who focuses on the individual is Shivarama Chary whose mixed media work is inspired by his interest in religion and philosophy. Again, there is Rajeshwara Rao who focuses on the man as subject, rather than the city he lives in. His figurative narrative of a happy family in the sleep state makes an impact at an emotional level. For Chippa Sudhakar too, relationships have always been a key subject matter of work.
Well-known artist Surya Prakash focuses on nature. “What captivates me is the rapturous rhythm of colour in nature, each hue, shade and intensity. I let my eyes sink into the allure of colour captured in balance. I believe that God lies in Nature; through my act of painting, I am close to Nature and God,” he says.
Bairu Raghuram looks at rustic subjects, and his pen and ink works achieve tonal gradation by using lines rather than colour. In Thotta Vaikuntam’s works, the Telangana effect is very explicit. Vividly coloured and highly decorated women with darker complexions do give a sense of the people of the land. Meanwhile, Sreekanth Kurva’s portrayal of animals reflects on his childhood spent in a farm, and the linearity is explicit.
Hyderabad as a city has seen the effect of collisions of various cultures and time waves. Artists from this city do have a rich legacy of pictorial and intellectual inspiration to draw from, and many from this region have gone on to make it big in the international art arena. Curious it is to remember at this juncture that Hyderabad was once the centre of the highland region of Deccan region that was famed for its exquisite miniature paintings, and hosted an influx of influences such as Islamic idioms from Iran and Persia, for instance. But then, the region has never failed to draw in from its own indigenous traditions.
Perhaps by accident or design, you do see preponderance of lines in this repertoire. And now, with Hyderabad art scaling higher and higher up on the vivid and eclectic palette of contemporary Indian art, one does begin to wonder if a distinct school of art is perhaps emerging, a style which lays accent on figurative and linear elements, which is perhaps a throwback to ancient memories. But regardless of styles, medium and material, the predominant impact you experience is a deep sense of radiant energy and vivid colour. Of course, a city is only as colourful as its people.
