For a more inclusive artscape

A book that chronicles the work of more than 300 artists from all over India is no mean feat. Poet and curator Bina Sarkar Ellias, who celebrated her 75th birthday recently, is happy that the ambitious project has come to fruition. Called The Big Book of Indian Art: An Illustrated History of Indian Art from Its Origins to the Present Day, her labour of love is a lavishly produced volume that is all set to become an essential resource for art enthusiasts who want to learn about the who’s who of Indian art—painters, lithographers, sculptors, muralists, printmakers, illustrators and multimedia artists.

“I am not an art historian or an academic, so I must admit I was surprised that they wanted me to write. Perhaps it is because of my over two decades of editing and publishing International Gallerie,” she says, in her unassuming manner about the arts and ideas journal that she founded in 1997.

The book offers a grand tour that begins with cave art in Bhimbetka, Madhya Pradesh, and concludes in 1980 just before the Indian art world takes on a commercial turn. It opens with the Bengal School, featuring stalwarts like Rabindranath Tagore, Gaganendranath Tagore, Abanindranath Tagore, Nandalal Bose, and Jamini Roy. The Bombay School—comprising Pestonji Bomanji, Mahadev V Dhurandhar, Antonio Xavier Trindade and M F Pithawalla—follows right after. She goes on to dedicate a section to the Calcutta Group, which includes notable names like Gobardhan Ash, Sunil Madhav Sen, Prodosh Das Gupta, Gopal Ghose, Rathin Maitra, and Angelo da Fonseca.

The Progressive Painters Association in Chennai and the Cholamandal Artists’ Village form a section that puts the spotlight on KCS Paniker, J Sultan Ali, KV Haridasan, M Senathipathi, and P Gopinath. Bigwigs FN Souza, KH Ara, MF Husain, Sadanand Bakre, and SH Raza appear in a section on the Progressive Artists’ Group of Bombay. There is also a section on the Baroda Group, with NS Bendre, Jeram Patel, Gulammohammed Sheikh, and Jyotsna Bhatt.

The penultimate section, titled ‘Artistic Footprints: Indian Icons’, boasts of a roster of illustrious names including BC Sanyal, Amrita Sher-Gil, Somnath Hore, Jehangir Sabavala, VS Gaitonde, KG Subramanyan and others. The last section examines the post-independence art landscape in India, including Atul Dodiya, Subodh Gupta, Arpana Caur, Jayasri Burman, Rekha Rodwittiya, etc.

The relationships that the author built over several decades helped immensely in the making of this book. She recalls, “It was in the early 80s that I had initiated the process of meeting artists and recording their thoughts. My innate curiosity took me to Santiniketan and Calcutta, where I spent considerable time with artists.” Her face lights up as she speaks about the ones who became friends, and her voice takes on a wistful tone when she thinks of the ones who are no more. “In those halcyon days, all my thoughts through these precious engagements were scribbled in diaries that are now tattered but still nesting on my bookshelves. I dipped into those handwritten notes while drafting The Big Book of Indian Art,” she adds.

Lamenting the post-1980s art scene in India in her epilogue, she claims that “the soul of art” got erased when Indian artists gravitated towards commercial gain and started making art in keeping with “the ongoing aspirational environment, the seductive art fairs, whispers of achievement and the thunder of technology”. Despite her disappointment, she tries to empathise with the reasons that lead artists to compromise their vision and pander to the market. “I understand the challenges artists face. I understand the need for sustenance,” she remarks.

Her target audience are people who appreciate art but feel weighed down by the vocabulary that artists, gallerists, academics and collectors use. She would like art appreciation to be a more inclusive activity instead of being a reserve of the few. “If doors are opened to art for all individuals and communities, especially in their early years of growing, it helps shape their sensibilities. Even if they do not grow up to be artists, their brains develop unique skills to nurture their interests whether it is mathematics, science, engineering or even agriculture,” she says.

She is known for speaking out against war, genocide and communal violence through her poetry and art curation. Her aesthetic and political sensibilities sharpened over two decades as editor, designer and publisher of International Gallerie flow seamlessly into this new book. Instead of restricting herself to those who have earned international acclaim, she has made an effort to write about artists whose work deserves to be appreciated more widely. The book also holds up a mirror to the religious diversity that exists in the arts community.

The book is published by Aleph and is priced at Rs 2,499.