Monthly Archives: February 2014

Art is omnipresent; it can unbend anywhere and exists everywhere. Every place carries art within, from a famous museum to a ruins and remains of a historical site.Holding this thought Nisha Aggarwal shares her ‘artsy’ snippet of the recent travel to Warangal, in Andhra Pradesh.

Warangal is located in Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh, in northeast of the state capital Hyderabad. Warangal area is a combination of Warangal, Hanamkonda and Kazipet. Earlier Warangal was known as ‘Orugallu’ (Oru means one and Gallu means stone), and Ekasila Nagaram. As the name suggests, the entire town is believed to have carved out of a single stone. Warangal was the capital of Kakatiya kingdom ruled by Hindu Shaivite Kakatiya dynasty from 12^th-14^th century A.D. Kakatiyas started as feudatories of the Chalukyas, became dominant rulers of the Andhra territory in the 12th century. They were enthusiastic patrons of architecture as is clear from the several temples built during their reign and around their capitals at Hanamkonda and Warangal. The temples are built in a distinct architectural style derived from late Chalukyan archetypes and are recognizable by polygonal floor plans and intricately sculpted ceilings and pillars in the mandapam.

Famous for its granite quarries, Warangal is a hub for culture, industries and historical legacy. The main attractions are Warangal Fort, Thousand Pillar Temple, Bhadrakali Temple, Ramappa Temple, The Pakhal Lake and The Wild Life Sanctuary among others. But I would say a mere visit to Warangal Fort could pay all satisfaction to a day-traveler.

Warangal Fort is an important fort among medieval South Indian forts. Built by King Ganapathi Deva in 13^th century and completed by his daughter Rudrama Devi, it stood as an architectural wonder of the bygone era. It displays a rare and exquisite Thorean Architectural style. There are Thoranan Arches and the pillars are spread across an area of about 19 kilometers between Hanamkonda and Warangal.

It has three concentric fortifications, with the inner stone fortification. This three distinct circular strongholds surrounded by a moat provided three protective layers. It suggests the standards of security that used to be employed to guard the inner precincts and center of power. It signifies essence of early medieval defense architecture. The main inner fort contains 45 bastions and gateways/toranas at the four cardinal points, lead to the center where a huge Shiva Temple once existed. It demolished probably by invading armies from Delhi. These gateways/toranas are worldly known as ‘Hans Toranas’ are the finest examples of the Kakatiya art. The remarkable feature about the main gateway comprises of four gigantic pillars, which have been crafted out of a single rock. The gateways are still professed but much of the temple has ruined. Inside of fort there are shambles of many usual and religious mansions and temples. Among them most epochal is the Svayambhu Temple and shrines like Linga Shrine and Ganesa Shrine. The Archaeological Survey of India has listed the remains as a Monument of National Importance. The famous traveler Marco Polo has mentioned the fort as a symbol of beauty and legacy during his visits to south Indian forts and temples.

Another master piece known as Khush Maha, an Islamic building is situated close to Warangal Fort. Warangal Fort dated from the mid-14th century when Tughlak armies occupied the fort and from the 16th century when it became an outpost of the Bahmani and Qutb Shahi empires. Known also as Shitab Khan Mahal, it may have been used as an audience hall by Shitab Khan (Reign 1504-1512), the 16^th century Qutb Shahi governor of Warangal. However it was probably built during the 14th century Tughlak occupation of the fort, the only building from that period. Its sharply sloping walls are a typical feature of Tughlak architecture was built it Indo – saracenic style. The longer east and west walls of the building have a projecting parapet and six high arches framed by narrow rectangles. These admit light to the interior. A wide entrance arch on the north wall leads to a single spacious chamber inside with small storage rooms on each side. Transverse arches span the high ceiling. Broken fragments from the Svayambhu enclosure are placed inside the hall and near the north entrance.

Other attractions near to the place are Thousand Pillar Temple and Bhadrakali Temple, are also the fine specimen of Kakatiya architecture. Thousand Pillar Temple is located in the town of Hanamkonda, dedicated to Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu and Lord Surya. The temple was destroyed when the Muslim Tughlaq Dynasty invaded the region; still the remaining temple is worthy to pay a visit. Not only because of its historical and architectural specialties, but for cultural values it contains. During the Telugu festivals like Pongal, Bogi etc. rangoli competitions are organized here, and a number of local people takes part and shows the colours of their regional art and creativity. Any day trip traveler would enjoy the visit to Warangal with his/her internal or omnipresent state of art, which everyone carries inside and everywhere present outside.

Delhi has had the privilege of hosting one of the major art events,India Art Fair,for 6 years now. Shubhasree Purkayastha expresses how India Art Fair is a perfect platform not only to explore and experience a different creative space but also how it is the right platform to make art reach where it is appreciated.

During my time as a student, the most anticipated event for us every January was the India Art Fair. Held in the vast complex of Pragati Maidan and now, in NSIC grounds, Okhla, the fair brought together all kinds of visual arts under one roof – from Modern to Contemporary works, being exhibited by both national and international galleries. It is the only of its kinds in India, where marketing and appreciation of art happens on that big a scale of 20,000 square meters.

Being from the background that I am, I was never inclined towards the workings of the art market, and would visit the fair every year to learn, analyse or to just enjoy the works. Eventually, I entered the “gallery-world” and that made me look at the fair in a completely different manner. From being the spectator, I was now an exhibitor and over the last two years of working with the fair, I saw a completely different side of its workings – be it setting up of a booth to managing client-relations.

The 6^th one this year, the India Art Fair was held from the 30^th of January to the 3^rd of February 2014. At one level it could not stand up to the previous years’ success rate. There was a significant decrease in the number of participating galleries and there was a drastic reduction in the sale numbers as well.

Without going into the marketing details, I wish to indulge in a walk-through with some of the works that caught my attention. The contemporary art scene in India does not connect to me in many ways and levels. Yet, at the fair, I could still find works that appealed to me and what follows is a brief account of these works.

Among the contemporary Indian artists, I have always been a fan of the artist couple Atul and Anju Dodiya. This year, while Atul Dodiya’s new series of shutters attracted a lot of attention, I was intrigued by a small watercolour on canvas by Anju titled “Death and the Maiden (After Hans Baldung)”.

Anju is known for her self-portraits addressing issues such as self-conflict, fear and anxiety. In this very recent work, the imagery is derived from a work with the same title by German painter-printmaker Hans Baldung. In her work, however, the maiden is the artist herself gripped by the fears of creative-death.

Another contemporary artist who is undoubtedly among my favourites is the Anglo-Indian Desmond Lazaro. Living in Pondicherry, far away from the tangles of the market, Desmond’s painstakingly produced works never fail to touch my heart. His most recent work at the fair very simply titled “Blue and Gold”, inscribes a couplet in gold from the Bhagavata Purana about Krishna’s ‘Rasa-Lila’. Produced on handmade paper with organic colours, his work is always testimony to the fact that many contemporary artists still employ draughtsmanship, patience and manual skill.

What I admire about this artist is precisely the above point, the fact that he has not given himself up to the current trends of installations or “new media”. He manages to produce works with current significance, while at the same time not losing touch with tradition.

While talking about new media and installation, mention must be made of Reena Saini Kallat’s solo installation that greeted people entering the main hall – a larger than life stamp that read “A change in weather is sufficient to recreate the world and ourselves.” The artist, being mostly known for her various works done using stamps as a medium, has used the same to convey a social message about global warming and its imminent dangers.

L.N.Tallur has a background in Museology. Hence all his works have a raw, “freshly dug out from earth” feel and look. While last year’s fair witnessed a large sculptural work covered in cow-dung, this year he decided to use wet clay. In the work titled “Path Finder II”, a sitting figure of a middle aged man confronted a car tyre that sprayed mud on him. The work addressed issues of mid-life crisis, running the rat-race and humoured the idea of spiritual seeking.

Another contemporary artist, well known for coming up with quirky and witty works is Valay Shinde. From constructing a cow-hide with badges displaying portraits of farmers from rural India, he has progressed now to a tiffin displaying Mumbai dubba-walahs and an Iron with portraits of your locality’s “press-wala”. What I found most intriguing was his work where two halves of an onion were placed side by side along with a knife. On looking closely, one could trace the map of the world on one of these halves. It does not need explanation to understand what the work suggested – a statement on the present situation of world politics, and how dividing the world would only end in tears (just like when one cuts an onion).

This year’s fair also showed a variety of photo series. From galleries like “Tasveer” and “Photoink” dealing exclusively with photographic works to solo projects of Riyas Komu titled “House of Collectors”, photographs were in abundance. My personal favourite was Pablo Bartholomew’s black-and-white series, “Outside In: A Tale of 3 cities” and Jean Francois Rauzier’s hyper-photos inside light-boxes.

Compared to previous years, a shift could be seen from installations to canvases in this year’s edition of India Art Fair. There was a higher concentration of modern and post-modern works, both national and international. The few artists and works that made my day were the brilliant Razas (almost every other gallery was showing a Raza!), a small mother-and-child sculpture in bronze by Ramkinker Baij at Delhi Art Gallery and original works of pop artist Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein.

It is, of course, impossible to mention every single work that I connected to at this event. Suffice it to say that the show was a success in some ways, disappointing in some others. It cannot be denied that India is a booming economy and thus has great potential in the field of art-marketing. An event like this acts as a definite boost economically as well as creatively to art professionals and the layman alike.

Another major area of concern in the Indian art scene is that the gap between art and the mass has widened over the past few years. For multiple reasons, the ‘art-world’ is perceived as an elitist strata, out of reach for the general populace. A layman is intimidated by a gallery space or an art-event. This, as a consequence, widens the gap even more and is an absolute digression from the basic purpose behind art-making.

An event like this attempts to curb that distance and detachment between the maker and who the work is made for. It brings people together, and opens up a world of aesthetic enquiry and appreciation.

Hopefully, it succeeds.

H.A. Anil Kumar takes us down an artsy road as he inspects the cultural face of Paris with the Louvre protecting the famous Monalisa and the Eiffel tower standing tall offering a romanticized view at dusk.

I was bargaining the prize of Eiffel Tower, yet to buy it. It was in the form of a memento of what stood just in front of me in reality. Something happened at that moment. My vendor shrunk together the huge shawl containing several such mementos, bundled it and ran away from the police when the latter arrived on the spot. A dozen of such vendors followed suit. “The police run fast like a lover towards the spouse, while the thief is running away faster from the spouse, like a married person” said an old Russian woman to her tourist friend, in a tone which could have been a taboo in a decent social gathering. The memento remained in my hand, but I hadn’t paid the vendor, knew that he would be around and would come back to pick up his due, no matter how many policemen and women chase him. It was spectacular to see those immigrants, selling mementos of Eiffel Tower near its own original self. I could not decipher as to what was illegal, their immigration or the product they were selling. Later I realized that the same memento sold for one Euro over there was five times cheaper than the ones sold in the shops. The shop owners could not stomach the low priced Eiffel mementos. That could have been the reason behind this chase. Those salesmen-immigrants who were caught would be packed back to the countries from wherein they came, since they lacked appropriate visa and passport documents.

Travelling in Paris in 2010, I had the chance to keep a rendezvous with two tall monuments, one by choice and the other one as an inevitable entity. The former was a presence while the latter, a monument. Obviously the second one has been literally and triangularly ‘shaping’ the character of the city since last eleven decades. No matter how many tall structures rose around it, this Tower’s shadow has been demeaning the structures’ appearances between East and West, everyday, round the clock.

When a French writer wanted to escape its overwhelming presence — narrates another writer, much later – the only way he could do so was by taking refuge in the café inside the Tower! Eiffel Tower, which was initially designed to be a temporary monument for six months, in 1900, commemorating industrializations, has over stayed for rather too long, despite the criticism by many including its own contemporaries like Rabindranath Tagore!

The second of the city’s two overwhelming monuments was more abstract, a feel. She has been a foreigner to the French, like those immigrants-selling-mementos who ran for their life, from the police, with a bedsheet full of Eiffel’s mementos. Yet she – without eyebrows — was very welcome in Paris and the Parisians in turn have been welcoming visitors because of several reasons that compulsorily don’t exclude her! This foreigner has been bringing in a lot of economic profit to the French. The foreigner’s (Italian ‘Monalisa’) presence had been constantly pronounced at the airport, the bookshops, café and tourist pamphlets about the city. How many countries do use a singular foreign cultural entity to profit, like the French do?

Like everyone else who came in did, even I did enquire about her, while being inside a palace-once-upon-a-time, the Louvre museum. Rushing towards her also meant overlooking others portraits and was also an insult to all those represented men and women, whom I passed through. I even failed to notice that the Greek ‘Nike of Samothrace’ actually stood on a carved stone ship larger than her overall gliding figure. She has been separated from her ship in most of the art history books that have reproduced her in photographic formats. The fact that I had ignored to notice it came to my realization, while returning back, after keeping a rendezvous with ‘Monalisa’!

Eiffel Tower gives no concession. A ticket priced nine dollars to go up half way through and thirteen dollars to the tip, comes without any concession. Eiffel gave me a concession half way through, in the sense, I felt like going the full length of the height and so I purchased my online journey ticket from half way through midair! As if to compensate the cost or the costliness of traversing the tower, it can be and has been picturized through aerial shots in feature films, unlike Monalisa. This special Woman occupies almost all of the cover pages of the publication at the Louvre, giving an impression that all books are the same, or, that there are too many Monalisas inside the museum! When I produced my identity card as an art history teacher, from India, they not only let me get into the museum for free, but I could also skip the human queue consisting of at least a five hundred people on a holiday, to gain an entry to Louvre. And I could revisit Louvre, again and again, several times, day after day, for the same price of free entry! During one such visit, I realized that I had left my identity card in my hotel room after returning. The gatekeeper had recognized me as the regular visitor; the Indian with the art historian’s ID and let me in without asking for my card, during this occasion!

Yet, when I arrived in the room where this special women resided behind the bullet proof glass, all I could do was to imitate the ritual of everyone else’s attempt to ‘be there’ rather than ‘see her’. Monalisa is a blind man’s spot. She was just in front of us but all of could not see her. My sight failed to pierce through the glasses I was wearing and through the double layer of bullet proof glasses that lay between me and her. We were mutually not only separated by time and geography, but also by blindness of communication. I for one, who loves fantasy, could not bring myself together to consider it as an original. Buddha’s tooth has been similarly displayed in Candy (Srilanka) which you can only sense and believe only from a distance. Monalisa, in this sense, is the first simulated art of the western world. She is approachable only through her reproductions, like the simulated prehistoric rock paintings in Lascaux.

Monalisa is older to Eiffel tower by three and a half century. The one who can see her at close range, into her intricate details, is the one who would be assigned to restore her, time and again! Monalisa, unlike Eiffel, has become an object-of-myth and not an object-of-Art! Monalisa resembles the Konark Sun temple in Orissa in another sense. Both engross the audience to not what they were initially intended to mean, but to observe how both their initial schemes and meanings have been toppled over, owing to their popularity.

Like most visitors, I felt the empathy of ‘being’ with her in the same room, rather than ‘see’ her. Literally nobody could see her in the eyes! And now we speak so much about the visual brilliance hidden within the ‘sfumato’ technique, inherent within her and expressed by her creator, as it is written in the books. We subject ourselves to her gaze, an artwork rejoices watching the viewer’s dilemma of being in front of what they can’t see! On the other hand, while being at its permitted tip, Eiffel tower neither is part of the city nor hides us from itself. Instead, it vertically splits itself into its actual self, containing us and its own shadow, which clads the city’s buildings like a skin-tight-transparent-brown-sheet.

After spending a few days at Paris, I remembered a peculiar similarity between Eiffel Tower and Monalisa, as well. For me, dusk was the best period to be on top of the tower, for, I could watch the day turning into night, while it is in the dusk that the act of the tower which cuts itself from its shadow, ends, as artificial lights lit the tower as well as the city.

Even while travelling through the city’s roads, I could see parts of the tower, never complete when not close to it. On the other hand the famous lady was also familiar to all, irrespective of the scholarly and the mundane. Nobody in Paris resembled her, in the sense that she is a foreigner and international figure.

The one thing we do while visiting Indian temples not as tourists but as devotees is that we rest for a while, after the ritual offering. Both the tower and the women at Paris demanded this from me. The silhouette of Eiffel in the dark poses a weird question: what is it we are going through, in order to watch what? – addresses one and the same tower. Hence the tower doesn’t have walls but only gaps to pass through. To see it is to be physically away from it. To see Monalisa, on the other hand, is to yield ourselves to the sight of what we initially intended to see!

While seated outside the Louvre in the darkness, after hours of watching the museum throughout the day, the first thing that occurred to me was that it was not the eyes but the legs that got tired watching Monalisa. Similarly Eiffel Tower became a comical silhouette in the dark. Thinking about Monalisa outside the Louvre, Eiffel tower is not visible from there. The Louvre building format, with three sides, is so flat that it needs a central glass pyramid to let us go in as well as lit up the ambience. This flatness and literal depth contrasts with the towering height of the Eiffel. Thus the distances, both empathic and emotional ones, ambiguously pronounces that sight wants to colonize the viewer rather than yield.

Paris is an unusual city wherein language is no barrier. You can easily instruct the cab driver by pointing your fingers to the towering height or the cover page of a cultural book; and he will be able to take you to both the places, to Eiffel and then to Louvre.