This diptych of roots against a backdrop of books almost seems to compel the viewer to establish the link between them. The labyrinth of root projections resembles the maze like structure of the brain where thousands of impulses are constantly shooting back and forth. Interestingly it is the labyrinth of the human brain which is the instrument that turns experience into books as well as books into experience. There is also the link of the material where trees are the source of the paper of the books. The history of the relationship between the roots and the books goes far beyond the history of the history of the creation of these books where their word content is concerned. They seem to meet again in this picture not for a functional purpose but rather as friends. The silent dialogue between them is not one of strangers but one of estranged friends.

Over the neat beds lie the remains of something that was once alive. Suspended from a bamboo stick lie the bones, particularly the head of creatures that were once moving and breathing as if the artist wants to emphasize something of the past in as loud a manner possible. There is something about the past lingering in our present like a ghost that is invisible but strongly experienced. It is usually in the quietness of the bedroom that the ghost of the past comes to touch the senses of the living. If one’s present condition is secure and strong, the remains of the past will either have to surrender to the present or disappear into oblivion which is just another form of surrender. Something very encouraging about these skeletons of the past is that they are bound yet they boldly threaten one like as if they have some legal or birthright in this bedroom. The serenity of the bedroom is so empowering that the hanging skulls seem to be finding themselves out of place. Perhaps they presumed that they could create a presence here but instead they experience a sort of intimidation that was not planned but has turned out to be so due to the difference in stature of the bones and the bedroom. Perhaps the gap between the beds is due to these remains of the past that are lingering even after the passage of time.

The most outstanding and intriguing feature of Madhu’s work is the depiction of a contemporary image in a conventional medium. Instead of keeping his artwork as an installation, he seems to take the image of an installation and turn it into a painting in such a meticulous manner almost like he is trying to drive a point in. He seems to take the present (installation) into the past (pigment on paper), considering new media to be more contemporary that painting, thus projecting a very new idea in an old window that belongs to a different position in the timeline. The dry leaves support this idea as something of the past coming into the present in that it has been created with paint only a few days ago. Madhu is playing with the whole human concept of time to dismantle it and bring in some new perspectives on the idea of time itself. He brings the past and the present together in a methodical manner with such ease of flow that one needs to be very careful in concluding that he has just fabricated something. One must see deeper to know that he is actually throwing light on something that already exists but needed to be unveiled in the way he is doing it here. The human concept of time is a superficial one that is followed for the sake of convenience. But Madhu with his shuffling of the then and now seems to be poking this thing called contemporary art to reconsider its name. He defies contemporary art while parading in the sphere of it fooling those who do not care to look beyond his surface. Thus contemporary art has embraced its rebel in its disinterest to discern those it calls its own. Fortunately here the rebel is closer to the truth than the community he is in. He has the potential to win the community not just because he is true but due the way he carries himself in their midst.

Trumpets and Seeds?

Madhu’s creations throw light on the relationship /link/interdependence between the natural and the fabricated (from the natural). Normally what do trumpets have to do with germinating seeds? But Madhu’s painting challenges one to dig enough to see their co-relation. As they hover over these sprouting plants they seem to inspire life and energy into them to follow the upward direction of the trumpets themselves. Correspondingly the growing plants seem to support the trumpets (visually and in essence) through their co- operation. In a very subtle way the growing shoots seem to be upholding the trumpets. It is something not seen but sensed. The way the trumpets are positioned breaks the monotony of the linear walls in a very assertive way yet they are not there of themselves but have been placed there by another. They assert themselves not in an imposing way but rather in an obliging way. The dialogue between the sprouts and the trumpets is peaceful but not intimate. It is obvious that as they grow there is going to be intimacy. There is a strong likelihood that the mature plants will interfere with the position and function of the trumpets unless there is mutual respect and compromise. Here Madhu brings out the point that with growth there must be increasing mutual understanding, respect and compromise for the growth to be sustained.

Neha Jiandani
18/10/10

Off -beat Art in Off-beat Venus II

Samuha( 3rd Floor, A.D.A. Rangamandira, J C Road, 26th -31st Aug 2010) is currently hosting a show of eight women artists (Smt.Y Jayama, Smt. Devaki, Smt. K. S. Bharati, Smt. Sumitra Y. Putti, Smt. V. Vijayalaxmi Sundaresh, Smt. Nanda R. Putti ,Smt. M. A. Umalaxmi and Smt. Bharati G) who have no formal training in art. Their productions are childlike spontaneous expressions that are untainted by academic education. Their visual language and style is raw. They are emotionally charged with the enthusiasm of a child.
Charita (Mysore), the curator was inspired by the artworks produced by her aunt who is part of the show. Being impressed by the passion of her aunt she had the idea to have a solo show of her work which gradually developed into a group show including seven other women like her. The ambience of Samuha is charged with life as screens displaying documentaries of the artists work keep viewers engrossed.

Mysore Palace Entrance Portrait
-Nanda Putty -Vijayalakshmi

Even the arrangement of the artworks is raw and informal which seems to be deliberate to assist in emphasizing the overall essence of the work. They break some rules/norms of an exhibition which has been and intrinsic character of art ever since it existed. Nanda Putty’s ‘Mysore Palace Entrance’ uses water colours in different methods throughout the picture . The convenience of expression is what determines the strokes rather than technically correct way of using them. Vijyalakshmi’s portrait is not based on rules of anantomy but purely on observation as is evident in the strokes.



Slender Loris (thread) Bharati
Sumitra Putty Poster colour on paper

Bharati’s work is one that reminds the viewers of their own childhood or some drawing of their children done with great vigor and placed in front of their faces for appreciation. The fantasy image of bold strokes on notebook paper reveals some part of the woman that remains untouched by the discipline of demands of her environment.

Charita, through this show was keen to bring to light the intense artistic expressions of these mature women who are ignored in the mainstream art industry. Her passion to not allow this art to die in oblivion is what inspired the art event.

Neha Jiandani
28/8/2010

Off -beat Art In Off-beat Venus

“Behind The Seen” at 1.shantiroad(27th Aug- 1st Sep 2010) digs into visuality and the very idea of ‘a show’. It has successfully attempted to turn the canvas to face the wall and coax the viewers to see what is hidden behind that beautifully painted picture. This is the display of the productions of four individuals who work as technicians doing numerous odd jobs at four dynamic art spaces in the city.

Prabhakar D.R. (Goethe Institute, ‘Max Mueller Bhavan’) has been exposed to art and artists for the past 40 years. His sculptures made of scrap machinery parts display a skill and commitment that far exceeds those of some trained artists. The symmetry and balance of his sculptures are striking in their imitation of traditional Indian lamps.


Mohana ,( No. 1 Shantiroad, art studio) the caretaker for the past decade looks like an excited little girl as she animatedly describes her artwork to viewers. Her sculptures, made of fabric, plastic bottles and old saree material look like puppets that are about to do a performance. Mohana inspires life into these dolls through her dynamic expressions and gestures. These dolls are the representation of coolies, vegetable vendors who are her friends.

Artist: Subbaiah
Subbaiah (Samuha, a one-year long artist collective) who has been assisting Samuha is also a vegetable vendor and mason from Iglur. He says ,” Once he began assisting the artists, he was lured to make art which resulted in photographs.” He portrays his world of flowers, cows and rabbits…..his experiences that the consumer world is missing.

Artist: Shivaraju Artist: Shivaraju
Shivaraju (No. 1, Shantiroad) has been managing this place for a while now. He is from a farming community and is a cop by profession. Due to the inevitable circumstances of his life, he could not pursue a formal education in art. But this has not deterred him from expressing himself through the medium of photography. “Physical Labour” is the thematic concern that runs through his pictures.
Curated by city based artist Surekha, “Behind the Seen” is in honour of the quiet ones who work behind the scenes making many of the major shows in the city possible. The joy and satisfaction on the faces of each of these four artists proves that this show has served to appreciate their constant services better than mere words would have.

Light & Shadow

With Bangalore’s landscape transforming so rapidly, the current scenes in the city are sure to vanish before one can observe the rate of this change. There is already a great sense of nostalgia that is prevalent among us Bangaloreans as we move through the city even to get simple chores done. We suddenly realize that little shop has disappeared, that muddy road has now become a commercial street.
Srividya has captured scenes of the city in her photographic memory and reproduced them with the medium of charcoal, water color and paper. More than technical details, she focuses on the general visual culture of the city, the public areas that have not yet been touched by the mall culture of commercial market places. Her strong resistance to the recent constructions of Bangalore renders them non-existent when it comes to her artists productions. Yet it is a very easy process that comes so naturally to her.
Srividya’s illustrations of Dodda market (Mysore), Devraja Market (Mysore), Gandhi Bazaar, HAL Market, K R Puram Market, Malleshwaram etc with the raw look that charcoal renders express a desire to preserve these fast disappearing scenes at least in pictures. The process of registering these images of the city and reproducing them is something that comes almost unconsciously to the artist. Being fond of driving, as she moves around, the little bazaars catch her keen attention while the malls and huge bill boards just disappear into the background. In exploring the cityscape and expressing her observations she is also exploring herself and her own inclinations. Though her works are not technically experimental, they have a hint of it within them. There is a very slight tendency to push beyond what she has touched so far. The more this tendency develops the quicker will be her growth as an artist. There is also a strong need to break free from some traditional ways of seeing and expressing to come up with a production that would really catch the eye of not just viewers but even experts in the field.
The artist’s visual sensitivity to nature is very evident in her striking water colors. The bright pinks and yellows are very characteristic of the summers of Bangalore. The flower blossoms are painted very delicately among the thick brown branches. Even in these water colors there is the impression that the artist is preserving something of the city that at stake right now.
Having started off with water color she has gradually incorporated charcoal as her medium too. This shift is a positive sign as it suggests that she can move on to different mediums as a growing artist since new media works are more relevant in the current art scenario where it greatly contributes to the idea, content and visual language of the artist. Having had her bachelor’s degree from CAVA(Mysore) and her MFA from Chitra Kala Parishath, Bangalore, she has a good base on which she can build with her own expertise.
All said and done, Srividya is still at a very basic level in her career if she is aspiring to be known as a contemporary Indian artist. Though she has a keen visual sensitivity and a desire to express herself through the conventional mediums of artistic expression, there is a need for her to explore her concerns in a highly focused manner and become intensely individualistic in her subject matter. She is still to develop a characteristic style that would cause her work to be recognized as hers anywhere. Working earnestly and seriously on her style and content that reflects her typical personality will get her to the next level on her way up sooner.
Neha Jiandani
10.7.2010

Questionaire

What do you understand by the term curation?
What has been your foremost source of information on curation? (eg. Lectures, books, galleries, residency programs etc)
In your opinion, how does a curator add at an artists’ expression and work in an exhibition?
What has been the best curated show you have seen, and what are the reasons you rate it as best? (example catalog text, display design, combination of works, etc)
If you were out in the position of a curator, what would your first exhibition be about?
What do you think are the main differences between a curated show, and a generally grouped or organized show?


Curation according to me is the art of presenting art. It is an artistic practice where objects of art are the medium. Curation as a function is a bridge that links artists and the market to bring about a fruitful exchange between the two that is mutually beneficial and satisfying. Curation gives/finds the context where the selected pieces of art thrive as a unit. A curator is the architect of a show.
Interactions/ discourses with art theoreticians, lectures by art critics, books such as “ An Introduction to Contemporary Art “ (Oxford Press) have been the primary source of information for me. Galleries surprisingly have not been a great resource on the subject of curation.
A curator raises an artwork to another level of impact through strategic positioning and presentation. A curator places an artwork into a larger context where it comes alive. When uninitiated viewers (not just any but the targeted ones) begin to get involved in art through what a curator has orchestrated, it’s a great success. A curator fills in the missing elements through articulations that bring the artwork to its full potential.
I have not been very impressed by the curated shows I have seen so far in galleries here. In fact I have found some artworks having intense curatorial skills involved in their production than entire shows have had. For instance, a graphic novel produced by an outgoing student as her annual show project display great skills of curation in terms articulation/ communication and display. Her little illustrations just came alive through the novel.
If I had to curate a show now it would be about the ironies and idiosyncrasies of the art industry. It would be a satire that would capitalize on the history of satire in art since the last two centuries and how much more seriously it repeats itself today. It would be a show on the truth that there is too much parading as the truth in art.
A curated show has a lot of thinking and strategizing that goes into it. The artworks selected need to be intense and authentic as well as have a demand in the market. A generally grouped show is just like any exhibition of products. It gives no exclusivity to art as something more than a commodity.

Neha Jiandani