The mechanics of life today appears to have its control room of the virtual (the wireless- internet, mobile, i-pod…). What results when the created begins to pull the strings of the creator?….quite a pathetic situation. Becoming a slave to the virtual medium/media has caused one to lose a status that (s)he ought to have guarded jealously. It is precisely this phenomenon that is reflected in genuine artistic productions.
Artistic intentions range from being highly emotional and subjective to being political, economical, manipulative and even aimless. With such a mixture of abstractions motivating the productions of artists, who is not facing a dilemma on how to decipher this mixture and sort it out into a structure that is clear and directional as a whole(at an individual as well as corporate level)? The fake and the real actually can never be mixed but they are surely presented as a package where the responsibility of discerning is left to the receiver.
The field of art is one of opportunities rather than a discipline. The artist, the curator and the buyer are all presented with opportunities. In a scenario such as the art market, it is the one with foresight rather than the informed with the advantage. The educational system worldwide has taught people how to gain information but has not trained us on how to see clearly. Insight is the key to identifying the real and recognizing the fake.
Comment on the Display
It is well understood that images produce images. What people see is what they produce.
With artists moving from so called rural set-ups to cities like Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi, the impact of this shift is evident in their choice of subjects as well as style. The visual culture of cities is almost harsh to the sight of those who have only a few decades ago been introduced to the television or even electricity for that matter.
The alternative lifestyle offered by the city determines the styles of most contemporary artists. The works reveal a strong nostalgia as well as a struggle to cope with the current demands of city life. The relationship of memory and experience is manifested in the imagery in a conscious and unconscious way. Genuine art inevitably weaves together history (subjective and objective) into the present pointing towards the future.
The art works are a product of a process of yielding and resisting to impulses, thoughts and inclinations. The artists who are aware of the process have a greater control over their work.
The works on display here juxtapose the rural and the urban, not as belonging to different time periods alone but also as belonging to different geographical regions at the same time.
Neha Jiandani
September 2009
Art show at GBS
No comments:
Post a Comment