The Flamed Mosaic (1997)

1
To begin on a personal note. why should one have written such a book ? One did not know the a, b, c of Indian Contemporary Art in 1993, yet I have devoted the last three years of prime time to an unrelated subject. Why indeed? There are now many reasons; at the beginning, it was merely an instinctive curiosity. One came across Indian Contemporary Art just by chance in 1993 at one of those misleading auctions. Phases of obsessional buying were followed by periods of reflective unease. From sustaining this ebb and flow originated the urge to research and understand more deeply

A number of factors had brought my literary work to a crossroads. I was being accused
of excessive self-absorption with my own creativity. Spending time to understand the
creativity of strangers was one idea that struck me. The trigger came through Indian
contemporary art.

Being an ‘outsider’ to the art community there were few preconceptions. I realized,
that apart from the love and study of the subject, this book would also serve as a
relatively objective example to help clarify my perceptions regarding the significance of
aesthetics to daily life.

Some people have always been convinced that aesthetics and its and its creativity must be at
the heart of an education system. the aesthetic cannot be delinked from ideas
regarding the nature of uncertainty, freedom or the fearlessness of the mind. as a
result, aesthetics and ethics become two aspects of a single stream of consciosness.
there is in india a need to visualise, conceptualise and implement simultaneously , to
build an infrastructure which will nurture beyond all else this fearlessness of the mind.
this book represents a stone in the bridge of various forthcoming projects, such as a
series of 30 books on indian contemporary art and literature

The shortcoming in the book are many, despite an attempt to make it comprehensive.
not being an artist or art theorist naturally has its drawbacks. nevertheless one’s
aesthetic sence has been disciplined to serve a rigorous study.while the objective
context of contemporary indian art is sought to be presented, every work is forced into
incomplete selectivity, where many artists who demand greater attention are
neglected,and thosemore popular are included. one hopes that later works will rectify
the ongoing imbalance.

This book in its original format had included a deeper study of painting, sculpture,
graphics and mural art, but publishing practicalities demanded a rethinking .hopefully
the essence of the painting section has remained. nevertheless, the challenge of
maintaining the balance between intellectual rigour and creating a wider audience for
the subject, has induced certain compromises. even though the reading public for such
a book is relatively limited today, interest in the subject is developing rapidly. as a
result the structure of this book is intended to accommodate the lay reader, hand in
hand with the student and scholar.

I have also chosen to present my first meetings with various artists, rather than later
dialogues, in the form of abridged conversations. these occurred within a compressed
period of a few months during late 1993, when curiosity was raw, energy intense and
perceptions non – judgmental.


Yet in the end all text in a book on art is like an appendix to the illustrations, and one
has tried to bring new significant works to view. i hope it brings joy and a fuller
understanding of indian contemporary painting to the reader, and begins to make us
see the deeper relevance of contemporary art and its aesthetics to daily life.

2

India is unique. at the heart of this uniqueness lies the wisdom of universality. but
India today seems unable to build a value – system capable of nurturing her world view
and its unique universality.

One reason for this inability lies in the negligible role contemporary culture and
education has been expected to play in india’s daily life. in the urgency of alleviating
poverty the focus is on a narrow and mediocre agenda, dominated by indisciplined
economic and religious values. this can only exacerbate the country’s dilemmas and
increase the inequality.

Political apathy is reinforced by an inability of the cultural and educational
infrastructure to clearly express and nurture its values and relevance, in the wider
caontex of providing pride in a national identity.

Indian contemporary art, while evolving its mask and remaining true to a possible
universality , has imbibed nearly a century of artistic and non – artistic influences, visual
and non – visual, traditional and contemporary, local and universal. the vast diversity of
these influences, and the randomness with which each emerges in daily life, has led to
an unique style of absorption by most indian artists.

However, the infrastructure has fallen short of nurturing this contemporary language
despite efforts by a few gifted artists, scholars, bureaucrats, and connoisseurs. they
have not been able to clarify the links of artistic creativity with all aspects of life, nor
maintained aesthetic integrity on the scale required.

The heart of this integrity lies in the ability of creativity to fuse the popular with the
rigorous, the unique with the universal. in doing so it allows each to renew and deepen
itself. As long as this holistic integrity is not clear, the chances of aesthetics moulding
the values of society will be low.

However, given the growing interest in indian contemporary art and the potential
allocation of resources to the sector, there is a chance of building a cohesive network
which can link up with other cultural disciplines, helping to inspire, clarify and sustain
a more complete daily value – system for the nation’s development.

At present the logic by which the infrastructure has evolved reveals a highly
regionalised attitude, unconducive to the spirit of creativity. local proiorities are in
conflict, as no holistic vision which critically disciplines the local, holds credibility. we
have, paradoxically, regionalism going hand in hand with an economically enforced
globalisation, a narrow inwardness with a sluggish internationalism. globalisation, an
economic and technologically inspired movement, is unable to tackle the narrow
mental rigidities which build up in the mind when faced with a vast plurality of new
ideas and people

Hand in hand with this plurality, the daily violence and human indignity on every street
corner, makes visions of a vast unifying thread nonsence. when such a thread emerges
dogmatic notions of god come to stake claims, leading to a partial picture. however
change and continuity constantly seek balance. the wisdom of this balance depends on
the ability to institutionalize self- criticism. it is self- criticism which links change with
continuity. human creativity, especially artistic, most deeply recognizes the reach of
self- criticism and its relevance to our daily change-continuity continuum.

Further,artistic creativity also provides joy with the self- criticism, thereby infusing a
confidence in the process, so allowing it to be sustained deeper. It is this joy which
allows the artist to play with uncertainty before giving it a structure.Thus art, in its
wider sence, has the self-analysing depth to create anternative system which can
counterbalance the motivations and incentives of the economic system.

Once we have this equal platform where, besides economic activity, aesthetics also
provides discipline, the potential to temper material and religious excesses will become
a living force. Creativity will then euderpin the values of daily life. The issue is: how
does one create this platform from where aesthetics ensures, and is ensured an
Inspirational role?

Both East and West have tried throughout time to give creativity this pedestal, but it
was always unsustainable. The reasons are many, and before a renewed attempt gains
credibility, many attitudes have to be changed. Yet the change is inevitable, if
humanity continues upon the journey of knowing itself more deeply. After two world
wars this has been the modern dream, which has not been destroyed, only distracted.

The main reasons for this distraction is that instead of the fluidity of aesthetics
structuring life, we have the flexibility of economics dominating the day. Economics in
needing to precede the perceived luxury of a creative life, has set up an occupation
army of unparalleled dictatorship.

Yet economic values maintain a monopoly because of the flexibility they provide in
tackling the concrete,transforming intangibles into tangibles. The battle is to regain
control to discipline economics, so that it remains in its proper place, as a tool and a
medium of exchange, and not the moulder of human values.

Perhaps easier said than done, but there is the realization today that the grid upon
which economics generates knowledge and wisdom is inadequate. The world is full of
strong people involved with professional jobs or economic pursuits, yet as soon as
emotional trauma, spiritual awareness or aesthetic inetrrity are at stake,they collapse,
unable to handle such issues.

As a result, self- critical counterforces to the monopoly of economic values are weak.
this state of pessimism is ripe for a more sober idealism.

In a way , this realization has led to many economically less-developed nations
searching for new means of development, whereby one can earn the required wealth
while maintaining the holistic integrity of the individual. Unfortunately, in most of
these nations, faith has been the alternative to western models. Yet, the
possibilities are present. India stands at the threshold of such a possibility. Whether she
grabs the opportunity and inspires others is another story.

The key issue to India’s success will be the ability of the cultural and educational
sectors to stretch out for radical changes, and inspire the rest of the nation. Few can
believe, let alone visualise such a scenario, where aesthetics disciplines and pivotally
structures India’s developmental process. Yet, if the wisdom of the ordinary Indian can
be directed and motivated correctly it will not be impossible to fulfil this task.


3

As with all civilisation – building attempts, it will be India’s ability to handle uncertainty
which will determine the wisdom of her development. As a result, to continue with
what seems and unsustainable, to allow uncertainty to reveal its own rhythms,
becomes a core virtue in building a structure. Those who see reality as it is, are those
who have the patience to let things be, to wait and observe, for as long as possible, and
then act swiftly, simultaneously on many fronts.

In a way, each aspect of Indian life, from the mundane to the sublime, daily nurtures
our patience with anarchy and its seeming contradictions. Yet today our patience is
seen as a fatalistic weakness.

One is not romanticizing the injustice in any way, only stating the facts, for all
contradictions are given a balance in India, like nowhere else. To encapsulate this
balance, this ability to find harmony amid anarchy, we all try in acts trivial and
profound. The energy which absorbs and balances the outer mess is revealed in many
ways. This degree of balance is the uniqueness and overwhelming force of India.

The artist tries to capture the journey of this energy through imagery. The power of
what is captured can only be understood if one grasps the potency of the daily rhythm.
A thousand new impulses come from the most mundane deed. For example, take the act
of participating in Indian traffic, a daily ritual, and yet how it must affect the eye and
its hand, our sense of tension with the line, our textural impressions, sence of colour,
the depth of our vision.

Daily, we see road space cut into, pedestrians and dogs running across, from any corner,
dark or light. Various object which float upon the road: cars, carts, cows, scooters,
bicycles, trucks, rickshaws, stray dogs…all fuse into a rhythm. There is a manner by
which seeming chaos is transformed. A strolling cow sits down in the middle of the
crowded road, and suddenly she has become a roundabout, ordering the traffic. Of
course highways are desired, but such by – lanes need to be transversed with joy.

A family of four, baby in arms balancing on scooter, with the father taking risks which
are nat even seen as risks, with the mother smiling. Pregnant trucks loaded beyond logic
or legality, quietly sneak past highway patrols in the polluted night. Rickshaws pull
jeeps, carrying burdens heavier than should ever be. Families pleading to be squeezed
into corners where a modern toilet could not be accommodated, while some laze on
golfing gardens, as others mesh into the background, until theycannot be distinguished
from the dirt and dust they clean.

Marriage tents are erected in the middle of roads, so that traffic diverts, and civil
courtesy dissolves, while every urban corner is dotted with idols or toilets, so
conditioning our image of godliness, the mundane and omnipresent, common and
sublime, trivial and profound. For, to piss and to pray, there is no other way…faith and
scepticism, doubt and trust, in a continual lila… if the artist is to create, where is the
space which allows humanity to accept the upliftment ? How can creativity kindle
aesthetic energy amid such numb blankets of noise ? Can one be convinced that
creativity is indeed at the root of life’s rhythm…?

Yet India does provide this possibility. It somehow harnesses anarchy and its hidden
harmony. India forces one to treat uncertainty with a greater freedom. This is the
universal dilemma it tackles uniquely. This is the image the artists reveal in their
imagery.

Allowing uncertainty a pivotal role in the process, helps one visualise new related
rhythms. By encapsulating the daily ebb and flow of opposites the artist structures this
elusiveness, as if capturing the traces of air left behind by birds in flight…

India reveals a rhythmic unity where outer anarchy mirrors creative logic, encouraging
the artist to search out the deper reality. Representation takes meaning only when
one possesses this ability to let uncertainty reveal itself, disciplining the urge for
answers, withholding a desire to impose a structure, thus revealing an imagery which
taunts, renews, teases and delights simultaneously , fulfilling the joy of the creative
moment, and stringing together the delusions of the day.

This aesthetic energy holdswithin it a continuous sence of wonder. If this energy is
nurtured even when unsure of any tangible direction, infinite are the forms and images
that emerge.

Rabindranath Tagore probably best grasped this in his all encompassing creativity,
beginning to paint from mere doodles. Creativity lies within every individual, if only
their inner determination can be nurtured to balance and sustain the hand with a
combination of humility and confidence . This point of sustaining a doodle is critical. It
can become the trigger for people to realize their inherent creativity, a desire to
complete unfinished forms. Soon in the doodle , a line connects, a balance is created
here or an emptiness there, some shading follows, a bit of hesitancy, a new line,
maybe tangential, new connections link up, making a whole; then to break away, to
see it balance, to play with it, to try and give a meaning to it, or to stop looking for
meaning, to enjoy being free from wanting meaning, just moving with the flow. A
rhythm develops and the creative spirit finds a new outlet. On and on goes the play
within, and so,weeks, some months, years,down the line, as the pace is sustained
dissolving oneself amid vast energies, yet always alone, evolving a compassion for all
things, an intrest in all things,… So creativity may begin, from self-absorption the
first seeds of a selfless act are sown.

Soon there is an aesthetic delight, and an ethical awareness, without a tone of
judgement. Joy alone is the motivation, to translate the ideal into its material image,
to make the elusive moment sustainable, self-renewing, so that they become the pace
of the day, the energy which puts new life into the step, new hope I each act.

Later the artistic activity may indeed become the life force itself, indestructible,
always capable of inspiring the day. To create then is the very essence of life,… it is
this which clarifies freedom, for in the end it is about becoming free within; a freedom
which can only come with the fearless ability to absore everything, and yet remain
true to oneself. Even if one piece of the mosaic is missing, there is incompleteness, and
so anarchy, which itself is a joy, but that’s another tangent…