SUMMER EXPOSURE : ART SMART

Over the weekend, the otherwise barren lawns of Science Centre, Citylight, were strewn with youth lounging in languorous fashion. Armed with art and attitude, adding a summerish bougainvillea bloom to the serious grey architecture; they camped there from morning to night with a proud and confident presentation of their works.

Thanks to the generosity of SMC along with the support of the city mayor, final year students of VNSGU were able to share with denizens, their best created works of art and sculpture at the Science Centre. An apt venue for displaying art in Tapi town; it provides for the required height, distance and lights under which paintings large and small as well as sculptures tiny and majestic, can be comfortably viewed , in all their meaningful glory. Besides, the cool, cool air-conditioning makes for a breezy ambience since the air-con ducts are strategically placed.

Of course, setting up any exhibit is a tall order. But, then again, whats the point of being young and talented if you can’t make adverse circumstances work for you. After all, all the works on display were a result of endless hours of sweaty toil fuelled by the passion of perfection. Much care had been taken for appropriate placement and regarding the route that visitors were directed to, for absorbing in the art work visually, section wise. This was a fresh and unpretentious bouquet of Surat’s future artists, striking poetry with their elements of design.

There was a fine array of Indian aesthetics in lithographs, sketches, self portraits, wood cut prints, photography, sculptures made from clay, recycled cast iron and paper, along with graphic designs and product packaging .A jury from Baroda was invited to judge and announce the Jagdeep Smart awards for best students from the fields of painting, applied art and sculpture. Introduced this year, in memory of the late professor, to enhance and encourage the efforts of the art inclined interns.

In a town that is perceived as one which is still honing its art skills, we gratefully have the Smart legacy to live up to. Having been educated at prestigious institutions such as the Sir.J J School of Arts Mumbai, the Benaras Hindu University and M S University Baroda, the Smart family members have constantly strived to cultivate the culture of art in Surat.

Pioneered by the legendary Vasudeo Smart, whose works breathed life into traditional Indian tales. Converting holy verse to vision, tactfully depicting on canvas hundreds of little paintings to merge as one story, be it Ramayana or Jain transcripts. Two of his books- Roop Samhita and Bharat Na Bhint Chitro are collectors’ editions. Having traveled, taught and exhibited through the country, this critically acclaimed artist returned to home base to enrich local students with hands on experience, till he breathed his last.

His nephew, late Jagdeep Smart stepped into his shoes of not only being a brilliant artist but also a popular professor and poet. It was this multi awarded gentle soul who developed the fine arts course for Surat, with a vision to broaden the city’s art horizon. A vision that his son, Rajarshi Smart and the faculty at VNSGU now carry forward ; winner of the Gujarat State Lalit Kala Academy himself, Rajarshi’s colourful kitschy collection of ‘Autorickshaw art’ is in demand, doing the rounds at exhibits around various cities through India and shall some day soon, arrive in Surat.

Amongst the impressive art work on display at Science Centre, which I learnt upon closer inspection, was that of the young and upcoming talent Krishnapriya Smart. Needless to say, she has all the makings of being a chip off the old block.

ARTISTIC DISILLUSION……………Recently, certain members of Indian society called upon a boycott on all Godrej products. Reason being; the owners of the said company had hosted author Salman Rushdie at their guest house. This caused a divide in staunch followers of both religion and brand paraphernalia; but this column is not about that.
Rushdie dwells in London also the present place of residence to one of our most well known and commercially successful contemporary artist.Mr.Hussain who needs no introduction, is cooling heels in London. He lives in exile because through his art, he has upset the feelings of certain individuals by what they thought was as unacceptable form of representation.
Getting back to art, four years ago, Mr.Hussain had visited Surat. The occasion was the grand opening of one of the most beautiful art galleries in India .Also; the only gallery in Surat that displays art [since the other two are rented out to bored rich housewives who display their fancy wares for a quick buck in copied versions of original paintings]. After addressing a packed audience that sat in awe, Hussain promptly painted a scene from his childhood that depicted a child, his bicycle and his mother .It is displayed here along with many of his other works. The said gallery is within the Bela mills compound and is owned by Garden. Originally an English factory, this mill still retains its old world charisma. A heritage in itself, with its octagonal brick chimneys, majestic wooden beams and roofs that seem sky high. The private collection of paintings and sculptures within is a wish list for every art lover. Works by S.H.Raza, Tyeb Mehta, K.H.Ara, N.S.Bendre to name a few, proudly share space on the huge walls. Many a painting sought after by the National Gallery of Modern Art lies locked here. This exclusive and invaluable gallery which was presented to the Surtis as a culture gift was shut down to public viewing after it was gate crashed and vandalized on 29-1-2004 by certain members of our ‘aam janta’.Objecting to a couple of paintings portrayed which they thought were offensive to their religious sentiments, they destroyed eight priceless ones in the bargain.
Coming back to art-’Tapti’ as the collection is named, is home to over 150 works of several superb masters, one of whom is Bhupen Khakhar, who studied at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Vadodra. Lately, the same Faculty was attacked by people whose national sentiments were hurt by the artistic expressions on some college students ‘canvas.
Anyway; getting back to what we are talking about, lets know more about Bhupen Khakhar -brilliant, by far one of India’s greatest painters. Mr. Misunderstood, he was known as the ‘enfant terrible’ in the Indian Art circuit and nobody other than his
Colleagues understood the method in his madness. He began painting at the age of 28 and surprised critics with his bold impressions.Brave enough in his times to announce to an oppressive world that he was a homosexual. This accountant turned artist’s masterpieces were dubbed as ‘gay’ and proscribed by starchy officials and art critics who found his audacity unacceptable. Though the Indian media was then intolerant towards the spectacular works of this Master, he received International acclaim thus putting Vadodra on the art world map. Posthumously; his paintings are a rage and constantly in demand. An extensive collection of his fine works lies locked and secure in Surat staring out at other contemporary paintings, behind what I suspect are heavy Godrej locks. The only International sit down portrait ever painted by this genius, was created on request for the British High Commission. It is called ‘The Moor’ and is that of author Salman Rushdie.
Err…………..I suppose that brings us back full circle to where we started off from.