A few old articles from Hindu.
The geometry of representation
and
The Circle of progress
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->..."I have been saying for the past 10 years that Indian contemporary artists will soon reach places because of their genuine work which may be drawing its premises from western modernism but is deeply rooted in their tradition. Unfortunately you people (read media) hear 10 years after a statement is made. See you are here 10 years after I declared the Indian artists' fate," muses this innocent-faced first-generation painter with a glint in his eyes.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
and
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->So if someone thought that Raza would be singing praises of Paris where he went to in 1952 on a French Government scholarship, he would be in for a surprise. Nostalgically, the veteran keeps returning home. "I did go to Paris to study art further. But I kept coming to my home every year for inspiration, to revive the traditional symbolism, iconography, to draw sustenance from my roots, to recharge myself," he adds.
You like his oodles of love for the country but in your heart of heart, you may not forget that <b>he formed the Progressive Art Group with Souza, Hussain and others to allegedly oppose the traditional Bengal School of Art that was, and still remains the face of Indian art.</b> Raza defends, <b>"No, we didn't form PAG to oppose them. We were not against them. In fact, with close affinity to our own land, we wanted to incorporate modernism in our works. If that weren't true, would my Bindu series be drawing sustenance from my backyard? It is recognised the world over only because it has my roots showing so clearly. See exhibition in this gallery. Artists in it are talking about Roop Adhyatma in modern paintings. Europeans see only with their retina, we see with our third eye, our antaratma. Today our artists no longer study Picasso, Kandinsky or Rothko, colours of Cezanne or Van Gogh for we have our own backyard. Now our paintings have found a personality." </b>
That is fine, but didn't he face initial opposition, back home as a resident of Narsinghpur district of Madhya Pradesh? Well, he got lucky. <b>He was "a poor student" and hence, his father, a forest officer, didn't object to his studying painting for a career.</b> "But people around me would ask, why painting? Teacher banoge? As a boy, I loved the forest of Narsinghpur. Those greens never fade from my mind. I used to draw those greens endlessly but didn't have direction. My teachers were sanyasis who gave a direction to my works," recalls the veteran.
For all the direction that the contemporary Indian painters have, they are selling at whopping price. Aren't they overestimated?
"I believe that they are going a bit too fast. They should mind their movement. Even till date, I have never sent even one paining to the Christie's auction. I find it a waste of time. Money is an illusion," the veteran shares his pearl of wisdom.
And his wisdom foresees a bright time for Indian contemporary art. <b>"We have a passion for colours. We are full of ideas. Our paintings, however modern, have Indian values. So rich are we in novel concepts and ideas that now every country will follow us."</b>
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Try to read up stuff by Georges DesVallieres on origins of Impressionism and its borrowings.
In other words what inspired the Impressionists like Matisse and Cezanne and why Impressionism appeals to Indian conteporary painters?
The geometry of representation
and
The Circle of progress
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->..."I have been saying for the past 10 years that Indian contemporary artists will soon reach places because of their genuine work which may be drawing its premises from western modernism but is deeply rooted in their tradition. Unfortunately you people (read media) hear 10 years after a statement is made. See you are here 10 years after I declared the Indian artists' fate," muses this innocent-faced first-generation painter with a glint in his eyes.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
and
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->So if someone thought that Raza would be singing praises of Paris where he went to in 1952 on a French Government scholarship, he would be in for a surprise. Nostalgically, the veteran keeps returning home. "I did go to Paris to study art further. But I kept coming to my home every year for inspiration, to revive the traditional symbolism, iconography, to draw sustenance from my roots, to recharge myself," he adds.
You like his oodles of love for the country but in your heart of heart, you may not forget that <b>he formed the Progressive Art Group with Souza, Hussain and others to allegedly oppose the traditional Bengal School of Art that was, and still remains the face of Indian art.</b> Raza defends, <b>"No, we didn't form PAG to oppose them. We were not against them. In fact, with close affinity to our own land, we wanted to incorporate modernism in our works. If that weren't true, would my Bindu series be drawing sustenance from my backyard? It is recognised the world over only because it has my roots showing so clearly. See exhibition in this gallery. Artists in it are talking about Roop Adhyatma in modern paintings. Europeans see only with their retina, we see with our third eye, our antaratma. Today our artists no longer study Picasso, Kandinsky or Rothko, colours of Cezanne or Van Gogh for we have our own backyard. Now our paintings have found a personality." </b>
That is fine, but didn't he face initial opposition, back home as a resident of Narsinghpur district of Madhya Pradesh? Well, he got lucky. <b>He was "a poor student" and hence, his father, a forest officer, didn't object to his studying painting for a career.</b> "But people around me would ask, why painting? Teacher banoge? As a boy, I loved the forest of Narsinghpur. Those greens never fade from my mind. I used to draw those greens endlessly but didn't have direction. My teachers were sanyasis who gave a direction to my works," recalls the veteran.
For all the direction that the contemporary Indian painters have, they are selling at whopping price. Aren't they overestimated?
"I believe that they are going a bit too fast. They should mind their movement. Even till date, I have never sent even one paining to the Christie's auction. I find it a waste of time. Money is an illusion," the veteran shares his pearl of wisdom.
And his wisdom foresees a bright time for Indian contemporary art. <b>"We have a passion for colours. We are full of ideas. Our paintings, however modern, have Indian values. So rich are we in novel concepts and ideas that now every country will follow us."</b>
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Try to read up stuff by Georges DesVallieres on origins of Impressionism and its borrowings.
In other words what inspired the Impressionists like Matisse and Cezanne and why Impressionism appeals to Indian conteporary painters?