|
The idea of an annual exposition by artists of the GenNext has its own charm and attraction. The Gallery owners, or rather the whole art market including auction houses concentrate in selling the works of recognised artists, or to put it another way, the stuff that is saleable. Aesthetics is not always the prime concern. In this scheme of things picture making can win over painting proper or painted doll over real sculpture. However, in the last few years Aakriti Art Gallery has begun focusing limelight on budding artists whose petals are just opening and spreading sweet fragrance all around. This is commendable work and we cannot but thank Mr. and Mrs. Vikram Bachhawat for their endevour.
The GenNext exhibition in the years had been restricted to Indian artists only. From last year it has been extended to artists of other countries also. Not only paintings, sculpture and graphic prints but installation and other forms and media has also been included. This gives the exhibition a post modern and self reflective creative stance.
In 'The Analysis of Art'(1924) Dewitt H. Parker narrowed down aesthetic form into a six sided exercise : "The principle of organic unity, or unity in variety, the principle of theme; the principle of thematic variation; balance ; the principle of hierarchy ; and evolution." Parker went on to argue in an Aristotleian fashion and defined "organic unity(as) the master principle of aesthetic form ; all other principles serve it."
The other modern school of aesthetics was influenced by the great Italian pundit Benedetto Croce and the French philosopher Henri Bergon (incidentally both were Rabindranath Tagore's friends) vigorously stressed intuition over intellect as the main spring of expression that should be taken into account in, the theory of art. Later Sigmund Freud influenced aesthetic thinking by emphasizing the working of the submerged mind, its irrational logic that went into the creative factors of artistic expression. In this way of reckoning all artistic endevour became symbolic revelation. Jung turned all eyes to primeval archetypes as the key to understanding human thinking and artistic expression. Add to this new moods, new modes and medium you will begin to unravel the major themes and thrusts of the successive GenNext expositions in Aakriti Art Gallery.
How, one might wonder, were generation of artists inducted in the primitive period? Or the ancient to medieval period? In front of the cave of Lascaux in France, I saw slightly etched stone drawings of animals, 25-30,000 B.C. old. I was told by the guide that I was standing in front of possibly the world's first open air pre-literate school. Before the master-shaman-artist allowed a youngster to paint on cave walls, he trained him to draw on stone with a sharp needle like stone or bone tool. In Egypt, West Asia, the Far East and India since very ancient times an aspiring youngster was apprenticed to master mentor who he had to serve to learn the secrets of the trade. It was most often than not kept guarded within family circle. During the renaissance the master-artist had a studio where aspiring youngsters served, The novice started by grinding colours and then went to learn the basics that led to the finer and final stages of years of training. Then the young artist would be asked to paint his 'masterpiece'— in fact, earliest use of the word meant final test painting — writing a thesis on the painterly surface. Every master- artists studio belonged to the guild. After the student finished his 'masterpiece' the members of the artists guild were invited to master's studio to adjudge his student's work. When every member was satisfied the student was declared a master. The guild found a studio for him to set up. Each member donated a small commission from his orders and he was set up and he went to work to secure destiny.
Art trends and movements are like techtonic dynamism beneath the surface. Continents disperse. The Himalyas and the Alps raise their peaks. Before the snowclad peaks there are the sub mountainous small natural elevations and then the foothills beside the plains.The artistic terrain is similar. Artists are divided into foothills (minor), middle range (great minor) and snow white peak (major) manifestations. Now market forces, the artist-gallery owner-critic-press — the caucus of the gang of four— are trying to project minor artists as major figures. Be not afraid for posterity will reshuffle and reject the spurious. In this natural artistic selection only the fittest survive, Aakriti Art Gallery has tried to foster the process.
- Sandip Sarkar
|
|
