The street beyond art

“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.”  Art elicits images, emotions and memories in people. Tagged as visual, art takes different forms including edible and audible. While art is an expression, artist is the antecedent, an eye behind the viewer who doesn't let the art specify itself rather allows it to explore its beauty. An impetus for a bigger platform to showcase art gave birth to street art – an art defining the interests of the common man. 

 

A nation deeply entrenched in art and culture, Indian street art was mostly about illustration of religious figures. As an anonymous American scholar puts in “India has well established reputation for violating social scientific generalizations”, the modernization of street art in India unlike its being is not unnatural but surely arduous. The confounding thing about Indian men and women who talk about modernity is that they are rooted in their culture, forming one of the major reasons for the existence of street art in India. While street art has become more rebellious and implacable, questioning the fundamental basis of our country, it has lunged in many ways, bringing voices of the people to the streets. Entwined with contributing factors for social and economical issues, India saw many street artists coming up lately.

Sankho Chaudhry :  Profoundly inspired by  Ramkinkar Baij  , a sculpture artist himself whose art reflected the vibrancy of local life , Sankho Chaudhry  was a traditionalist and an alchemist . Born in Bihar, he didn’t follow any specific school of expression but followed his own style of abstract art altering materials into forms defining sentiments and emotions.   Graduating from Shantiniketan, he did his diploma in fine Arts from Kala Bhawan with distinction in sculpture. While assisting his inspiration Ramkinar Baij , he went to Nepal to execute War Memorial where he also studied Nepalese system of Metal casting .   

Some of his best work include a 5’ Bronze sculpture of Mahatma Gandhi for Copenhagen in 1986, a 5’ marble sculpture for UNICEF in New Delhi and a 4’.6” marble sculpture for habitat in Nairobi . His work for All India Radio, a sculpture name ‘Music’ is an inspiration for music lovers. For his excellent work in the field of art and culture, the President of India awarded him with the fourth highest civilian award, the Padma shri. Recognizing his work as meritorious, The centre of Escolar University, Philippines honored him with D.Litt. Visva Bharathi University honored him not just once but twice, presenting him with Aban Gangan award and Desikottama , an Honorary Doctorate . For all the stellar works he did in the field of art, he was honored with the Life time achievement award, Legend of India in 2004.

Nalini Malni : A leading Asian artist , she has been internationally acclaimed for her outstanding works . Influenced by her experiences as refugee of the partition of India, her art goes beyond the boundaries of stereotypical emotions and conventional narrative. Her works are initiated towards international collaboration, new media and expansion of art as an open space. Her focus on women by highlighting their roles in the Indian society from their emotional and sexual point of view alienates her from other artists. Combining light with shadow in her installations, her interaction with colours intertwines all layers. First woman to receive the ‘Arts and Culture Fukuoka Prize’ she put together the first exhibition of Indian female artists in Delhi in 1985. A writer at heart, she illustrated short stories for newspapers in the later 1920’s and also wrote two books –‘In Search Of Vanished Blood’ and ‘Listening to the shades.’ One of the few artists to have films made on her, she has a lot of exhibitions to her credit. Her interests also include Ephemeral wall drawing, installation, shadow play and multi projection works

Jas Charanjiva:  Having developed an affinity towards art at an early age, Jas Charanjiva, born in UK spent her entire life abroad before settling in India. Considering art as “a creative form of amplified communication”, she believes that graffiti artists can be found only on streets. A lady of her own virtues and principles she believes in authenticity and considers replicating art incorrect .Inspired by David Bowie, every blank space becomes a source of new art for this young artist. Walking around in Mumbai, one can see her quirky characters scattered on the walls, her murals dominating locations like Bandra Café and The Bagal Shop. She owns a company called ‘Life On Mars’ and is looking forward to ‘Kulture Shop’ , a merchandising store that promulgates art by some of India’s best graphic artists . As an artist having certain perspective on art , she has a lot of works to her credit , including Graffiti Stencil Workshop, Hyderabad, The Rolling Stones A Bigger Band Tour , New York , Mumbai Wall to Wall Love , The Art Conspiracy and Underground Art Festival , Bandra . A self thought street artist, she believes that street art has a long way to go.

Roy Sanjib: Roy Sanjib , popularly known as Yantra (machines) is a budding street artist . Inspired by Hindu imagery, his work revolves around a sense of freedom. ‘Free artist’ as he calls himself, he admits that art cannot be restricted. Breaking the limitation of two dimensions in his painting, he loves dabbling with colours, creating a three dimensional effect. While his shelf isn’t filled with major awards , he has many solo exhibitions to his credit , few of them include Academy of Fine Arts , Kolkata , Gallery Zen , Bangalore and Two man show at Artists Centre , Mumbai . 

Somnath Hore: Born in 1921 in Chittagong, Somnath Hore lost his father at a very early age.  Influenced by socialist ideas in the early phases of his artistic career, his sketches, sculptures and prints are mostly based on unbending subjects of human affliction and emotions. ‘Mother with child’ is one of his most colossal sculptures, orbiting around the subject of American war in Vietnam.  Most of his works were a reaction to major historical crisis and events in 20^th century Bengal (Bengal Famine 1943 and the Tebhanga movement).  Recognizing his love for art, The Lalit Kala Academy honored him with National Award (Graphics) for ‘Dream’ and ‘Birth of a white rose’. He was also honored with LN Gupta Memorial Award.  He died in 2006, leaving behind a tale of beautiful sculpture making and art.

“Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.” While Thomas Merton defined art on the lines of time, street artists believe that defining art would restrict them to the four letters, disabling them to expand beyond their capabilities. Taking into account the ardor of modern street artists, unbound by any religious or political boundaries, Indian street art has a long way to go.