Engaging in a new paradigm of philanthropy and social relevance Indian contemporary art has truly emerged as one of the most exciting and original forms of creative expression today. Art critic Girish Shahane, head of the advisory committee, The Skoda Prize for Indian contemporary art 2011 shares his thoughts on M F Hussain’s works and Indian art with City Express.Could you shed some light on contemporary art in India?When people think of art in India, they primarily think of an older generation of artists. Of course, these artists have done a phenomenal job. But really what’s exciting is art is now coming from a younger generation of artists. And some of the differences between their work and the work of older artists are particularly in the use of media. So, they have gone beyond the traditional paintings and sculptures. Today there are artists who do installations and videos featuring all kinds of performances. What are your views on M F Hussain’s work?Well, he was obviously the most important Indian painter of the twentieth century. There’s no doubt about that. And, what was particularly important about him was that he discovered modernism with an Indian element to it. He truly managed to form a synthesis between Indian heritages like the Basouli miniatures and Gupta sculptures which were a kind of modernist figuration. And, he did that more successfully than anyone else.As an art critic, how would you fundamentally differentiate between contemporary, modern and abstract art?Abstract art is a kind of style. It is mainly assosiated with non figurative art. Well, modern art and contemporary art are the twentieth century art forms. And, being relatively modern in nature, contemporary art is thriving today.How well do you think India today serves as a platform for budding artists?There is a pretty good system of galleries who find talent early today. And, most artists who have talent don’t have a problem showing their work. There are a lot of good mature works being done now which are of international quality. What are your thoughts on Mithu Sen’s work Black Candy?As you know, The Skoda Prize really judges shows rather than artists. And, Black Candy was one of the solo shows that Mithu Sen had put forward. She is unusual in the subject matter. There are very few artists particularly Indian women who deal with sexuality in such a frank manner. With her exploration on the subject, she has achieved that level of virtuosity and thinking which is extremely rare. And, then she combined it with audio installations as well. The whole concept was very inventive as well as polished.Could you tell us about some of the best art shows you have had the opportunity to attend?Well, one of the shows that immediately come to my mind is Aneesh Kapur’s Retrospective at the Royal Academy in London two years ago. We got a taste of that in Delhi and Mumbai too. But, the show in London was truly astonishing.What is about art that intrigues you the most?One of the things that drew me to art in India is literature. Most of us are trained in literature which is really divided by language. We don’t have access to talent in most of the languages. And for many of us, we approach it through English mainly or our mother tongue. And, that is a very narrow stratum of society which writes in those languages. But with art, people come from literally all sorts of backgrounds. M F Hussain is a great example. He was born to a poor Suleimani family in Pandharpur. So, it is absolutely humbling to see artists coming from all corners of the society.Do you think progressive art (encouragement of Indian avant-garde forms of art) is slowly gaining momentum in India?Absolutely. When it comes to progressive art, Indian artists are all already there. However, consciousness is lagging. In terms of quality we have some brilliant works today. At Skoda Prize, we are constantly striving to provide a platform to elevate different ideologies.We are still far behind with minimalism in India. What are your thoughts on the same?Well, we have had some great minimalist artists from India. Nasreen Mohamedi (1937 - 1990), who was a pioneer in minimalist/non figurative art forms in India, experimented a lot with her work. And, another artist who has done incredible work in minimalism is Zarina Hashmi. Apart from two to three artists, minimalism as a concept is not really explored in India. After all, Indian art is extremely ornamental and decorative. However, we have had some great works here too.Artists can enter their nominations at www.theskodaprize.com on or before August 31.
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