THE REALISTS
AT THEIR SECOND GROUP SHOW
SPECIAL SECTION ON PROBLEMS OF COMMUNALISM
BIRLA ACADEMY OF ART & CULTURE, CALCUTTA.
19 NOVEMBER – 1 DECEMBER 1991.
NAUGHTY BOYS OF THE OTHER CULTURE
Spring was yours.
Another century, a century of civil wars, world wars and cold war,tortuous in its ideological ramifications rolls to a close.The fall of the vital center is being drolled out by an euphoric victory Chant: Unipolar world, Unipolar world ! Seeds of hope are being discovered in the August .Failure and the failure is being treated as a problem created by the Second World itself and an opportunity for the First World to exercise responsibility.Thus the First World is absolved from the cause.On the other hand,the Third World have already Been accused of maintaining a primitive lifestyle and not joining as ‘Citizens’. It is an open field of vast possibilities to be carpentered beautifully and made habitable for the cavalier citizens of the First World.The road to epiphany is Open……..
Who makes decisions at the frontiers of the state?
” ………We are Americans – part of something larger than ourselves… And tonight we lead the world in facing down a threat to decency and humanity. What is at stake is more than one small country, it is a big idea-A New World Order, where diverse nations/ the universal aspirations of mankind: Peace and Security, Freedom and the rule of the Law ……Tonight we work to achieve another victory, a victory over tyranny . and savage aggression ……For two centuries, America has served the world as an inspiring example of freedom and democracy …The problem before us may be different but the key to solving them remains the same: it is the individual……
This we do know our cause is just, our cause is moral, our cause is right.”
President George Bush
State of the Union Address
House of Representatives,
Jan.29, 1991
This noble declaration came following the defeat of the Iraqi army. Many American scholars believe that Bush’s Gulf adventure was in a way exoneration of the Vietnam enterprise. True to some extent, though, Bush’s etching of an image of the First World war transforms his adventurism into neoexpansionism, using a double-edged sword:
1.to break the polar barriers, the ‘Centre’ and the ‘periphery’ and in doing so, eliminating multiplicity of differing cultures, culture of the ‘other Peoples’, by either reconciling everything with everything’ else or by pushing upfront everything against everything else for a heady collision so that all culture may appear as one and equal.
2. In the garb of pluralism and multiculturalism it premises Regionalism and authentic localisation, thus invoking separatism, because ‘the other’ must express through difference, difference of religion, caste, language, race and ethinicity which will inevitably lead to internal chaos, breaking down of all values and finally the collapse of the Nation State. All civilized rhetoric for equality” freedom, ‘peace, morality and just cause will turn into grand Bushian spectacle, art will become a mere entertainment and entertainer where citizen of the Unipolar world will be benevolent spectators.
Is Small Beautiful?
The post-modernist critique of the Internationalist culture. (modernism) is that it lived on the periphery of monolith ism and’ near, totalitarianism.
“Post modernism, or The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism”
The unipolar world offers as many choices as possible to all who cares to accept them,
especially in art, an’ art which looses all particularity of time and place-and become simply pieces in an eternal chess game with no winner’s take away money – because no body knows how and whether to win.The rules of the new game only permit to exist ephemerally and experimentally by marginalizing all styles – past and present. It is post-modern art. It is an art without any core, without a centrality any hierarchy, hence it survives without any critical assessment. Post-modernism is decadent. Post-modernism is an ‘eternal laissez-faire of pluralism or multiculturalism.’ It makes life complicated and difficult. It is the counterpart of Nazi art, totally opposed to civilization, it is a kind of wild barbarism which have the power of pulling back history into the dark ages.Post-modernism has been around since the beginning of Modernism, in fact they have ‘existed in cannibalistic dialectic, the latter variably consuming the former.’
Little about the Little History of a Little Culture
The history of modernism has many facets. The European version of modernism is,quite different from the American version which developed in the 1940’s through the European Recovery Programme in 1948 which was later called the Marshal Plan. A huge aid programme was, directed towards reestablishing Western economy which could be strong enough to resist the advance of socialism, which at that time demonstrated, the decadence of the bourgeois,culture and at the same time the non existence of American culture on the global art scene. The witch hunt of art began, Premises were set, the liberals, led by the new American middle class advocated, for a softer line of winning the minds of the European people by defending abstract and modern art in general along with expressionism, automatism, surrealism etc. The conservatives mounted a virulent campaign against
modern art vis-a-vis liberalism.They wanted to come out from an isolationist position and plunge in International politics more vigorous-sly supplementing it with a aggressive culture triumphant,optimistic and They thought that modem art was “Bolshevistic”,”International” and “Un-American” and propagated for a romantic realism glorifying the physical beauty of America through narrow regionalistic approaches.Finally, modern art won.but it had yet much darker days ahead. Euro/American art what we see today have come in the guise of post-modernism.
A Little History about a Big Culture.
The Indian situation is very different.Post-colonial India, more or less liberalistic through parliamentary Democracy,have given seeminqly enough open space, for a variety of art styles to grow which never is completed, never leads to formed tradition of art.One of the reasons for such uneven,development of our art traditions is the, splendid
slavery of the, Indian artists in general,a colonial hangover,swallowing all that has been routed the phenomena of modernism.This aping act stretched so far that even the category of neo Brahminical art, ( of the 60’s and early 70’s)could not resist western abstractionist wrappings.In the Post-cold war days there are possibilities that some old set of questionsand criterias, live lndianness and,Nationalism in art may, be revoked, restructured in collaboration with the Post-modernist ethos.Both lie in wait For an opportune moment to strike.
Shaping of a new Nationalism in India
India as a country (if not as a Nation),we should not forget, has a fairly long tradition
Of Nationalism routed through the notion of Hinduism. The dominant view since the formation of the new middle class under British colonialism.This Bourgeois Nationalism was posted successfully in our struggle against the colonizer.The logic of the myth became
Rational-static in all spheres of our life (including art), as long as it enjoyed the confidence of both the colonizer and the colonized.In the post-colonial period Nationalism is a problem because it is conveniently used to protect the culture of the ruling class, it becomes an ideology of the ruling class which attempts to establish a point of convergence,a homogeneous center cutting away all empirical events in the moment
from the periphery. The unipolar world will be equally encouraqed to sustain the yet complete Nationalism to extend their benevolence through economic and cultural negotiations, finally settling cultural exchanges, economic aid and goody goody human relations.We do not know yet how old fundamentalism will be replaced by the new one, what aesthetic and artistic norms will be set before the artist to qualify the new Nationalism.Will there be a revival of the Brahminical past,will art be mythicised,be the style of neo Nationalism, hostile, aggressive,overcommital,uniquely authentic to the utopian ideal of the one,the all pervasive one? These are of course anticipatory prefixes. But one thing can surely be predicted:if there is a resurgence of Hindu Nationalism along with Unipolar world’s levelling of all differences in culture,decadence is surely east bound.
Humanism of the post modern
Humanism is a Legitimate framework or for the supranationalism of the west to maintain supremacy over the peoples of the other cultures.The unipolar humanism first kills and then offers charity.Charity though always ambivalent,is always central to Western humanism, whether it is famine striken Ethiopia, flood ravaged Bangladesh, or an emergency aid needed to rebuild the economy of India, Mexico, Brazil, or the Soviet Union
through economic reforms and market economy,charity is always, forthcoming arm-twisting will come later,conditions for such charity will be imposed at a suitable time,media lies will be heaped on the people, humiliation of the people will be complete through the constant slow poisoning of culture and conscience.Rampant commercialism and egotism will paralyse all political sensibilities.Every category of art will be consumed by the supermarket, Post-modernism will reduce the artwork to a commodity precisely because it annuls the artwork’s senses.
Will Winter be ours?
What shall we do? Should we observe occanic, reticence and watch humanism to be colonized, should we follow AIexandrianism or should we be ,the naughty boys of the other culture and fight the deconstructionist mafia, who have discovered humanism in abstract art.?. After all, humanism is not anyone’s exclusive right or property.Art is not industry,
it is not just casual and arbitrary fantasy of the few, who decompose and deconstruct the text to suit their own ends.Art must have a core, a status, a centrality. differing from localism to localism, it must have a body, a hierarchy and it must be real which is open to criticism .What is perhaps required today that artist’s desire should be limitless and the desire’s limitlessness will rediscover the limits of the object of desire and save it from total degeneration and bankruptcy.The artist must participate in the process of the dialectic between despair and hope,death and life and between decadence and rejuvenation.This dialectical operation will provide a strong will to live and make art alive.
The reinvestment in art can come from the sources of the subject and subject panting which is the most difficult thing to do.Let the Family of Man (most of whose members live in the Third world) be our metaphor. But let us not forget the recent lessons in history that nearly icing of faith and desire is not going to be enough. Fire accompanied by blinding dust storm have the power of breaking hardest of the iceberg.
Amit Mukherjee
November 1, 1991. Calcutta.
REFERENCES
1. Dissent: The issue of modern art in Boston (a collection of essays) by
the Institute of Contemporary art U. S. A. 1985
2. Artists in Revolution – Portrait of the 1905 – 1925 Russian Avant-garde
Robert C.Williams, U. S. A. 1975
3. 10+ 10, Contemporary Soviet and American Painters, a publication of Fort
Work Art Association, U. S. A. 1989
4. Third Text, 14 Spring 1991
5. Sculpture, July – August, 1991
6. May – June, 1991
7. Art forum,Feb,1991
8. Art forum , May,1991
9. ‘Art- religion interface and New -Brahminical art’ Pranabranjan Ray in Art and Life in India- the last Four decades,edited by Josef James ,I.I.A.S. Shimla,1989
10. “ A brief review of convent cultural nationalism’ Geeta Kapur in Art and Life in India- the last four decades,I.I.A.S. Shimla,1989
11. Emergence of Realism in the Art of Bengal(1910-1940). Amit Mukhopadhyay (an unpublished thesis,later published in 1993)
BIO DATA
SUKANYA BANERJEE
Born-1967, West Bengal.
M.Fine in Painting Visva-Bharati University, 1991.
Present Address – Kala Bahavana, Santiniketan
RATI BASU
Born-1957, Delhi.
B. Fine-in Painting, 1980 M. S. University,Baroda,
M. Fine – in Printmaking, 1982, M. S. University, Baroda,
Teaching in Patha-Bhavana,Visva Bharati.
Present Address -Dakshin PaIli,. Santiniketan 731235~
SURANJAN BASU
Born-1657, Santiniketan.
B.Fine-in Printmaking, 1980,Visva-Bharati
Post Diploma-in Printmaking, 1982, M. S. University, Baroda,
Research assistance in Kala Bhavana, Visva Bharati.
Present Address – Dakshin Palli, Santiniketan 73.1235.
SUSHANTA GUHA
Born-1957, Gaya,
Post Diploma-in Printmaking, 1982, Vjsva Bharati
Teaching in Birla Vidya Niketan. New Delhi.
Present Address-402, Santnagar, 2nd Floor, East of Kailash.
New Delhi 110065.
PULAK DUTTA
Born-1957, Bolpur.
B.Fine-in Print-making, 1980, Visva Bharati.
Teaching in Patha-Bhavana, Visva Bharati.
Present Address – 25, Nichu-bangla,
Santiniketan 731235.
SUMANTRA SENGUPTA
Born – 1958.
Diploma in Painting, 1980, Government College of Art and Crafts, Calcutta.
Post-diploma-in Painting, 1983 Visva Bharati.
Working independently at New Delhi.
Present Address-(STUDIO) K-30, Hauz Khas,
New Delhi-16,
RAMPRASAD BHATTACHARYA
Born-1956, Port – Blair.
B. Fine-in Printmaking, 1980, Visva Bharti
M.A. in Painting, 1983, Rabindra Bharati University, Calcutta.
Teaching under Directorate of Education, Andamans Admistration.
Present Address Shankar General Stores, Golghar, Port Blair, 744101.
PINAKI BARUA
Born-1954. Calcutta.
M.Fine-in Print making, 1980, Visva Bharati,
Teaching in Rabindra Bharati University, Calcutta.
Present Address – P-40, Garia Park, Calcutta, 700084.
NIRMALENDU DAS
Born-1951, West Bengal.
B.Fine-in Print-making, 1973,Visva Bharati.
M.Fine-in Printmaking,1975,M. S.University,Baroda.
Ph. D.-Visva Bharati, 1984.
Teaching in Kala Bhavana, Visva Bharati.
Present Address-Kala Bhavana, Santiniketan,731235.
PRABIR KUMAR BISWAS
Born-1948. Jalpaiguri
B.Fine-in Painting,1972, Visva Bharati,
Craft Designers’ Training Course-1974, All India Handlcrafts Board. New Del
Teaching in Kala Bhavana. Visva Bharati.
Present Address-Kala Bhavana. Santiniketan, 731235.
Many friends from other disciplene are also associated with us. We would like to mention a few names. they are Sugato Hazra, Debabrata Dutta, Saibal Mitra and Indrani Barua.
NAUGHTY BOYS OF THE OTHER CULTURE
First Published, November 1991.
Published by Sujata Mukheriee,
United Church, Benachiti, Durgapur-13, West Bengal
COPYRIGHTS Sujata Mukheriee
