c


 
               
   

"With great power comes great responsibility"

This holds the most truth for all artists. Men may bow
down to the hand which holds the sword but will immortalize the one that
wields the brush. The same goes true for the pen.

Over the years there have been many revolutions but only a few of them have
succeeded, not because they had better resources but because they had more
infectious ideas. And ideas need a fertile mind to cultivate, and what better than
art to charge the mind whether it be words, paintings or music.

One can quote the examples of M.F Hussain and Salman Rushdie and say that
men of the brush or pen are not allowed to express themselves freely in India
and hence will not be able to cultivate ideas. While this is true and cannot be
argued with, one mustn¶t forget that this is the result of our own intolerance and
degradation of our social order. We have let political parties take us out for a
ride by chanting blasphemy against the arts in the name of religion which we all
know is just to fatten their vote bank.

Decadency has slowly sent into our once mature civilization which was the
birthplace of the art of Kamasutra. The Khajuraho temples are a direct artistic
inspiration from then Kamasutra. The temples were and still are embraced by
our society as an integral part of its culture. Why now do we give a step
motherly treatment to the artists of our own generation?
ablo icasso¶s ³Guernica´ is a depiction of the suffering that war can bring
upon the innocent; he derived the inspiration to paint Guernica from the
bombing of the town of Guernica by German and Italian warplanes.

The UN bears a tapestry representation of Guernica which was covered up when

Colin owel in a press was presenting his arguments for the war on Iraq and the
tapestry was the background. There couldn¶t have been a more appropriate
representation of what was in store for Iraq. It is often wondered if the people
would have been convinced of the argument if Guernica wasn¶t hidden in the
background.

Bernini¶s ³Ecstasy of St Teresa´ depicting a nun in orgasm was simply a

metaphoric representation of the love that she had for God, which he wanted to
portray as orgasmic. Bernini¶s art was met with shock, as a nun in orgasm was
the last thing one could imagine. Despite this fact, Bernini¶s art was met with
much appreciation.

Bernini¶s sculpture can be compared to M.F Hussains painting ³Bharatmata´

which is a painting of a naked women depicted as Mother India with the names
of various states written across her body parts. While this painting was received
well by the sensible few, it was condemned by various political parties. MF
Hussain had to eventually leave the country fearing arrest and a threat to his
life.

Hussains courage must be admired because he has continuously created art that
has challenged the conventional ³morality´ of the generation. Al though not an
Indian anymore, Hussain has shown that Indian artists can make the people
think when they challenge the morals of society.
Many artists may fall to swords but their work will live on and inspire hope in
an effort to change the thoughts of a society and make it more tolerant and
mature.

India artists must use the power of their art to bring about a change in India.