(Artists with Adwaita Gadanayak, Director General of the NGMA)
Are the Indian artists making the kind of art that is expected
of them at this peculiar socio-cultural and political scenario in the country?
The amount of time that the artists spend in the social media in order to
vocalize their angst against the growing right wing extremism and its covert
and overt encroachments in the field of art, culture and daily life of people
in general is comparatively longer than they used to spend there in the yester
years. There are three types of artistic voices expressed in the social media:
one, direct and acerbic criticism of the right wing government and its
henchmen. Two, controlled and metaphorical statements including expressing
solidarity with the collectives responding to the right wing forces, which is
often seen as something oscillating between social responsibility and critique
from the safe zones. Three, sharing carefully researched articles against
fascism, stories of atrocities against the Dalits and minorities and when they
are in their humorous best and devoid of snobbish guards, the trolls that rip
off the genetic ladders of the right wingers.
Let me go by the Bacon style here. First group is reckless
while second is cautious and the third always survive. Like their recklessness
the members in the first groups form a minority community that still revel in
cheap cigarettes, tea and street side hangouts. The second group is a nebulous
category led by a few recognizable voices. The third group is conspicuous
because of its fence sitting attitude. If someone comes in search of them they
could easily say that they were just ‘sharing’ the trolls for its sheer sense of
humor. Let me clarify a bit here. The first is a jobless group. They don’t have
anything to lose other than their revolutionary verve. The second group is
committed to the cause of revolution and social justice but definitely they do
not want to risk their lives. The third category is already sold out to the
corporations and to their collateral agencies. The feebleness of their critique
should be understood from where the food comes to their dining tables. This set
of people either pretends that the corporations are really benevolent or they
have not understood anything that they have read in terms of postmodern theories
so far.
(Kiran Nadar, the founder director of KNMA)
With the right wing governance consolidating in India during
the last five years and with a lingering hope of the extremists regarding their
coming back to power even with a cut to size majority, in the art scene certain
filtering and fermenting has happened and the precipitation has been quite
amusing. If you look at the programs planned at the NGMAs and the group of
artists regularly go around to express their allegiance to the right wing cause
you would understand that all these years these gentlemen and ladies have been
waiting in wings to make their entry however insignificant their roles are in the
grand scheme of the tragedy. I do not want to personally criticize anybody
involved in the NGMAs for at least deep in their hearts they believe they are doing
the right thing. Right from the head of the NGMA to the readjusted existing
staff members from the former regime and to the newly appointed director board
members believe that they want to do something really ‘better’ to improve the
quality of the NGMAs’ administration and enhance the quality of the exhibitions
produced.
The tragedy lies in this belief. While the right wing
ideology is misogynistic, anti-progressive, anti-Dalit, anti-left and
anti-all-what-can-be-outside-the-pale-of-cultural-nationalism the very hope
that one day these newly appointed well-wishers of culture could bring about
some change itself is on a shaky platform or in other terms on a sticky wicket.
Like all the totalitarian regimes do, the voices of all the director board
members are heard and noted, but the final decision will be taken by the
cultural heads of the right wing. Hence, if at all anybody has any illusions
about doing something really revolutionary in the NGMAs the maximum that can
happen is getting themselves shot or hacked at some point or unceremoniously
offloaded on the way. In the best case scenario they could be signing the
minutes register for all what is going to happen in terms of art exhibitions,
take their TA, DA and good hospitality in three star hotels and go home with a
pricking conscience if at all any ether substance of that name left in them.
(Nandlal Bose)
Two things became clearer and in perspective: one, we could
see who all have been genuinely right wingers in the art scene and for long been
suffocating. Two, we could also see the fence sitters and careless opportunists
who went rushing to the director boards in various capacities. Take the example
of the forthcoming Venice Biennale and the Indian Pavilion put together by none
other than the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA). Two things became clear with
the involvement of the KNMA. One, the right wingers do not have artists who
could be shown to the light of the day. Two, when it comes to the corporations what
leads them is not ideology but money. The India Pavilion in the Venice Biennale
is led by the NGMA. It has only one thing to offer: the Haripura Panels painted
by Nandlal Bose in 1938. Master Moshai, as Bose was called reverently, did this
series at the insistence of Mahatma Gandhi. The right wing had shot at Gandhiji
and with the right wing regime ruling India and has been vigorously distorting
Indian history has absorbed Gandhiji into their pantheon. Hence, Nandlal Bose
stands a chance; not Binode Behari Mukherjee who had painted the Medieval
Saints.
(from a former Venice Biennale)
Now look at the other artists that the KNMA has selected for
the India Pavilion. I do not want to pick them out and criticize. But out of
these willing collaborators two of them were a part of the Kochi Muziris Biennale,
which is heavily supported by the KNMA. That means, it is KNMA representing India
in the Venice Biennale, not the NGMA or the parent organization, the Cultural
Ministry. I have been told that the support of the KNMA comes as the NGMA does
not have that kind of money for the logistic support. It can be true because
during the UPA regime, with Rajeev Lochan as the NGMA head and Ranjit Hoskote
as the curator of the Indian Pavilion in the Venice Biennale, there had been
last minute glitches in Venice and the curator was temporarily bailed out by
the KMB team that was touring in that part of the world for the first edition
of the KMB. When the right wing regime colludes with a private cultural tycoon,
it is not just an innocent act of strategic collaboration. It is a large scale
cultural buy out that predominantly happen in most of the other industries.
Though they may look strange bed mates, the business interests that the culture
cartel leads make the conjugal a smooth affair. With no modes of resistance in
hands what the participating artists could do is nothing but just behaving politely
and smiling profusely on the opening day. And yes, the third category will ‘share’
all what these artists put out there in the social media, be it photographs,
curatorial notes and some European press clippings.
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