I would like the readers to understand my proposition for writing of this kind before venturing into the thematic. As everyone knows that Indian art criticism has long been reduced to gossips and celebrity flattery in one end and academic/ theoretical ‘jouissance’ on the other, the only real space for any criticism I feel is left in casual talks and slips of tongue which at least bring to fore some discussions and genuine issues regarding the contemporary art world’s functioning. It is also keeping in mind the strange fear of loosing the little oversaturated market of many serious artists who imaginarily subvert within the sophisticated languages of catalogue activism against the system. I hope these notes might give an agency for their un/consciously and dynamically suppressed ‘real’ criticism of the system. At last it is also keeping in mind my just happening career which would be at stake if one goes for “yet another critical writing” which would be pleasing the art world and maintain the status quo of its liberal, open, inclusive character. Since it’s about installation art, as everybody tells I leave this writing as open ended for the readers to decipher the bits and pieces of specific and general events/artworks I am mentioning.
Baroda is in every way a microcosm of the Indian art world. Probably one would not get such a variety of artists and practice even in any other metropolitan art centers. It would be an arduous task to trace the historical development of installation art in Baroda as there is nothing to refer to. For that sake even the changes in conventional art practice has not yet been systematically written about after the only book ‘Contemporary art in Baroda’(edited by Gulam sheikh). Though there have been serious attempt/s through other means of writing like catalogues (Beyond credos-curated by shivaji panicker, catalogue written by santosh sadanand) on the changes in the art scene here it had to be restricted within the dynamics of an all inclusive gallery show. But installation as a practice has not yet been documented. This makes the context interesting because one is immediately suspicious about the quality of this practice not just in Baroda but even in India as a whole. Also since contemporary Indian art history is tragically caught up in the coffee table flattering catalogues of the artists one has no other option other than referring these to have an insight of what is happening. But unlike other art centers like Bombay, Delhi and Bangalore, artists in Baroda are said to be cautious about picking up the “spectacle culture” which has plagued the Indian art world. As one senior artist put, there has been a resistance in that level because here there are few artists who have seriously attempted to understand the possibilities of language which is part of the local/national cultural ethos. The best known examples would be the attempts in continuing the popular, narrative, satirical and allegorical traditions of Indian art and literature. Interestingly even after the new media christened foreign agency and gallery funded artists have proclaimed the obsoleteness of the conventional art forms, there are artists here who are still able to upturn cultural and social imageries and imaginations with the painted image without giving in to the official and totalitarian discourse of culture.
Any practice in Baroda is inseparably related to the practice in the faculty. And also, since it’s only the students who are experimenting, I would briefly talk about this.
Though there is the legacy of a school (narrative, figurative) within the academy and outside one is often pushed to think whether even today’s practice gains currency only because the artists are associated with this place. One of the reasons which might support this is that most of the artists doing installation art display it outside Baroda and not in Baroda. Obviously the lack of a professional gallery is perhaps a reason. But for a community (if at all) which has always taken the avant-garde stand, it should not be a problem. Also as another artist told many practitioners here have a sound economic background that they don’t at least need a gallery sponsored preview in Baroda. Though there have been a few previews, many a times it’s only for friends and likeminded. This obviously creates a disconnection for the students to know the real experience of such sensory based installations. One can also try to connect this with the idea that students have nothing to look up for inspiration here.
If one compares with the activities in other art metropolis, where funded talks and discussions are conducted every three days Baroda at least has remained calm out of this “facebook phenomena” of projecting ‘happening’ places. But this has also taken a toll in the overall practice, because students are easily jumping into readily available images and information without a critical outlook. One just needs to see the recycled display of imageries for a past few years in the faculty submission to understand this phenomenon. Even regarding art history, as an ex-student said it just touches upon few individuals and their practices and doesn’t explore the changes in the nature of the artwork from an object to other forms. This has definitely impacted in the students practice in adopting information without knowing the context in which the artwork was created.
The art practice in Baroda has a peculiarity unlike other centers. There is a very thin line between the faculty curriculum and the practice outside the faculty. Though the ‘spectacle culture’ is fast catching the student’s displays there is still a check within the faculty. I would not further digress into the (dys) functioning of the faculty because it’s not within the purview of the present writing. But since there are still some really functional individuals in certain departments and there is a scope for a discussion regarding this practice, I had just braced upon this site which is ripe for an excavation in all strata.
Again comparing other art centers you have a few gallery established artists who are really busy in Baroda. As a senior and an emerging artist told that in Baroda since we have artists available unlike other busy art centers you have a scope for discussing and interacting regarding practice. So at least in that way there is a culture of closed door discussions within artist groups. But other than a few galleries from Delhi and Bombay who have contracted artists (but liberally) there is very less of support for particularly young artists to explore the medium of installation. The seasonal descent of collectors and art store owners, though have a guided tour by the artists in position, has not created a culture of genuine support for many young artists who are really willing to experiment. Because of the absence of a proper supportive system ‘ambitious’ installation projects have to wait till the funds are ready. Though this is a genuine problem, the scale and the amount required for many of these installations really make one wonder how the official discourse has interpolated the foundations of any thinking regarding installation. As an artist academician put “Somewhere one thinks that installation and new media is something else. This disconnection is very difficult to make them realize”. Interestingly even when cheap and recycled materials are used they take unwarranted scale and money. This is best visible in the faculty submission where students spend lakhs of rupees for just an academic formality of displaying the year long work for grading. Now the students pre-pone their christening ritual into the market in academic submissions itself!
Though Baroda has a handful of foundations proclaimed/supported emerging artists, the nature of their installations/artwork are far from really probing into the intricacies of the language. They reproduce in different mediums newer, fantastic visualities or specifically putting, mix up traditional and contemporary objects for titillating consumption according to the taste of the system. One would also think about the sad culture of activism which starts with writing projects for funding and ends in showing documents of the projects to apply for fund again. Though one must surely appreciate the N.G.O foundations that readily jump into supporting activist projects, such an easy formula for activist art needs to be questioned for its libertarian social cause. Unfortunately many artist activisms start and ends in the galleries whose owners are enthralled about this intellectual tag added to their products. I would also like to mention the talk about few artists who blew the boom bubbles from the edifices of market only to remain underground when their benefactors “shut their shop”. The change in the economic structures with globalization surely directed the flow of capital into newer fields like art. But unfortunately since art was far away from the main course of the capital flows when a bit of apprehension was felt the channel of money was redirected to other fertile areas. It’s not surprising that many artists have lost their position with this redirection of market flows. Obviously its offseason for the production of artwork, then lets forget the case about huge installations.
Without intervening further in the general idea of installation art in India and specifically Baroda, I honestly want to confess that I wanted to write about the practice of installation but the environmental conditions surrounding the practice is so cold that I had to write such a piece for gaining entry into this spectacular language as its practiced here. With a definite wish to systematically study the genuine and serious efforts of some of the artists here in Baroda I would end these notes with a very relevant quote regarding the practice/practitioners… “The cynical subject is quite aware of the distance between the ideological mask and the social reality, but he none the less still insists upon the mask. The formula, as proposed by Sloterdijk, would then be: "they know very well what they are doing, but still, they are doing it". Cynical reason is no longer naïve, but is a paradox of an enlightened false consciousness: one knows the falsehood very well, one is well aware of a particular interest hidden behind an ideological universality, but still one does not renounce it.” (Cynicism as a Form of Ideology Slavoj Zizek.The Sublime Object of Ideology)
V.Divakar,
Baroda
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