Honouring the traditional craft skills of India

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15Art+MONDAY | 21 OCTOBER 2013 | NEW DELHITHE ASIAN AGE

Night Watch by Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijnwas coated with a dark varnish which gave theincorrect impression that it depicted a night scene

One of the most abid-ing loves of my life isa hand woven sari. I

have sported hand wovenfabrics for as long as I canremember and it is almostlike a crusade with me. Thefeel, the design, the colour,the aesthetics all have thepower to transport me intoa rapturous state. In myconversation, writing andusage, I have been a votaryof the handlooms and thecrafts sector, opting andsupporting it to the exclu-sion of other machine madefabrics and creations. As Ioften tell people, a beautifulhand woven sari is like apainting or even like poetryin its perfection.

Well before “design-ers” were even born,our weavers had theaesthetic sense tocreate saris thatwere in tunewith the occa-sion, life style,weather and area.In fact, thiswhole debateabout thebling didn’teven exist forthe simple rea-son that zari orzardozi andother embellish-

ments would be done withso much elegance that itwas not even in the realm ofthe bling!

After the farm and agri-culture sector, the craft sec-tor employs the maximumnumber of people — a mindboggling 54 million. Villageclusters and many unor-ganised sectors and filialsituations where the entirefamily gets involved in thecreation of crafts or hand-looms are the rules ratherthan the exception. I feelthat craft as a social, cultur-al and economic force,despite being marginalised

due to urbanisationa n d

industrialisation has thestrength and potential toplay a vital role within theeconomic mainstream ofthe country.

While they have kept theflag flying high by their cre-ative genius, the one areawhere we have failed them

is the education sector.We have given them the

dream to become a“bada aadmi” after“padhna-likhna”, butrobbed them of thepride in their ownartistic brilliance. Wehave not created poli-

cies and programmesto educate them inthe real sense of the

term. We have giventhem half-baked litera-cy or so-called educa-tion and robbed them oftheir vocation, we have

eroded our heritage andlegacy that was ours to pro-tect and take forward forwe are also repositories ofculture.

Creating education pro-grammes for children ofcraftspersons would havebeen relatively simple forthere are easily identifiablepockets and regions wheresuch “vocationally orient-ed” schools could have beencreated. Instead, we havecreated lumpens who havelittle pride in their artistryand are desperate tobecome peons in officesrather than take pride inremaining artisans.

We have a lot to learnfrom Japan. When theKimonos and their artistrygot elbowed out by Westernmodes of dressing, they cre-ated museums for them.

They started supportingand honouring theircraftspersons like “livingheritage”, but this hap-pened after much was lost.Will our saris have to getthe kimono way before wewill awaken? Consideringthe increasingly feweryoung women who wearsaris in daily life, and havereduced it to being a mereceremonial outfit, I won’tbe surprised. But it washeartening to see manydesigners use hand wovenfabrics in this year’s fash-ion weeks.

In this scenario, it comesas a relief that still thereare people like LailaTayebji and Jaya Jaitleythat are concerned enoughto actively do something forthe handloom and craft sec-tor. I have immensely

enjoyed reading andlooking at Jaya’sbook Crafts Atlasof India pub-lished byNiyogi Books. Iremember thesimply beauti-ful mapswhen theywere first cre-ated in theearly 90s and Iam so glad shehas made abook of them.

But equallyheartening iswhen Dastkarholds its annu-al NatureBazaar, thistime in partner-ship with DelhiTourism, todevelop a year-

round hub where tradition-al and innovative craftsand culture meet naturaland eco-friendly products.This year, it will showcaseover 160 crafts groups,NGOs and small producergroups, as well as newdesigners working in con-temporary ways with tradi-tionally skilled craftspeo-ple.

The crux of Dastkar’s pro-gramme is to help crafts-people, especially women,to use their own traditionalcraft skills as a means ofemployment, income gener-ation and economic self-suf-ficiency. It guides theprocess of developing acraft — from identifyingthe skill and creatingawareness of its potential,

in both the craftsper-son and the con-

sumer, to develop-ing, designing,costing and thenmarketing theproduct, and final-ly suggesting theproper usages andinvestment of theincome generated.The crafts sectorcan flourish onlyif the end prod-

uct is competi-tive, not just in

its worthinessof purpose or

the neediness ofits producer, butin cost utility andaesthetic — sothat a consumerdoes not buy outof compassion!

It was at the NationalLalit Kala Art Exhibition atKolkata that Arun Pandit’sgraphic strength and ele-giac power was recognised.His last show at the VisualArts Gallery in Delhi wasyet another milestone inthe evolution of a sculptorwho uses personal experi-ence to create sculpturesthat speak in the rhythm ofthe human metaphor. Nowlooking at Pandit’s worksin this show he recalls thewords of Harold Rosenbergeven as he creates imagesthat are blurred in the lightof the internet frustrationsand experiences that hap-pen as we are faced with thekinetic words: Error 404.

Arun explains his experi-ence and his journey. “Forme, the Internet experienceis a kind of disorientationwhich is the beginning andend, and in that way it’slike a closed question, thatoperates in a basic percep-tual textbook in the humanpsyche. I’m always interest-ed in questions that I can-not answer. I don’t evenwant to answer them. But itis the tension that is gener-ated in the questions thatbecomes the subject of mycreation and frustration —as the unanswered-ness ofthe unanswered question.”Complicated? Well yes andno. Take your pick!

Dr Alka Raghuvanshi isan art writer, curator and

artist and can be contacted on alkaraghu-

vanshi@yahoo.com

AlkaRaghuvanshiartscope

Buy it or hate it, NYflocks to Banksy’s art

Famously jaded NewYorkers are gettingswept up in the hype

over Banksy, the renegadegraffiti artist, who is leav-ing his mark across thecity this month.

Known for his anti-authoritarian black-and-white stenciled images,which have sold at auctionfor upwards of $2 million,the British street artist istreating New Yorkers to adaily dose of spray-paintedart — while eluding thepolice and incurring thewrath of New York MayorMichael Bloomberg.

“Graffiti does ruin peo-ple’s property,” Bloombergsaid in a press conferenceon Wednesday.

Reactions from otherNew Yorkers to the pieces— which appear overnight,usually on side streets inLower Manhattan andBrooklyn — have rangedfrom the defacing ofimages to offers of hugesums for walls Banksy haspainted.

“Somebody offered me amillion dollars if I tookdown the bricks,” said JoseGoya, the manager of aWilliamsburg, Brooklyn,building that Banksyspray-painted onWednesday night.

Goya turned the buyerdown and had Plexiglasplaced over the Japanese-themed image of a man anda woman crossing anarched bridge. The art hasa black squiggle spray-painted over it, the work ofan apparent Banksy haterwho, according to Goya,

was stopped mid-deface-ment by a group of menwho tackled him.

The mysterious Banksyis calling his month in NewYork his “Better Out ThanIn” residency. Among hisworks so far: the image of aRonald McDonald statuegetting his red clown shoeshined, which appeared inthe Bronx on Tuesday, anda live stock truck adornedwith children’s stuffed

farm animal toys — amobile installation Banksycalls Sirens of the Lambs.

Every morning, heannounces the location ofeach piece on his websiteand invites people to call ahotline for droll descrip-tions of the artwork’sinspiration.

The art is defined in partby the artist’s mystique. Itis still uncertain whetherBanksy, who remainsunidentified since emerg-ing in England in 1993, isone artist or a group. In the2010 documentary aboutBanksy, Exit Through theGift Shop, which receivedwidespread critical praise,the artist is always shroud-ed in a head covering or hisface is hidden in shadows.

“He’s sort of likeBatman,” Matt Adams, aWilliamsburg resident,said as he photographedthe Japanese-themed sten-cil. “No one knows who heis, he does his work undercloak of darkness andeveryone in New York islooking for him.”

VANISHING ACTSThe New York Daily

News reported this weekthat the New York Police

Department is searchingfor the artist to charge himwith vandalism. An NYPDspokesman would not con-firm or deny a Banksymanhunt, but said thedepartment’s vandal squadinvestigates all graffiticomplaints.

New Yorkers haveflocked to Banksy’s art,eager to view pieces beforethey are defaced orremoved, possibly by rivalartists or those who think Banksy’s work isshallow and his fame unde-served.

“I will hand it to him thatit’s clever, but it’s one stepaway from really smartmarketing,” said New Yorkradio DJ AndrewAndrew,

who works with a DJ part-ner also named Andrew.

The DJ duo — both ofwhom are contractuallyobliged to use the nameAndrewAndrew — criti-cised Banksy’s work on theair last week as less skilledand less meaningful thansome other American graf-fiti artists like ShepardFairey, who designedthered-and-blue ObamaHope poster.

An image of the TwinTowers destroyed in theSeptember 11, 2001 attacksthat had been spray-paint-ed by the artist on a wall inBrooklyn Heights wasremoved Thursday nightafter less than a week inplace. It is unclear who wasresponsible.

Last Sunday, Banksy setup a table in Central Parkselling small canvases withhis trademark image of arat for $60 a piece, accord-ing to his website.

Six people, unaware ofthe art’s worth, boughtcanvases, including aDutch tourist who bar-gained the price down to$30, according to Banksy’swebsite. Banksy’s art hassold for as much as $1.87million, according toSotheby’s auction house. Among the hundreds whoarrived to see Banksy’s arton the Williamsburg wallwas Evan Mannell, anAustralian musician visit-ing New York who hasrushed to three Banksyimages.

“Think of it like a jazzsolo,” he said. “Unlesssomeone records it, it’s allfinished and it’s over. Iwant to see Banksy’s piecesbefore they’re gone.”

— Reuters

Elizabeth Dilts

focus

African tribal art haslong been treasuredby wealthy Western

collectors, but increasinglythe continent’s contempo-rary art scene is the onemaking its presence felt atmuseums, auction housesand art fairs.

The trend is spurred bywealthy Africans support-ing home-grown talent andEuropean collectorssearching for the next bigthing. Several London gal-leries focused on Africanart have opened in the pastfew years, the flagship TateModern has set up anAfrican acquisitions com-mittee, and this year’s saleof African art at the auctionhouse Bonhams has passedthe 1 million pound ($1.6million) mark.

London’s Somerset Houseis hosting the 1:54, theBritish capital’s inauguralcontemporary African artfair, this week. And themood there is buoyant.

“People are caring morein the press, collectors areopening their doors, andmuseums are showingmore African artists,” saidMariane Lenhardt, whoseSeattle-based M.I.A Galleryis selling fierce-looking,nail-studded busts byLondon-based sculptor ZakOve.

Bonhams auctioneerGiles Peppiatt, whose annu-al Africa Now auction tookin a record 1.3 millionpounds ($2.1 million) thisyear, said he has neverseen so much interest.

London now has four gal-leries focused on Africancontemporary art, three ofthem opening in the pastthree years: The moreestablished OctoberGallery, an early championof acclaimed Ghanaiansculptor El Anatsui; theJack Bell Gallery, openedin 2010; the TiwamiContemporary, a Nigeria-focused gallery that openedthe next year; and GAFRA,only a few months old.

The Tate, home to the cap-ital’s best-known collectionof contemporary art,launched an African acqui-sitions committee last year.Frieze, London’s high-endcontemporary art fair, isthis week featuring twoAfrican galleries. It’s a tinyfigure, but double last

year’s total.Market watchers say

some of the excitementstems from the fast-grow-ing economies of sub-Saharan Africa, some ofwhose new-found wealth isbeing reinvested in localartists.

Also important is the slowdeath of the notion thatAfrican art consists ofwooden masks, carved stat-ues, and tribal talismans,said Neil Dundas, whoseSouth Africa-basedGoodman Gallery is dis-playing at Frieze.

What makes this contem-porary art “African” is as aquestion as complicated asthe continent itself. Someartists, like the IvoryCoast’s Aboudia, live inAfrica and tackle explicitlyAfrican issues. Others, likeOve, were born outside thecontinent but draw on itsculture to shape theirwork.

There are signs of newinterest. Among the Africainitiates at 1:54 was Belgianindustrialist Guy Ullens,

known for his huge trove ofChinese contemporary art.The art baron wasimpressed.

“The quality is verygood,” he said.

The price is also relative-ly cheap, at least comparedto art from other develop-ing markets. Anatsui’smesmerising metallictapestries can sell for morethan 500,000 pounds($800,000), but many of theworks on display at 1:54 —like Ove’s Black Astronaut,which features aviator gog-gles and an alligator head— carry a price tag of sev-eral thousand pounds.

Overall, the African artmarket’s figures remainsmall compared to the mil-lions brought in by itscounterparts in otherdeveloping markets.

But Peppiatt, theBonhams auctioneer, saidthe growth over the pastfive years had been strik-ing.

“I just think of wherewe’ve come from, which is:‘Nowhere,’” he said. —AP

Some of the graphic artthat is part of the “BetterOut Than In” collection inNew York

Banksy’s ploy●● Every morning, he announces thelocation of eachpiece on his websiteand invites people tocall a hotline fordroll descriptions ofthe artwork’s inspi-ration

Increased interest incontemporary arts

Sculpture White Magic, an adapted Madame Tussaudswax work of Tony Blair (clockwise from top left), Exit Ball,the Zuma Throne made from recycled weapons and metaland Richard Mudariki’s The Last Judgment — AP

Some of the displays from Nature Bazaar (above) and Error 404 (below). — ASIAN AGE