Space for self-enquiry
TARIT BHATTACHARJEE
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Somnath Hore, who died recently, had the rare ability to integrate art with life.
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Aesthetic expression: Somnath Hore's "Two Sisters".
LIFE and Work are not too different and, perhaps, Somnath Hore actually thought about it. He was a man with the rare ability to integrate art with life around him, a man who did not have to face the duality of elitist idealism that creates its own class.
His understanding of life began through a crisis of civilisation — war, the Japanese bomb in Bengal and the famine of 1943. These were the beginnings of Somnath's creative journey. The journey was not easy but the crises created a space from where he could respond to human problems. He visualised human agony, violence and death. In 1943 he journeyed through East Bengal villages and saw the suffering of the people. He realised that he had his own tool to express his inner frustration, his inner voice — the language of line, form, texture and aesthetic expression.
Early life
Born in a middle class family in Patia, a village in Chittagong, (now in Bangladesh) on April 13, 1921, he lost his father very early. As the eldest in the family, he had to shoulder responsibilities. Earning a livelihood was the first priority and he went to Calcutta. But after the Japanese bomb in 1942, he went back to his village. Here he gave an expression to the textures of human tragedy that he had witnessed and experienced. Around this time he joined the Communist Party and made posters and pictures for the communist party. He was also introduced to the renowned artist Chittaprasad.
His was a voice against atrocities, expressed not in isolation but through the creative space that lies between art and life. He was not a witness to the war in Vietnam but his feeling for humanity made him react the way he did. His medium of expression was a deep engraving on a plaster base. Taking the print on papier-mβchι, he sprinkled hues of red on it and titled it "Wounds".
Somnath Hore was also one of the pioneers of the printmaking movement. He joined the Calcutta College of Art in 1945. He had two great teachers — Prof. Jainal Abedin whose approach he identified with, and Prof. Saifuddin with whom he had his early lessons in printmaking.
Having grown up in a natural environment, Somnath's inclination towards the aesthetic was inevitable. As a young boy he used to copy pictures from postcards. After 1942, he started drawing/painting from his own experiences. His early black and white drawings are reminiscent of Picasso's "Guernica" painted in 1937 after the Spanish civil war. Interestingly when Somnath made these drawings, he did not know anything about Picasso's "Guernica".
As a student of Somnath Hore for five years, I used to watch his style of working, his clear understanding of methods and materials, the way he explored different techniques in experimental ways — lithograph, etching, intaglio, and engraving. He had a very good understanding of possibilities. As students we never found ourselves left out. He used to encourage us, including everyone in this journey. Never rigid or academic in his teaching, he appreciated innovativeness. He once said, "If you ever feel your task is over, you would never seek possibilities." He was always optimistic and in his teaching, he created a space for self-enquiry.
At Santiniketan
In 1969, Visva Bharati requested him to take over the responsibility of Graphic Art Department in Kalabhavan, Santiniketan, and revive the printmaking tradition, which had lost much of its early importance. Somnath began his task with a new set of students and teachers He introduced new techniques and a new generation of creative minds emerged. In Santiniketan, Ram Kinkar Baij and Vinod Bihari Mukherjee, two great stalwarts of Indian art, inspired Somnath.
In his journey he successfully added another medium. He experimented with a new kind of sculptural language using wax and resin. "Wounds" was an abstract expression, but in his sculpture, he created a unique three-dimensional effect.
An innovative mind never rests. It enjoys exploring new ideas; it matures in thought and expression and always beyond the reach of material demand. I look back at my days with Somnath Hore as an unforgettable memory, a priceless journey of self-exploration.
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