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Time to stop and ponder...

How can eyesores be allowed to come up in art centres? Artists Mona Rai and Suryaprakash surmise that a missing sense of historicity is one of the culprits

IN SEARCH OF INSPIRATION Mona Rai tells Suryaprakash that violence is as much a part of nature as colour

She is not known for mincing words. For hers is an approach of calling a spade a spade in no uncertain terms and devil may take the hindermost! Her journey of exploring her creative instincts has taken her into touching her palette with metallic colours along with bits and bobs from a feminine perspective - a silvery piece of tinsel here with a bronze disc glistening there - casting a spell on her canvases to make them glow. She burns holes into her canvases and then embellishes them almost as an afterthought. Or is it part of the larger pre-plan? The stark, dark burn stains questioning their positioning as it were.

He, on the other hand, dips into nature as his inspirational mainstay. The blaze of gold and saffron from autumnal Kashmir find a place on his canvas, as do the sombre greens of monsoon Andhra Pradesh.

The reds and blues culled from nature replete with reference points that are universal in both appeal and context. The glow of his outward persona reflected in his luminescent works as they make a definite statement.

Alka Raghuvanshi caughtup with Delhi-based artist Mona Rai along with the Hyderabad-based artist Suryaprakash in Santiniketan and found that the conversation between the two was as definitive as it was categorical.

Surya: Artists are supposed to be visualisers and have aesthetics - look at the haphazard growth in Tagore's own Santiniketan!

Mona: What a pity that private houses in Santiniketan are so beautiful but

Tagore's university has gone to pieces. There is no inspiring ambience, the architecture is depressing and the level of cleanliness is terrible.

But that is because we are living and loving mediocrity. Aesthetics and quality of design is not being addressed.

Surya: Despite the growth of the art market, I feel 99 per cent of the work being thrown at the audiences is bad work. There is no conscious attempt by artists to maintain quality.

Mona: The primary reason for this is that we don't have a sense of historicity. Look at museums for instance - there is no activity, no art education, no exposure. How do you expect creativity in such a scenario?

Surya: Exactly. The only way to my mind is to take art to places where there is movement of people - like post offices, railway stations, etc. - like our erstwhile temples, where they could live with art.

Mona: But then art may not necessarily be easy to live with. Pretty pictures don't necessarily constitute art. Nor can it always fall within the predictable vocabulary. People need to be educated about art. For art is now a commercial commodity.

Surya: Here I feel that the potential of the second hand art market needs to be explored. Until that develops, the market in totality can't expand.

Mona: It is developing. It has just happened in the last five or six years. The kind of money one puts into art now, people would certainly want to get back. But it is easy for the artists to get carried away by this newfound popularity.

Surya: Surely! But then there are others who constantly talk about Indian art being derivative.

Mona: I feel there is no harm in getting influenced - which is inevitable, for one is being perennially inundated with images - but one must be able to turn it into one's own language.

Surya: I, for instance, am constantly looking towards nature for inspiration. It brings me in touch with myself. It is almost my weakness.

Mona: Why? It can also be your strength! I'd repeat it like a musical note! Texture itself is being the language. Violence itself is as much a part of nature as colour. Each stroke takes it forward. There I'm not bothered where I took it from.

Surya: We as humankind have also paid the price of ignoring nature. Consequently I am that much more conscious of it in my work. Abstractions tend to dilute. But then I can't force myself.

Mona: It is rather nice and brave to admit that! But there comes a point when it will not bother you.

For that one has to understand the larger process. But as the poet would say - who has time to linger and ponder...

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