LINE ART

NAGUESH  RAO  SARDESSAI

‘Special Drawing Camp’ organized by the Directorate of Art & Culture, Government of Goa, saw an eclectic mix of styles, genre, isms and concepts under one roof.

Institute Menezes Braganza Hall, Panaji,  had the veteran artist Vamona Ganesh Navelkar mingling with the youngest of the lot amongst the twelve participating artists. The selection of participants had a wide swing in age that made the workshop a worthy event.

Conceptualized by feted Goan artist Theodore Mariano Mesquita and young Normon Tagore with the technical inputs and feedback from Abstract painter Suhas Shilkar, the Department of Art & Culture took on the mantle and rightfully supported the concept of stressing on – line - the core element in the whole process of creating a piece of art.

This primary element is overlooked and workshops of whole lot of other aspects are taken up. ‘We put in this proposal of a special workshop on line drawing,’ says Suhas, the co-coordinator of the event before adding, ‘as we felt that the generation today has missed the wheat for the chaff.’

‘We need to urgently focus on the basics instead of going in for the huge paintings and creative splendors that holds no ground,’ said Suhas with suppressed dejection.

This eight-day camp had the artists work only on paper as against usually preferred canvas. Besides the four mentioned earlier, Nirupa Naik, Francis D’Souza, Sanjay Harmalkar, Charudutta Prabhudessai, Mohan Naik, Loretti Pinto, Kedar Dhondu and Julio de Souza worked in the camp. In fact, the choice of the said artists was largely based on the artists’ consistent preference for the surface and their felicity of expression. Each artist gave space to their free expression and came out with interesting piece of art.

Vamona’s sinewy lines with poetic rhythm embedded in them spoke his heart out. Nirupa Naik worked with lines, dots and miniature decorative forms that are washed with pretty hues such as pink, sap green, soft blue etc. ‘I prefer to highlight the beauty around us and enliven the atmosphere that has moved towards gloom and despair,’ states Nirupa with a innocent smile. Francis does have dismembered forms and questionable compositions that unsettle the viewers only to draw them further in the subject. Regular social life gets a personalized interpretation.

Moving away from his off-late graffiti influenced paintings with poignant social messages, Norman display his masterly skill with pure lines. Figure studies and a study of a couple stands out of the lot.

Loretti’s concern of the environment and her disdain for the mining and mega-projects come through her powerful works. She is one artist who has blurred the line of an artist and an activist. Her drawings are illustrative and she holds a tremendous command and displays admirable draftsmanship.

Kedar speaks of the violence and the degradation of social life. He is never apologetic and speaks straight from his heart. One of the works has the azulejo at the Menezes Braganza hall framing a stormy scene. Is Kedar speaking of the chequered history and the storm it can spin out if not handled in a sensible way? It’s open to interpretation.

Julio’s sharp lines and palpable distortions have given way to photo-finish figures and seemingly violent and grotesque faces. Screwdriver pierced through the eye, keyhole temple, and blobbing eye etc. with some scribbles interspersed activate interest in the piece of art.

Mohan paints rural life that he saw and that he hopes to preserve it through his works. He is one artist who has stuck to the old school of art such as miniature and reinterpreted it in the modern context. He has, in Goa, given a new lease of life to miniature.

Sanjay, essentially a noted and celebrated portrait artist, did some of the stunning here at the camp. Late Ravindra Kelekar, Asha Bhonsle and others got a new life through his masterly strokes of colours. A depiction of a fisherwoman and the scene at the traditional ‘Shigmo’ enlivens the surrounding.     

Theodore’s surrealistic and neatly drafted drawings, visually palpable and inviting abstracts of Suhas and Charudutta’s sarcastic compositions and caustic statements using the visual language and self created vocabulary make this camp a grand success. 

‘I’m happy to interact with the other practicing artists and this experience has bridged the generational gap,’ said Sanjay, expressing satisfaction at the successful completion of this camp of which he was one of the promoters.

‘Let’s see how we can push this concept ahead to cover other artists and fan out by being inclusive rather than exclusive,’ said Suhas explaining his plans ahead.

The paintings created here will be on display in a special exhibition in the immediate future. 

FIVE POINT SOMETHING: A CREATIVE ENSEMBLE

NAGUESH  RAO  SARDESSAI

‘Silent voices’ is in its fifth edition this year with an exhibition, titled ‘Five Point Something: A Creative Ensemble’, of art works produced by five Goan artists. These events are the brainchild of Rajesh Salgaonkar, young and enterprising artist and art promoter, with his own Art Gallery in the heart of Panaji.

‘I have been regularly holding art camps under the banner of ‘Silent Voices’ and inviting Goan artists to participate with the intention of facilitating an exchange of ideas,’ says Rajesh whilst explaining the purpose of such events.

‘These works are then showcased for a larger audience, which provides them a platform and gives them a footing,’ elucidates Rajesh.

The current show at the Kala Academy Goa is showing five artists who have excelled, academically and otherwise, in their respective way and are constantly making a mark with their creative output. Vitesh Naik, Rajesh Salgaonkar, Viraj Naik, Siddharth Gosavi and Santosh Morajkar do not require introduction in Goa.

Their tryst with the deeply ensconced impressions accumulated over the years and the forms formulated after an intensely invigorating creative churning communicates their ideology and concepts.

The symbols, the fantastic imagery and seemingly incongruous juxtapositions redefine the very idea of art for the sake of art. Here, they put together a show that exhibits their highly refined intellect draped with amazing technical finesse. Man is a social animal that experiences all the trials and tribulations on the path called life. Each one of these artists represents that aspect of the social structure, which collapses into the idea called life.

Their individual subjectivity ceases to thrive in the independent art pieces. The art pieces exemplify the collective objectivity finally to belong to the people out there.

Kuwait returned Vitesh Naik represents those individuals who never belong anywhere but to their motherland. The umbilical cord is always very well connected. A Goan by heart, tavern, gossipmongers, hollow confabulators, roadside banters and other aspect of this beautiful place slide into his picture with ease. Vitesh elevates the mundane to a level that resonates with deep sociological meaning. Nominal twitching and bearable distortions, when crafted in his inimitable style, gets accentuated to communicate with the lay viewers.

He chronicles the current Goa with the trappings of the seventies and eighties and pushes us on a nostalgic trip. The deliberately cramped compositions with figures squeezed in the designated space don’t seem to display any discomfort. It reflects the warmth of any happy-go-lucky Goan.

Rajesh Salgaonkar paints the marine life woven around human beings and reflecting their tale. He celebrates the deep-sea wealth and revels in the projection of marine icons.  Curvilinear forms bordering on the surrealistic washed in the eye-catching bright hues activates the shimmering effect and completes the tapestry. Largely employing the mixed media technique on paper, Rajesh’s marine imagery is heaped against an antiseptic background that sooths the eyes. Incoherent though, the painstaking detailing adds an optical glitter.

Viraj Naik, one can safely say, represents the younger lot and leads the pack. He, like the Turkish reformists amongst the Young Turks, is radical within the established structure. He pioneered the trend, in Goa, of speaking the mutative language.  Greatly influenced by the environment in Hyderabad, during his post graduation, his style, greatly, reflects that of his mentor – K Laxma Goud even though he has, largely, come on his own. Sexual imagery with transmuted character, in his works, would baffle an anthropologist. Viraj excels in draftsmanship and each of his line is palpably forceful and vocal with forms jutting out to intimidate and construct socio-political statement.  Featured in noted international auctions, he is the beacon of hope. His participation in this show adds glamour to the group.

Siddharth Sundar Gosavi packs a visual punch in his works. Rationed forms corner major space and push the seam to the point of palpable tension. Almost anthropomorphic form of humongous size seems to protrude out and walk towards the viewers. Employing a painstaking method of stippling, hatching and crosshatching, he builds the images that gain a unique character. They seem to shimmer and come alive.

Santosh Morajkar’s mutated figures, usually ensconced in natural surroundings give the seemingly odd character a soft persona. He manipulates the identifiable figures into fantastic one and shoves them into a niche that highlights his philosophy. Bold in his approach and radical with imagery, Santosh speaks his independent language and at times creates his own vocabulary. Not covertly intimidating, the forms speak the language of the nature – be it explicit copulation, plain cajoling or mundane conversing. Santosh is never apologetic for he is voicing our aspirations and shunning civilized hypocrisy. 

Five Point Something: A Creative Ensemble is an art congregation of contemporary minds and styles. The show was on view till March 12, 2013.