Indian American Art event

I spent my Saturday afternoon at a literary event named Words on Water. This event consisted of a panel of revered Indian-American writers, reporters, and art collectors who displayed modern and exciting music, literature, and dance. This was an unusual way to spend my Saturday afternoon, as I’m usually either bedridden from last nights party, or spending my free afternoon in the sun with my friends. Furthermore, I know little to nothing about Indian culture, sure, I know their main religion is Hinduism, I know they have a caste system, and I know they have their own version of Hollywood, which is successful in its’ own right. My small amount of knowledge regarding India doesn’t mean I’m not interested, more that I’m just ignorant/unaware of the subtle nuances that makes this culture and its art unique.  Even though it was unusual, I’m happy to say it was worth my time, and I learned a whole lot, and now appreciate Indian art from direct experience.

The event was sparsely populated but very lively. We began with a breakdown of Dr. Daniel Herwitz past, and we see that his parents are the ones who paved the way for his interest in other cultures, because they themselves loved travelling, and once they travelled to India, they fell in love. After his short story, he showed us a slideshow of Indian art ranging from approximately 1950’s-1970s. These paintings seemed to follow a surrealist pattern. Almost Van Gogh or Dali like. I thoroughly enjoyed this section, because the paintings were so unique. One that sticks in my mind like a thorn was a painting of a several humanoid figures with black hair and black suits standing in a line. The backdrop was brownish gray and the human figures were a distinct brown. Their facial features were slightly disfigured and warped, and left me with an odd feeling as it flashed by the screen. It was an eery depiction to say the least. I had no idea this type of art was being created in India at this time and it was very cool to be able to peer back through time to see these great works of art.

One of the speakers details these “figurative” abstract paintings, and claims that reviewers of the time stated these paintings were viewed as “cheap picasso’s”. The paintings were abstract with vibrant colors and oblong shapes which the speaker stated was to reflect the vibrant look of the Indian streets of the time. They definitely reminded me of Picasso, but they were unique in their own right.

“Collectors of contemporary art, if they’re not just in it for the investment, tend to be people who see contemporary art as an enormous pile of things, where they can pick out the jewel of the pile, therefore themselves becoming the avant-garde, in a unique position to give yourself the pleasure of narcissism, and adventure.” This single quote, made me view art, and art collection, in a totally different light. Artists need believers, and believers need artists. Without a judge, who deems your work art? Similarly, without an artist, what is their to judge? Even though the creation of art can be deeply introspective, the art world as a whole is quite the opposite. Art appreciation is a group activity. This display of Indian art  has peaked my interest in art collection as a whole, and makes me want to take more time to appreciate all art, and to let artists know that their work is appreciated.