"Another artist silenced"-
that’s how the headline read on NDTV 24X7. Bangalore Gallery removed canvas of
nude painting of, guess what, Hindu gods and goddesses by this artist. Yes,
once again (last time it was the legendary Mr. M.F.Hussain).
I have a question, no,
actually three:
1. Why this fixation with
Hindu gods and goddesses? May be, their freedom of expression should expand
their imagination and they should try their hands at other religions too. I
have a feeling they will be hugely surprised by the recognition of their work.
2. Why is freedom of
expression always mistaken with insensitivity to other people? Would you like
it if someone made fun of your accent, your clothes, your food, your ethnicity,
your traditions, culture, nationality or your faith? Then why, in the name of
art, does one have to be so thoughtless?
3. What do you do in your
bedroom? Would you like to make a painting of your bedroom activities and
exhibit for everyone to view? I don’t think so. Why? Because that’s your
personal life- nobody's business. It is far too private. It IS YOUR right to
protect your personal life.
What about my rights? Isn’t
Faith, Belief, Religion a private matter too? My relationship with the One
Above is strictly my business and no one has the right to ridicule it in anyway.
Isn’t that what we teach our kids- respect for all? The basis of Secularism?
Artists are supposedly more
sensitive people, so how can an artist be so inconsiderate to hundreds and
thousands of people who, he knows, will be offended by his fixation and
interpretation? It is either being forgetful, selfish or ignorant (Nudity is anyway
a very sensitive matter in all the cultures across the world), or simply too
engrossed in his work to notice anything else???
For a change, I support
Bangalore Gallery's decision.
Da Vinci code speculated that Jesus was married and fathered a child. Even if that was the case, I dont think that would have impacted my faith in Him. Painting Gods in nude is an other issue. To answer your question why only hindu Gods and not a christian or muslim might be the precedence set in the earlier works in numerous temples. I guess people were then more tolerant and appreciated art as art and had the faith that was unwavering and had nothing to do with how a few people depicted or wrote about them. A classic example would be 1973 malayalam movie 'Nirmalyam' which one the best actor national award for the lead actor. In the climax scene we see him a devastated man dancing before the goddess, SPITS at her face with his blood, strikes his forehead with the sacred sword, untill he falls down dead. There was no mayhem to ban the movie. I guess as a nation we have grown more intolerant and not so sure of our Gods. They are no wax statues at 'Madame Tussauds' to melt at the stroke of a paint brush or a few scenes on celluloid.
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting here too Bijou...our discussion on FB has been very enlightening for me...i didn't know a lot of facts that you and Chithra shared...
DeleteVery good article.
ReplyDeleteThank you Anonymous :))
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