Sometimes perception may be very peripheral but if we make an endeavor to go deeper and understand the different works he created you may not just come to like his work but even appreciate it. Nitin Bhalla ART DEALER INDIA
C H A P T E R F O R T Y - N I N E N I T I N B H A L L A T H E I M P O R T A N C E O F A R T What is the thought process in the mind when you stand in front of a work of art? There are many thoughts that may cross your mind at that point; you could like it, hate it, be impervious to it or have mixed feelings. By breaking down a work of art we can begin to gain some insight into the reasons why the art was created. As one begins to look at more and more artworks, plenty more questions cross your mind: colors, lines, dimensionality, expressions, subject, history etc. As a beginner ask yourself these questions: Why the artist might have chosen those particular colors, do they make sense? What mood may have influenced the artist at that time and what station of life that he may have been in? How was the paint applied brush, palette knife or perhaps even fingers? Are the lines straight or wavy? Does the painting look in motion and how has the artist achieved the movement? Does the painting feel flat or do you feel you could walk right in? How do you feel when you at the painting? Why did the artist choose that particular subject? Art is a language to express thoughts that cannot be expressed in ordinary language, because thought precedes language. All paintings, no matter how faithful to natural appearances, are an expression of an artist s ideas and feelings. Understanding a work of art gives the mind the ability to question oneself. Simple questions such as purpose, style and history can help evoke emotions to a work of art. Initial responses may be like, dislike, anger, fright, happy, sad or any other feeling. 449
2 0 : A n A n t h o l o g y There are two aspects to appreciating art; firstly the ability to comprehend and evaluate the importance of an artwork and secondly to have the aesthetic ability to respond to the same. Art can take various forms depending on its creator. It could be an abstract, expressionist, impressionist, modernist or representational. Often artists choose to paint landscapes, city scenes and ordinary people but transform these everyday images to vivid artistic representation. The style aims at defining natural yet visually innovative use of light and color. Such is the case with impressionistic paintings. Expressionism refers to paintings with highly charged emotional content. An artist puts into expression his own life experiences, which may be social, childhood, the past or personal. In a nutshell art is nothing but a grand expression of life through the eyes of an artist. An individual seer must be able to perceive from the artist s point of view to able to appreciate it. Appreciation for something only comes with repeated and prolonged exposure. You may start your art journey thinking Picasso was too overrated and wondering what all the fuss was about. Sometimes perception may be very peripheral but if we make an endeavor to go deeper and understand the different works he created you may not just come to like his work but even appreciate it. As time goes by, you may never come to like his work, but you will understand and be able to converse about what he was doing. Even if you begin to like a particular artist, this may not necessitate a liking for all his works. Often artists experiment in areas that truly aren t suited to his or her abilities. Researching an artist and looking at the whole of his or her output will help develop a keen eye. Soon you ll discover that good works are distinguishable from lesser works, and great works speak out loud. Sometimes artists incorporate images that may not make any sense at first. Whether in the form of objects, people or actions, in the case of representational art or in the form of lines, colors or composition, in the case of non-representational art, such symbols 450
N I T I N B H A L L A help us to analyze artworks more critically. Consistently reading works of art, opens up the mind to deeper thoughts. More often than not, artwork can be very symbolic representations expressing something deeper than meets the eye. At the outset, such works may appear abstract to the common man, but on deeper analysis lend credibility to a new meaning. For example, a cross may refer to suffering. My personal journey began as a complete layman. Without any formal education in art all I had was my passion and gut feeling. Initial years were spent in visiting as many exhibitions as I could possible go to. I would literally talk to myself about every work that caught my aesthetic sense. Just by discussing what the purpose might be, the style and history of the work, my thoughts heightened my passion. I began to literally breathe art. This for me was the start of a process of discovering new talent in the art world, but I did not realize the momentum it would pick up as time went by. This is how it happened: Once I had identified an artists that I liked, I would go to their studios and spend time with them, discussing their works. Then came a period when I started buying from these exhibitions. By then I had gained great practical knowledge on various forms of art, different artists and styles. Back then appreciation of art was absolutely for its own sake without any thought of price increment. In fact, there were times when I would buy an entire show of the artist and pay by gradual instalments. Driven by complete passion and love for art, it was only a matter of time that I ended up in a Grand Finale a vast collection of artworks!!! Due to the nature of my business I would frequently tavel abroad and I would often end up discussing art with my clients. That s when I began to realize that art appreciation was a global topic and a common interest in Europe and America. Reading about famous historical art works is one thing but having the ability to discuss them and hear another perception on them is another. 451
2 0 : A n A n t h o l o g y Soon my wife too had developed a keen eye for good art. My children would witness major discussions between my wife and me over particular works of art. There were often debates on how we individually interpreted expressionism in artworks. We had an abstract painting in our living room by the artist Gaitonde. It was in pale earthy colors with just a few strokes but the beauty was in the hidden imagery in the work. We would often sit across the painting and debate on what was right and wrong (obviously in our own perspective) about it! It was only a matter of time when I saw both my son and daughter getting drawn towards art as well. By the time they grew up we would have family sessions every evening analyzing and discussing the art collection that I had built up over so many years. The important change I saw in my children was the sharpening of their critical thinking ability. Watching their increased involvement I realized that the aesthetic evolution changes one s perception and adds another dimension to the personality. In fact, there were times when I would learn something from them. Low and behold, Nitanjali Art Gallery was born, seven years ago. My wife s name being Anjali and my name Nitin, we chose this in particular which also means a new offering each day! And that has very much been our ideology; to create a platform for the younger artist in order to lead them to the path of the masters. Promoting and nurturing these younger artists is truly a challenge and we hope that we are successful in our goals to help them get their dues in the art world. Our endeavor to discover tomorrow s masters has resulted in a collection of paintings which are a feast for the senses. The success of Nitanjali has been its teamwork and especially the fact that each and every member has so passionately begun to appreciate art. We have taken upon ourselves to not only promote Southeast Asian art in India but also worldwide. Each year we are expanding our horizon by exhibiting in more and more international art destinations. The idea is to create global en masse awareness, 452
N I T I N B H A L L A whether Indian or non-indian, in terms of the significance of Art Appreciation. We focus on various theme-based art shows in order to give insight into various expressions of art forms that are used as a medium by different artists to portray a common theme. It is most interesting to see how two different artists can respond to the same theme in terms of their creative expressions. By compiling comprehensive publications for such shows our attempt is to make available more and more reading material for beginners into art appreciation. Today art has opened doors for many, be it as an artist, curator, collector, gallery owner or investor. Art speaks a common language between societies globally. Being an art collector for the past 30 years I have witnessed the great transformation that has taken place in the art world, especially in Indian Art. Besides the monetary gains, one vital change that has taken place is the cultural exchange between countries. For instance, with the boom in the Indian art scene the client list has now crossed over to a non-indian audience as well. Galleries and auction houses from all over the world are showing keen interest in Indian art. Looking from a larger perspective it has also given India a place in the art history of the world. Previously, it was only Chinese and Vietnamese art that was marked important, on the world map, from the Asian continent. But, today, Indian art is considered the next big phenomena that will soon catch up with the others. Another vital change is that the younger generation is beginning to understand the importance of art appreciation today. As a gallery owner I m constantly attending to the young clientele in order to help them educate themselves in art. Whether or not they purchase a piece of artwork, the important part is to encourage them into appreciating art and forming their individual opinion on what they see. It s very motivating to see these youngsters enjoying the research into art appreciation. Art is all-pervasive: look around carefully and it is visible in 453
2 0 : A n A n t h o l o g y each strain of creation. I m of the personal belief that it must be incorporated in higher educational studies as it truly helps in sharpening your aesthetic sense. It helps in nurturing creativity and thus creates a well-rounded individual. To be academically strong or a great sports person in only a single attribute but if one is able to evoke the aesthetic sense in oneself, the perspective with which we live our daily lives changes drastically. The success of any field that one eventually goes into for a living also depends on the creativity of the individual. It is strongly believed that we all have creative instincts in us. It is only a matter of evoking that creativity. This can be achieved by introducing to a young mind the importance of art appreciation, art being in any form: painting, sculptures, music, theatre etc. A younger mind is more receptive to enhanced knowledge and if incorporated in higher education can help produce better-versed individuals. Art stimulates different parts of our brains to make us laugh or incite us to riot, with a whole array of emotions in between. Art gives us a way to be creative and express ourselves. Art is an excellent way to show meaningful messages to people of all social classes and races. A work of art can make a person think, laugh, cry, become angry, or just open their minds to something they would not usually take the time to look at. Art is seen throughout our everyday life. Even buildings and sculptures all showcase art on the streets. Art, it any form, is correlated with culture and any good work of art can make an urban area be considered cultural. Take an example of the community you stay in. For a common cause, say a park, the whole community gets together in order to contribute to the creation of the same. This is a perfect example of how art can directly build communities by establishing pride. This makes it even more evident of how art and its appreciation can evoke a better thought process and a larger perspective amongst younger generations, in order to create a better tomorrow. 454