Passionate performance art of PUSHPAMALA N

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Pushpamala N is an artist, whose work is based on photo and visuals who was born in 1956, Bangalore, India. She was trained as a sculptor at MS University, Baroda. But later, she shifted to photography through her interest in narrative figuration. She was energized by a painter called Bhupen Khakhar who was her friend as well. So she got diverted to this kind of photo performances.

Pushpamala N has been known as “The most entertaining artist implementor of contemporary Indian art” In her work, as a photo and video performance artist, sculptor, writer, administrator and agent and in partnership with writers, theatre directors and film makers, she searches to depress the highly dominant cultural and creative dialogue.
Her first solo exhibition was held at the Venkatappa Art Gallery, Bangalore in 1983. Her works has been exhibited world wide. She is specifically known for putting up all popular culture together in her work.

Pushpamala N received many awards. Her work has been explained as performance photography as she is generally the model in her own work. She applies ingredients of popular culture in her art to analyze Place, gender and history.

Her famous works are:

• Phantom Lady
• The Narrative Types- Flirting
• The Slave And Her Slave (after ingres)
• Sunhere Sapne (Golden dreams)

“Phantom Lady” is a photo romance shot in Mumbai. The artist created a series of suspenseful thriller photographs of herself as a gangster lady of night and a masked adventurer.

She continued with these photo romance series with ‘Sunhere Sapne’ (Golden dreams) where she tried to catch up the fantasy of a middle class housewife who is dressed in poor clothes.

In order to extend the performative appearance of the photo and video films, she made ‘Paris Autumn’, a work of imagination in the style of olden days thriller, narrating the story of the artist’s stay in Paris in 2005.Her last film,”Rashtriy Kheer and Desi Salad”, was made in 2007.

Pushpamala’s work has always been compared to American artist Cindy Sherman’s.
– Katyayani

JUDY CHICAGO “Love her, hate her, but you can’t ignore her!”

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This has been the story of Judy Chicago; an American artist who has been the pioneer of a special version of art called the Feminist Art which reflected women’s lives and experiences during that era

She can undoubtedly be called the god mother of the feminist art movement in the 1960s and the 1970s.​ As a child she just wanted to paint, but as she grew up she set her eyes on something big. She always wanted to create a special place for herself and other women in the artistic world. “It was the prevailing attitude in the 1960s that women had no history,” and Chicago wanted to change this . The male dominated art era spurred Judy to create the most iconic feminist art work, ‘The Dinner Party’ at the University of Chicago. The artwork celebrates the spirit of feminism and draws special attention to the accomplishments of women in history. The dinner party was an iconic installation which was put up at the University of Chicago. The extraordinaryartwork on a triangular table was put with the help of 129 collaborators and volunteers. The artwork combined traditional feminine artworks such as sewing, weaving, embroidery and ceramic painting with contemporary artistic styles. Chicago described it as, “as a reinterpretation of The Last Supper from the point of view of women, who, throughout history, have prepared the meals and set the table.”

Judy trained herself in “macho arts,” and created an art education methodology which focussed on explicit female centric content such as mensturation, female genitals and giving birth. This kind of art drew widespread criticism from the male artists, as this kind of bold art was unconventional for a female artist during that era. The attitude changed completely when the Brooklyn museum acquired the “Dinner party “ and recognised it as an important icon of 1970s feminist art and a milestone in twentieth-century art. The artwork toured severalcontinents and drew over 15 million people .
Her other famous art projects such as International Honor Quilt, The Birth Project, Powerplay, and The Holocaust Project put her in a league of extradinaryfemales artists who changed the way feminine art was viewed.She has several permanent collections in numerous museums around the word. She received a Visionary Woman Award from Moore College of Art & Design in 2004 and was also named a National Women’s History Project honouree for Women’s History Month in 2008.

Her efforts as an artist, educator, and author have inspired several artists and played a pivotal role in elevating women from the margins of society and history. Boldness may be something that only certain individuals can display and Judy was one of them. Her bold form of feminist art created ripples in artistic world and laid the foundation stone for creation of futuristic extraordinary female artworks.

Attitude change, Urbanisation, and broadening of traditional gender roles have changed the way women think and express themselves . More and more women presently engage in new areas of work and have created a significant shift in the norms regarding women’s behaviour . However history never forgets the role of iconic women who changed the world and made women special . Judy Chicago will always be remembered in history as an inspiring artist who succeeded in her attempt to change the world.

– Harsha Kancharla

KALAKRITI ART RESIDENCY

Sakshi Sharma talks about The colloborative Workshop with MFA Students

Sakshi Sharma

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Kalakriti Art Gallery has come a long way in establishing itself as a well known art gallery, gaining national reputation, to take it ahead, the gallery aims to actively develop and promote contemporary art practices, with discussions and exchange of thoughts and ideas between artists from India and other countries. Kalakriti Art Gallery is inviting artists for residency program, the residency is a creative space for artists, writers and art professional from across the field of visual arts.

The gallery so far has conducted many such residency’s where established and upcoming artists have taken active part and produced art, few of them are Aji kumar, Akshita Aggarwal, Dinar Sultana, Girish Chandra Benhara, Krishna Trivedi, Krishnal Fulwala, Krishendu Roy,Kumari Ranjeeta, Mukesh Kr Singh, Naresh Kumar, S.N.Sujith and Vikram Valsala. All these artist have come from different parts of the country,not only have they produced excellent works but also as a part of residency they have visited art colleges in Hyderabad and made presentations for the upcoming artists of the colleges.

The current ten day residency program is a unique one in collaboration with Jawaharlal Nehru Architecture and fine arts university, five artist from SSVAD- Santiniketan Society of Visual Arts and Design, Mr.Pankaj Panwar- professor, department of sculpture, Mr.Arghyapriya Majumdar- Associate professor, department of painting, Mr. Anupam Chowdhury – Assistant professor, department of design,
Ms. Banatanwi Dasmahapatra – Associate professor, department of design, Mrs. Mahajabin I Majumdar- freelance artist are conducting a workshop for the students where they will be sharing the studio space with these experienced artist. This will help the upcoming artist from the college inspiration, motivation and guide them for a brighter future in Art field.

Being an alumni of this college, I am very happy for opportunity these students are receiving and would like to thank Mrs.Priti Ma’am for always being supportive in such collaborations and Mr.Prshant Lahoti and Mrs.Rekha Lahoi from Kalakriti Art Gallery for their constant effort to encourage upcoming artist,Its my pleasure to be associated with such institutions.
(Sakshi Sharma, works as curator at Kalkriti Gallery is an alumni of JNAFAU.)

WEAVING THE BYGONE:

Priti Samyukta Bhat’s visit to Suraiya Apah’s Studio

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Suraiya Hasan, fondly known as “Suraiya Apah” has spent all her life in reviving the forgotten kinds of weaves much prevailed during the Nizam and before.
She has been reviving these beautiful old weaves which once ruled and adorned by the elite, hence giving the viewer the hint of the then existing elite fashion. It also may be noted that Suraiah Apah was inspired by her father who started the cottage industry in Hyderabad. After him, she had to take this on to herself thus a dream that henceforth saw light in today’s times.
Back in her early days when she was trying to revive these forms of art, she was advised by Pupul Jayakar, to go to Delhi and to learn the in depth of such crafts and to learn more about the export fabric et all. It was henceforth a mission to revive the dying weaving culture by getting in senior weavers like Omer Sahab, who is the main master of the weaving styles such as Himroo, Mushroo, Paithani and Jamewaar, well known even during partition.

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Suraiya Apah involved widows in reviving this art form in order to teach them to be independent. She opened this section of weaving to cultivate the habit of learning this art so that it is revived and will “stay”.
Her weaving studio has women from different sections of life weaving these bygone wonders and also the new comers are taken with a lot of interest so as to help in understanding these complicated interestingly woven intricate pieces. While checking the back of these woven pieces, one can see the stitched lines running across the cloth, so as to keep the threads intact, which is an innovation of Suraiah Apah. The women are given a graph of these designs and they look complicated yet interesting to the onlooker. The weavers take about a month or two or maybe more to complete a metre and more depending on the kind of order from a client.
It takes a lot of patience, perseverance and dedication for initially taking this Herculean task of the revival , teaching the art of weaving and then retaining the weavers including the women who have mastered it and then getting the orders for such woven garments or putting it in the market for sale.
Suraiya has been honoured several awards from the government for her contribution and many articles about her have also been written. The department of Painting, College of Fine Arts, salutes this legend, for her immense interest in the revival of this bygone weaves.

RIVERS OF INDIA THE SACRED DUMPING YARDS

– Sahithi Kalyanam

India being in the top 10 largest countries of the world has a vast number of rivers and many more tributaries. In Indian tradition every aspect of nature is considered sacred, The Sun, The Moon, Rain, Trees and plants, Animals, air, wind, water and even stones. Each and every part of nature is respected. Rivers particularly are very sacred to the people. It is said that taking a bath in these holy rivers washes away the sins one has made. Living in a country with traditions like this, we are all witnessing the destruction of all such beautiful rivers.River Ganges, the longest river in India is now completely polluted and is not appropriate for use. In Varanasi, the corpses which are almost half burnt are just released into the waters. Approximately 1 billion litres of untreated sewage wateris dumped daily into the Ganges. Apart from that dumping of plastic and garbage into the river has polluted it to a great extent. River Yamuna, on the banks of which Taj mahal in Agra was built is also one of the most polluted rivers now. Industrial effluents, domestic waste and dumping leaded to a lot of damage to the river Yamuna.

Any civilization or any city starts from a river itself. So does the story of Hyderabad. The city of Hyderabad is named after Quli qutub shah’s lady love Hyder mahal (Baghmati) it is said. Hyderabad was built by Quli qutub shah on the banks of river musi. Now the river is dying a slow death contaminating all its surroundings. The flow of musi is now by pollution due to industrial effluents, domestic waste, and sewage from the city. All we see of musi now is the small canals and drainages in parts of city; it has been polluted beyond repair. The Godavari River and the river Kauveri are also in a danger. Many fresh Water Rivers are also being polluted. The marine life in such rivers is in the verse of extinction. If the pollution of rivers continues in the same pace, maybe we cannot find any fresh Water and all we will have left will be the canals and drains. There are many factors that lead to pollution of water. Untreated garbage is one of the major factors leading to pollution. Such garbage is dumped into rivers and contaminates the whole area. 80% of untreated sewage is released into rivers in India. The other major factor is the industrial effluents which are released into the rivers. Many poisonous substances are also released they cause permanent loss to humans, plants, animals and marine life. Polluted rivers have a major effect on agriculture also. The whole crop gets affected and eventually the soil becomes unfit for agriculture. The germs and bacteria breedin areas with stagnant water in areas where the flow is diminished; people living on the banks get affected with water borne diseases. Bengaluru is now rapidly moving towards the day zero with water scarcity almost like Cape Town in South Africa. It is a very terrifying change that we are witnessing. If the world will ever witness another world war, it will be for water it is said. Imagine another world war, this time the affects will be beyond imagination.

We should bring pressure on the government to bring in alternatives instead of dumping the wastes into rivers and water bodies. To overcome all this each and every individual needs to put in efforts. Individually the outcome may be very minute but it is a step to a great success. We should all as a country learn to save our own resources. Just praying won’t bring us good life. In fact without clean water there won’t be any life. We follow all kinds of rituals and beliefs but we forget the values that they preach. Nature is treated as mother and sacred. Which means it is to be treated with respect and care. It is our responsibility to save our sacred resources for a better future.

THE FAIR SIDE OF LAW

– Sahithi Kalyanam

Women remain an oppressed gender in our country. Crimes against women occur almost every day, every hour too. There is no safety in public places, workplaces, and even their own homes. They are being sexually abused, exploited, and harassed, 848 women are being harassed and raped in India every day.

Indian judiciary has introduced various laws and guidelinesto help women to overcome suppression and stand for themselves, and protect their rights. It is essential for every woman to be aware of her rights and the laws which favour her. Yet even literate women are less aware of the women favouring laws.

1. More than 50% of children who drop out of school are girls. The major reason is the menstrual cycle and the taboo. The government has given guidelines making it mandatory to give access to sanitary napkins and having a private toilet for girls with napkin bins through menstrual hygiene management (MHS); many schools and colleges fail to follow this.
2. Women do have a lot of restrictions even today and many of them do not have the freedom to go to the police stations and lodge a complaint. A woman can lodge a complaint via an email or registered post to Deputy Commissioner or Commissioner of Police if she is unable to go to police station.
3. Equal remuneration act 1976, Discrimination in workplaces concerning the wages is present in India since years. Women are paid lesser wage compared to men in the same position at work. According to Article 39 (A), the constitution of India grants equal pay to men and women at their workplaces.
4. According to Section 46(4) of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, any woman cannot be arrested after sunset and before sunrise even if a female officer is accompanying the other officers, in serious cases the officer has to provide a written notice from the magistrate explaining why the arrest is necessary for the night.
5. Only a female police can search another female. The search should be carried out in a decent manner. A male police officer cannot search a female offender.
6. Right to privacy: A woman who has been raped has a right to record her statement in private, in front of the magistrate without being overheard by anyone else. She also has a freedom to record her statement with a lady constable or a police officer in person.
7. Right to zero FIR: A rape victim can register her police complaint from any police station under the Zero FIR ruling by Supreme Court. The senior officer will then direct the SHO of the concerned police station to lodge the FIR.
8. Women cannot be called to the police station for interrogation under Section 160 of the Criminal Procedure Code. This law provides Indian women the right of not being physically present at the police station for interrogation. “The police can interrogate a woman at her residence in the presence of a woman constable and family members or friends.
9. Right to no sexual harassment: It is necessary for every employer to form a Sexual Harassment Complaints Committee within the organization to file complaints. According to a guideline allotted by the Supreme Court, it is required for all firms, public and private, to set up these committees to resolve matters of sexual harassment. It is also necessary that the committee is headed by a woman and comprises of 50% women, as members.

Though there are many laws which are serving women in the direction of equality, also there are many laws which are much needed to be implemented for the betterment of the country.Marital rape is not criminalised in India.The rape of a separated wife carries lesser punishment than the rape of any other woman. The minimum age for marriage for a boy is 21, but 18 for a girl. Women are still not equal guardians of their children. A father is considered the “natural guardian” of a child. In India women are worshipped as gods in temples. But there is still inequality, injustice and harassment. Irony isn’t it?

Women Artists of Andhra Pradesh

–  Nikitha Marisetti

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Damerla Satyavani

In the art historical writings on Andhra Pradesh, there are barely a few instances where women artists have been mentioned. The agenda is not to create a parallel image of women artists as rebel, as genius or as extraordinary, to be found in masculinist art historical writings, but it would be to locate women’s art practice and trace a social history of their lives and career. My main concern is to analyze the factors common to the conditions of being a woman artist in a patriarchal society, via social institutions of marriage and family, and the distinctions in their lives and careers produced by religion, class and caste.
One such artist of Andhra Pradesh, who had been long forgotten and was, rediscovered when small blurbs appeared in local newspapers about the artist’s ill health. This happened in 1992 when she was eighty plus. She is Damerla Satyavani from Rajahmundry, East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh. She was married at the age of 10 in 1918 to a well-known artist Damerla Rama Rao. She was good at drawing; also her husband who studied art at the J.J. School of Arts Bombay trained her. She stood first in the national level Fine Arts examinations. Satyavani lost her husband after three years of marriage and also lost her only son when he was just three. Satyavani continued to sketch, draw and paint even after Damerla’s death. Satyavani slowly but steadily grew resilient. She supported herself financially by teaching art at the government school in Rajahmundry. She had trained a number of youngsters who took up art examinations. The genre of her work reflected various domestic activities.
However, even as the women painted scenes from the household chores, they talked about their real life situations and about the times of those in general. Although these works may not bring out entirely the individual subjectivities of these artists, histories of their lives are inscribed in the broad narrative of their position within nationalism. Further, works of Satyavani are “sitting on the bed’ or “waiting at the door”. The matter of fact representations by women artists might be indicative of situations of loneliness. Particularly, in Digumarti Bucchi Krishnamma’s works who was an artist too. Both of them painted subjects appropriate to the case of Damerla Satyavani, whose child marriage left her a teenage widow.
Satyavani conducted art classes at her residence for children and aspiring adults. For her, a better help came from a Government School principal who happened to pass by and notice her work and then invited her to teach art at the school. There was another profound reason that gave her the courage to move ahead: she and her husband had a common ambition of keeping the torch of Andhra Pradesh art burning. She continued to fulfill it in her capacity. In this regard, she saw to it that the works of some of the artists associated with the Andhra Society of Indian Arts were well preserved in the Damerla Rama Rao Memorial Art Gallery, Rajahmundry, even until her death.

Butchi Krishnamma

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Butchi Krishnamma was one of the daughters of Lakshmi Devi and Dr. Damerla Venkata Rama Rao. Her brother Damerla Rama Rao, became a prominent artist. Therefore, Krishnamma belonged to a family where the male members were well educated. She too expressed interest in studying art, and like most other upper-caste women of her times, could not go to an art school. However, her wish materialized after her brother returned, after completing the course at the J.J.School of Art, Bombay. He taught her the principles of nationalist art in the Andhra Society of Indian Arts. Krishnamma eventually became expert in the watercolor wash technique and painted mythological, historical and autobiographical themes.
Krishnamma was also married off early and became a widow at a young age. Yet, she kept up her passion for painting and interest in social service. She was politically active during the nationalist movement in the then Andhra region, which was under Madras presidency. In Madras, while she and her husband were teaching in a school for the Dalits, Gandhi came for a visit. He requested the couple to continue their social service in the Kasturba Ashram at Sitanagar, Rajahmundry. So she returned to Rajahmundry and dedicated herself completely to the cause of poor and the deprived until her death. Nationalistic ideals, creative activities and social service were a dynamic combination in Krishnamma’s life.
This new space that combined the domestic and the outside world is the one in which not only Krishnamma’s, but also Satyavani’s life and work can be contextualized.
One common feature that connects these artists is the fact that they did not study in Art Schools. Does this imply that women from upper/middle class and upper castes, like these artists, did not have access to education on par with men in the household? Perhaps yes.
However, by the 1940s women not only opted for art education, but also joined the Art School, particularly, in Hyderabad, the capital city of Andhra Pradesh.

Sandhya Santhosh, in Conversation with Eminent Artist B.PADMA REDDY

B.PADMA REDDY

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Mrs. Padma Reddy from Hyderabad plays the dual role of being a practicing and teaching artist. Born to an artist father she was always surrounded by and encouraged to explore art, which led her to her pursuing academic qualification. Married to an artist she holds her own not only as an individual but also a woman. In a freewheeling informal chat, she speaks of her experiences, learnings, struggles and hope for art in the future generations.
Sandhya Santosh: Could you tell us something about your early growing up years, and their impact on your career choice?
Padma Reddy: I have this wonderful father who has a way with children. His out of the box thinking and novel thoughts, what he taught or rather imbibed in us half a century back are so relevant now and I realize this more today as an adult; an artist, a mother, and as a teacher. I have had a wonderful childhood – creative, interesting, very guided and absolutely loved. He was a teacher in our Vidyalaya managing the most vibrant art department. Not only me, there were hundreds who painted and would probably have become artists if left to make a choice on their own. He taught me that success is relative and never do art to make money.
SS: What were your early creative influences?
PR: As I said, my school and my father who involved me in all his artistic and academic endeavours. I got involved with art and literature because of him. I was painting, reading, writing participating in competitions, viewing exhibitions most of the time as a child.
SS: Whom do you idolize, and why?
PR: I have no idols per se. But I cherish the qualities in people that I admire. I learn, get inspired and make them tools to enjoy my life.
SS: What is your most preferred medium of art? How and when did you realize, or come to choose it?
PR: I am a printmaker and I like to use various mediums of print and printmaking to create my ideas. While I love making large woodcut prints, I enjoy making small etchings and the greatest pleasure is creating a work of art juxtaposing the complexities with the different mediums, not adhering to the basic rules of printmaking and arriving at what I have to convey.
SS: What are your major sources of inspiration?
PR: Mankind, people, the capacities and complexities of human mind, the intrigue that is felt every time faced with something out of my preview. Myself, my family, my home; to say it is an interesting world is an understatement. The scope of things is unlimited.
SS: How do ideas take birth for your creative work?
PR: A thought from a situation or circumstance, leading to another one, and another one; it is unstoppable.
SS: How do you manage to keep the process of creativity constant?
PR: Just as any creative person, I am receptive to certain nuances – huge, minute or very ordinary, that are translated into metaphors, symbols, and eventually art works.
SS: Was there a dull/low period that you went through? How did you cope with / come out of it?
PR: Yes, surprisingly when I got married. I thought it would be an impetus for me to work better with new experiences, newer possibilities. I could not handle the gamut of responsibilities. This was the first time I felt like an ordinary woman, the expectations, the falling short, and the frustrations of being a woman. But I got a lot of time to contemplate, study, think and celebrate these feelings of burdened domesticity, male chauvinism, maternal bliss, the marital status bestowed upon, immense pain the universal subjugation of women, and the fear of losing identity.
SS: How do you get over a block when faced with one?
PR: I give it some time. The restless mind, always seeking, always on the prowl and the world with this mankind, has to offer unfathomable situations. When the mind is triggered, the scope is just limitless.
SS: What is your major personal philosophy behind your work? What do you intend to reflect in your art? How does a woman’s gender identity affect her work?
PR: My gender is the basis of my work. It decides the way I think and therefore my work. It enables me to put forth things that I cannot speak of or that I cannot practically perform. Art for me is a basic means of expression wherein I have all the liberty to unleash my stored memories, my reactions to visible situations and circumstances. It’s something that’s only mine, unconditionally mine. I negotiate my thoughts in my work through my work. Every work of mine is an intention to be communicated or to be put forth after a lot of introspection and dialogue with myself. My works are a result of a series of introspection, negotiations, , and a tapestry of my complex thoughts. They are mostly autobiographical; I speak my thoughts.
SS: How have you managed your work / life balance? Would you have done anything differently if you had to do it all over again?
PR: Yes!! You can say that. I have been balancing. Being the good daughter, good mother, good wife, the best teacher and a sincere expressionist, and I have been happy doing it. Maybe I could shed this ‘being good’ thing and be deliberately selfish; upping the adventure and the ‘badness’ instead of balancing. Maybe think like a man, a husband’. That could be good too, resulting in a bigger body of work.
SS: How does the Indian art fraternity treat a woman artist?
PR: A woman is a woman. For the Indian Art fraternity or just Indian fraternity.
SS: Is there gender inequality in the Indian art community (opportunities / earnings / recognition)?
PR: The gender inequality will always be there despite everything and anything. The underlying complexities are unspoken and camouflaged. This is a fact and everyone knows it.
SS: Since you are one half of an artist couple – What are the constructive factors of being in such a relationship? What are the challenges? What about the spirit of competition / stress of the creative process / taking inspiration from and inspiring each other?
PR: I enjoy viewing good art, discussing art, enjoy the studio ambience, share experiences and so on. But being a woman it could all be just one sided.
SS: What are your personal struggles with your vocation / creativity / criticism / acceptance?
PR: The struggle is with myself pertaining to creativity, criticism and whatever comes my way.
SS: You are an art teacher too. What are the joys/challenges of inspiring young minds to take up and excel in art?
PR: That is real bliss; the unperturbed, uncontaminated minds ready to accept, experiment, explore and challenge with no inhibitions. Students are a paradox, they are, I , the purest form of givers and receivers. I am in the happiest state of mind when I am with children. They are equipped with all that is lost to us over the years, and while with them I get back into that lost form of what l was.
SS: What advice would give to young girls and women who aspire to become artists? Can they take it up as a career that would make them financially independent?
PR: Know your priorities. When you are starting at is one part of your life. It becomes your life when you are into it, it’s a different thing. Before anything you should be aware of a lot of things, aware of yourself, what do you want, why do you want to become an artist – for money, for fame, to travel, to have a good audience, or you want to become an artist because you want to enjoy your life? Art should be integral to your life.
Work sincerely and work hard, there is no substitute for that. Learn to take everything in your stride, let not things rule you. You have to be the person to dictate your art.
Lead your life independently
SS: What is your advice to them on choosing a mentor?
PR: Choose with care and take time to believe in the right one. They can make or break you.
SS: How do you think technology has affected the current generation’s approach toward art? What should they be wary of / what can they take advantage of?
PR: Technology is fantastic; the laurels of the human intelligence. I admire intelligence. Just love it. It is inevitable that the present generation and technology are inseparable. It is fascinating to amalgamate the unfathomable technical innovations with artistic sensibilities and creativity peculiar to the mind of a visual artist. Combining the two sensibly would just be fantastic. One has to break out of the conventions but with caution.
SS: What are some of the experiences / art works that you hold dear to your heart?
PR: I work after a lot of subconscious deliberations. It tires me emotionally. I can’t afford to not like any of my art works.
SS: What are the new media that we should pay attention to?
PR: The medium one employs has to be a necessity for the artist to put forth their ideas. Rather than think of a new medium as it is ‘contemporary’, it is more important to be involved with their work and discover the suitable medium to up the work. Regular work and being aware of the modern trends and proper knowledge of technology helps of course.

CONSTRUCTING THE ‘FEMININE’ IN THE HISTORY OF ART

– by Zarnain Abedi

Throughout the years, women have had great involvement in making art, either as creators and innovators of new forms of artistic expressions, patrons, collectors, as an inspiration, or as art historians and critics. They have constantly been integral to the institution of art.. Despite engaging with the art world in so many ways, most women artists have been either suppressed or neglected in the narrative of art history. They have faced challenges due to gender biases, it was difficult for them to receive training, sell their work or even simply create art.
According to a Roman writer, Pliny the Elder, from the 1st century C.E., the first drawing ever was made by a woman named Dibutades. She traced the silhouette of her lover on a wall. There have always been glimpses and examples of women’s art within male-driven societies. Even when it comes to the earliest works of art known, like the voluptuous ‘Venus of Willendorf’ from 25000 B.C.E. On the other hand, objects like weavings and clothing have always been associated with women’s craft, from the story of Penelope’s courageous weaving in Homer’s epic tale the Odyssey, from 800 B.C.E., to the 11th century Bayeaux tapestry, a 270-foot long fabric document telling the story of medieval Britain, likely woven and embroidered by women.
Even though the Western mythology tells us that a woman was the first artist, women artists have gotten very little attention until the end of the 20th century. Women were barely featured in the stories of great artists. Even when they were, they were described as “unusually talented women who overcame the limitations of their gender in order to excel in what was believed to be a masculine field”. Mary Beale was a successful British portraitist in the late 1600s. But most of her success was attributed to her husband since he oversaw their studio and showcased her works as experiments in the methods that he had developed. Gwen John made a self-portrait which appears isolated and scrutinised. She felt like women were constantly struggling for recognition in a field dominated by men, including her brother Augustus.
Through the centuries, women have been systematically excluded from the records of art history. This was due to multiple factors: art forms like textile and the “decorative arts” were often dismissed as craft and not “fine art”; many women weren’t permitted to pursue a general education, let alone training in arts. As artist and instructor Hans Hoffmann once “complimented” the significant abstract expressionist artist Lee, “This is so good you wouldn’t know it was done by a woman.”
In the 1960s, with equal rights and upcoming feminist movements, in USA and Europe, there was a boom of women studying and teaching in art schools. These art schools became centres of feminist activity, which encouraged the representation of women in the art galleries. This movement redefined the potential of women in art and paved the way for many women artists practicing today.
Linda Nochlin’s article “Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?” was published in Art News in the year 1971. In this essay she explained assumptions from the title’s question. She considered the nature of art along with why the notions of artistic genius have only been reserved for men like Michelangelo. Nochlin debated that the obstructions of the society have prevented women from pursuing art, including restrictions on educating women in art academies.
In the 20th century, things began to change for women artists as well as for women across the domestic and public spheres. A new women’s movement, with an emphasis on the advocacy of equal rights, organisations devoted to women’s interests, and a new generation of female professionals and artists transformed the traditionally male-driving social structure around the world. These social shifts, which began to emerge at the beginning of the century, developed further with the advent of World War I and expanding global unrest, propelling more women into the workforce and exposing them to social, professional, and political situations that had previously been limited to men.
With an improved sense of confidence in the art scene, many women artists chose to address personal and universal issues of identity. The works of refugee artists such as Mona Hatoum and Shirin Neshat express stories of their loss and vision through conflicting countries, gender roles and cultures. Artist Sonia Boyce’s film, photographs, and paintings brought racism to light.
Other female artists use their art to express the specific issues they face as women. In the 1970s, Margaret Harrison used irony to portray the objectification women face. In the same decade, artist Linder drew on the anti-establishment politics of Dada to create photomontages that overthrew traditional media pictures into unnerving statements. Filmmaker Barbara Hammer used shots of her own body to advocate for more open representation of lesbian sexuality. Today, artists like Cornelia Parker are highlight how the “idealised” images of the female body are unrealistic when compared to the figures of real women.
By calling attention to identity, sexuality, politics, and history, women artists have dominated the art debates for the last several decades. Groups like the Guerrilla Girls, an anonymous group of women artists and art professionals, work to fight discrimination and raise awareness of the issues that women face in the art world. The group formed in New York City in 1985 with the mission of bringing gender and racial inequality into focus within the greater arts community. The group employs culture jamming in the form of posters, books, billboards, and public appearances to expose discrimination and corruption. They do this wearing gorilla masks to take the focus away from their identities.
Looking out for women artists who had been excluded from main stream art has encouraged a redefinition of art practices, making us rethink what we call the “decorative arts,” installation art, and performance art “revolving around the artists” bodies. By urging scholars to seek out the “forgotten” women, the project continues on today. There is no single “female art” but rather that art shapes and is shaped by culture, that it conveys cultural ideas about beauty, gender, and power, and that it can be a powerful tool to question issues of race, class, and identity.

OTB’s tete-a-tete with Faiza Hasan

Nirmala Biluka in conversation with Faiza Hasan
former student of Department of Painting, JNFAU College of Fine Arts.

Participants from the Department of Painting, JNAFAU College of Fine Arts

Nirmala Biluka

Faiza Hasan

NB: Could you share a few thoughts about your art practice in general or any specific turning points about your career as an artist?
FH: I find the idea of practice is a fluid one. At the core, I would say I am old-school in some ways, especially where the idea of making is concerned. But I have been interested in exploring how my practice can be more inclusive– forms and mediums that are more tactile, more accessible and that engage with viewers more actively. My work borrows from eclectic sources— from my dad’s old medical anatomy books, 16th century publications, maps to press photographs. Having said that, I often take up projects that require me to be outside my studio. For instance, the Students’ Biennale– experiences that are enriching and feed back into the way I think about my own work.
NB: How did you get involved with the Kochi Biennale?
FH: Not long after I submitted my MFA dissertation, a friend absolutely harassed me into applying for the first edition of the Students’ Biennale in 2014. I had my apprehensions but he was very convincing. In 2016, I was asked to re-join the team for the second edition as well. And I am currently involved with the project in a different capacity.
NB: Did you receive any training/internship for art curating?
FH: I do not see myself as a curator, and unlikely that I will be getting involved with purely curatorial projects even in the future. Being part of a project like the Students’ Biennale came with an engagement with other curators and artists; and producing a large scale exhibition from scratch. All of these, I think, taught me a lot. It was also great to have worked with the Art History faculty in S.N. School (University of Hyderabad) during my two years there. The faculty was hands-on and enthusiastic, and that gave me a lot of confidence as well.
NB: What were your experiences as a curator for the Students Biennale? How specific was your intervention?
FH: Having been a practitioner, I understand that the idea of intervention in art schools is a very sensitive one. I’ve always asked myself– how much is too much? But what is also important is just opening up a dialogue with art students– it throws open a world of possibilities. Some of which may not be realised in the immediate future, but those that might come into being much later on.
NB: Could you talk a bit about students and their works you picked from Hyderabad art institutions for the Kochi Biennale?
FH: In Hyderabad, I was working with two art schools– College of Fine Arts, JNA&FAU and S.N. School, University of Hyderabad. Both are very different spaces and thus, the work with each one was very different. In the College of Fine Arts, we had a workshop with Bangalore based artist, Amshu Chukki, who got all the MFA students out of their studios and into unfamiliar territory. The work that resulted from this workshop was then exhibited in the Students’ Biennale. The University of Hyderabad, in the meantime, was undergoing a crisis after the suicide of Rothith Vemula. Students at S.N. School were actively involved in exchanging their different points of view around what was happening, campaigning along with the rest of the campus, and were also caught in the midst of the turmoil. I think to a large extent the work that was selected from here reflected that. It was impossible not to acknowledge what had happened at the University, that in some way or the other affected every student there.