Thanks, VM. Keep up the fight. And when it seems thankless, just think what you do if paid in baby elephants. F
On Sun, 9 Jul 2023 at 16:34, V M <[email protected]> wrote: > > http://epaper.heraldgoa.in/articlepage.php?articleid=OHERALDO_GOA_20230709_6_2&width=406px&edition=oHeraldo&curpage=6 > > Superb works by Goan artists supply many highlights in ‘Maharaja’s > Treasures’, an excellent exhibition drawn from the Air India collection of > modern and contemporary art, that opened last month in the storied Cowasji > Jehangir Hall in Colaba, which has been the National Gallery of Modern > Art’s outpost in Mumbai since 1996. > > My recent viewing re-illuminated twinned truths. First, the undeniable – > yet routinely unacknowledged – fact that Goa contributed far > disproportionately to the canonical Indian art of the 20th century. On the > flip side, it’s necessary to acknowledge our collective failure to > adequately preserve, understand and celebrate our own magnificent artistic > and cultural legacies in order for the future generations to benefit from > the labours of the giants of the past. In regard to state policies > especially, the dereliction of duty is shocking and abysmal, and keeps on > getting worse, as we see with the blatant disrespect of Mario de Miranda’s > oeuvre by the same G20 gatherings meant to demonstrate India’s commitment > to “ensure all cultural resources are truly protected”. > > The collection on display at the NGMA Mumbai is an important document of > national cultural aspirations in the post-colonial era, when Air India was > one of the foremost prestige projects for the country. Although the > government had been the majority shareholder from 1953, the visionary > J.R.D. Tata remained chairman until 1977, and the airline led the way as > the first Asian carrier to enter the jet age in 1960, and then becoming the > world’s first all-jet airline in 1962. Alongside, it acquired an impressive > swathe of premium real estate around the globe, furnished with an aesthetic > ambition to represent independent India. > > Here's how Nazneen Banu, the NGMA Mumbai director, puts it in her message > at the exhibition entrance: “The impressive diversity and broad spectrum of > the Air India collection holds an unparalleled position in the history of > any commercial airline. To give a glimpse of the nation's rich artistic > heritage, the company started displaying and decorating its booking houses, > pavilions and lounges with its impressive art collection that captivated > the minds of travellers throughout the globe. The Air India pavilions > dazzled like a palace with display of gold *zari* embroidered and woven > textiles, gilded Thanjavur paintings, polychrome wooden temple sculptures > and replicas of classical Southern bronzes. The exhibition consists of a > thematic display of around 200 artworks meticulously chosen that brings to > you a portion of the collection that Air India used to redefine air travel > in its own 'Maharaja' Style.” > > There are a handful of outright masterpieces here: an astonishing > snake-adorned ceramic ashtray designed by the iconic Spanish surrealist > Salvador Dali (for which he demanded and received a baby elephant in > compensation), a fantastic seaside Holi scene by the Progressive Artists > Group pioneer K.H Ara, and two magnificent abstract paintings by his > comrades SH Raza and Vasudeo Gaitonde (the genius son of Ucassaim). I also > loved the charming and unusual Goa scene – it is pictured along with this > column - by yet another important Progressive of Goan origin, Laxman Pai, > and spent considerable time relishing the irresistible humorous details in > the set of Mario de Miranda illustrations of what goes on behind the scenes > in airline offices. > > All these comprise part of what the acclaimed poet, critic and curator > Ranjit Hoskote describes as “an invisible river” of artists from Goa who > substantially shaped the trajectory of Indian art but have “not always been > recognized as so doing.” In his prescient, powerful curatorial essay for > the game-changing 2007 exhibition *Aparanta: The Confluence of > Contemporary Art in Goa *– which also had the salutary effect of saving > the Old GMC building from being turned into a shopping mall - he pointed > out that “geographical contiguity does not mean that Goa and mainland India > share the same universe of meaning: Goa’s special historic evolution, with > its Lusitanian route to the Enlightenment and print modernity, its Iberian > emphasis on a vibrant public sphere, its pride in its ancient > internationalism avant la lettre, sets it at a tangent to the self-image of > an India that has been formed with the experience of British colonialism as > its basis. The relationship between Goa’s artists and mainland India has, > not surprisingly, been ambiguous and erratic, even unstable.” > > That is certainly so, but the profusion of Goan artists in ‘Maharaja’s > Treasures’ demonstrates their importance to the Indian national cultural > project. Besides those named earlier, there’s Prafulla Joshi Dahanukar, who > was born in Bandora and also became a Progressive alongside her mentor > Gaitonde, and Marie Dias Arora, the daughter and grand-daughter of the > first two ICS officers of Goan origin, who studied on scholarship in Paris > with the master printmakers William Hayter and Krishna Reddy. This > formidable cadre of artists would have been the centrepiece of the state > art museum that should have been established decades ago, under any kind of > responsible cultural management. The fact it hasn’t happened is an absolute > disgrace, compounded by the fact that even 60 years after decolonization > the only two decent art museums in Goa are sponsored and maintained by > foundations based in Portugal (although in the case of MoCA, the state and > national governments have indeed contributed substantially). > > Bottom line: it’s hard not to feel envious about what the citizens of > Mumbai get to enjoy as a matter of course, where Goa has failed utterly > miserably, and one more reason for that is venues like Cowasji Jehangir > Hall itself, which was founded in 1911 for what the grand marble plaque in > its foyer tells us includes “all educational, scientific, literary and > social purposes, for concerts, prize exhibitions, lectures and art and > educational exhibitions [and] for public meeting called by any responsible > body on any day of the week inclusive of Sunday.” Many years ago, Francis > Newton Souza told me he raised the funds for his first passage to London by > organizing an evening dance for British soldiers there after WWII. The > great Saligao-born progenitor of the Progressives is conspicuously absent > from the AI collection (he was probably considered disreputable) but there > are many of his works with the NGMA. Will they ever be seen in Goa? > > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Goa-Research-Net" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web, visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/goa-research-net/CAN1wPW6vZbptkvCQGsgWqYZa3_ekCKMaVgVTmh2rwn7d%2BsotVw%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/goa-research-net/CAN1wPW6vZbptkvCQGsgWqYZa3_ekCKMaVgVTmh2rwn7d%2BsotVw%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Goa-Research-Net" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. 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