(Joy Deep (J.D.) visited The Drifting Canvas with me. We spent time not only looking at the fabulous show but also interpreting it with our thoughts and camera. He has written his first impressions about the show and exhibition. Our common friend Akshat in the curator for the Desi Canvas section and Yasha is the one who has designed the multimedia show. Well, enjoy this well-written piece by J.D.)
Life in the dusk of the 19th century and the dawn of the 20th century witnessed a massive transformation. We are aware of some through Archaeological Sources and a lot through literary sources — Art being the foremost of them. I am glad to witness some at The Drifting Canvas today which I never saw before. I wasn’t surprised earlier to see one of my friend posing for a pic titled selfied with one of the prominent artist of that time — Vincent Van Gogh as this is the reality of the 21st century where any picture can easily be converted into artwork with the use of various applications. The real challenge lies in showcasing the art work in the audio — visual form yet retaining its original charm which takes you back a 100 years into a vortex of art renaissance. The moment of truth began with the exhibit of the great work of Amedeo Modigliani. I was amazed to see that the artist thought much ahead of his time and can be considered a visionary because I can see clearly that he was trying to depict the vulnerability of the human mind amidst uncertainties, which we can see even today. The choice of colours and the strokes clearly resonates the thought processes which can be distinctly characterized by elongated faces and figures. As I started dwelling of them, I saw a sudden change as we were slowly drifted into the art work of Claude Monet. His paintings were distinctively different. It was for the first time that I witnessed something unusual about them. The colours of nature were more vibrant unlike the oil paintings I saw in Victoria Memorial in Kolkata and other similar places where nature served as a mere background depicting the state of the subject. It felt like I was very much there, watching. Once again, we drifted into patterns as it was designed by the pioneer of suprematism — Kazimir Malevich. Supermatism, to say is not a mere term but an aspiration driving mankind towards a higher level as the foundation of discoveries and inventions laid during the industrial revolution saw a sea — change during that time. Perhaps the quest for knowledge was the answer to feeding the uncertainties of the human mind. Inspired by the work of Claude Monet, the work of Wassily Kandinsky cannot be categorized as mere abstracts as the latter highlights the impact of the correlations between the uncertainties, the nature and the quest for knowledge. The work of all the artists are much different, yet well connected which made the transitional drift absolutely effortless. There is one thing which is common with each artist as all of them witnessed the pain of World War — 1. Its effects can be easily seen with the choice of colours. I wasn’t ready to move out of the exhibition zone as my hunger pangs, precisely speaking art pangs reached a new level at The Drifting Canvas. In the end, I must say that the hunger for art and music continues yet again.
(In Desi Canvas till 4th of May on display are artworks by Anupam Sud, Paramjeet Singh, Krishan Ahuja, Umesh Varma, Jagdish Dey, Biman B. Das and Ram V. Sutar. Shows in the subsequent week will feature artists like Arpana Caur, Kalicharan Gupta, Sukant Khurana and others)