This cannot be just a deja vu moment for me, that I decided to come to a see off party for an Indian artist. My learning about such parties come from Scandinavia, where people start with pre-party, go to the party and then there is a post-party. It might be a little overwhelming for many who are not familiar with the concept.
I decide to stay longer and ended up spending the evening with a group of Indian artists, who are in different phases of their lives.
After double cups of black tea (with sugar) Kaushik and I are talking about life, art and what not. Kaushik (Tyagi) is from Agra. After studying Bachelor of Fine Arts (Painting) from his hometown, he decided to move to Delhi-NCR for his master studies. He now lives in Kaladham in Greater Noida.
He is content with what he is doing and is able to devote his time and energy towards what he feels is right for his creative bent. He is exploring different forms in his painting. His medium is clay and painting. For him, at present, it is more about his own satisfaction. We have also been discussing artist’s own experience and taking inspiration from it versus what others’ experiences teach them. I mean we are trying to understand the difference between two basic things, i.e., Picasso painted “The Death of Casagemas” with such intense feelings because Carlos Casagemas was his closest friend and his suicide was a painful experience for him and Kavita Ganguly created sculptors based on mythological stories, which have huge impact on her thought process (at least at the time of creating them).
Prasanta, Sangita, Meenu, Sudeep and Neha were also with us until the party moved to post-party. Our discussions also touched the part where economics become an over-riding factor for art.
