Column - Baroda Sketchbook - Shiwani bhardwaj

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The What Next Question

Shiwani Bharadwaj

This is one idea that makes many of us quite uneasy. Our Fathers, Spouses, Fathers-in-law, Company In charge, Neighbors, Relatives and more constantly our own ‘consciousness’ would keep asking: WHAT NEXT?

For this month’s issue I thought to begin with my own greatest fear! [what next?] We as mortal human beings find it hard to determine future. And, the planning becomes all the more tough in the world of Fine Arts as we are always reminded that the world outside the Faculty/Campus is different from inside [one of my ‘godfathers’ told me to always keep one foot outside the world of Fine Arts]. And since our community is a minor community in the country, one always feels the fear of getting lost.

I was still wondering how my seniors in the field managed with that crisis that I was caught up with another, WHERE AFTER BARODA? This pushed me to realize that not many people after training from the Faculty leave the city! In spite of the fact that metropolitan cities like Mumbai and Delhi are hot plates of Indian art market and interactions, both internal and global; quite many artists choose to live and settle back in Baroda. This is also true with the artists who have not been trained in Baroda school at all.

Most of the artists feel that Baroda is small, commutable, warm place to settle. The Faculty of Fine Arts in numerous ways gives voice to the artist settled here. Rather the four year or two year programmes of academic training absorbs the outsider to this place completely. Artist like Ghulam Mohammad Shiekh, Nagaji Patel, Jeram Patel, K.G. Subhramanyam and many more big names are associated with ‘Baroda energy’, so it isn’t a very recent feature. It has become a tradition by now. Galleries like ABS and Sarjan are doing commendable job to bring home rare exhibitions. Moreover, material is just a phone call away. Cost of living is far less than other cities. And with global connections Baroda isn’t just another city!

So in the following we will see how both ‘young’ and a ‘day old’ artists collaborating with the ‘support systems’ that have come up with collective studio spaces which not only provide them with independent room and liberty but also interaction across the community of artists and the buyers.

Along with this we have a short section on the foreign students who are here in Baroda for sometime now and how they feel about the place.

The two places I chose to work on bewildered my senses as from outside they both looked completely different. One of them is situated in the midst of city, on the tenth floor, with an aerial view of market’s bustling noise and white rectangular buildings all around. This is yet to be officially opened: Priyashri’s studio in Alkapuri area. And another is reuse of a pharmaceutical factory building, to make something like ‘cells’ for artist to work in the outside area of Channi, of the city. This is a well known and popular, Space Studio. 

Unlike the exhibitions that I wrote about in the last edition, these studios are not collectively funded by the artist themselves. But the spaces are owned by the ‘Support systems’ that I was talking about, like the Space belongs to the Alembic group and the Priyashri’s studio is owned by her family. Artist work here for a term period of six months or a year in exchange of which they give a work [of prescribed size].

But since, one of artist friend said that painting is like making sex: it is you, your canvas and your creation! Then, I wonder how feasible it is to work in a collective environment?

Alok Bal who is a known footballer and a painter from Orissa, recently, working with the theme of urban landscape on large size canvas, doesn’t find it problematic. For him friends seem to be very important. He said, both football and painting needs understanding of delicate details, physical labor and support from others in the ‘team’. Jagannath Mohapatra, also from Orissa and one of the founding members of the Priyashri’s studio feels that working in collective space boost interaction especially with artist from other regions. It helps to expand knowledge and share experiences.

However there are not all who feel interaction the only thing good about the studio. Artist like Pulak Sanpui prefers to work in the daytime and thus finds the place adorable. Ajay Sharma, who have been with the Space Studio feels that the new place is dust free and full of light. 

Apart from the Baroda trained artists, K.K. Sateesh also works from the same studio. He was trained in Trivandram Fine Arts College, thereafter he moved to Bangalore, which he thought lacked painters community and decided to come to Baroda. Here he finds the world of art bubbling with energy and creativity. He said, “Baroda is more serious about painting”. Nikita Parikh, Ahmedabad based artist has moved to Baroda for sometime to work as she too found Baroda Happening! We also met Shanta Gohain, who was helping with her husband’s work [Ganesh Gohain] that we clicked her snap by flick. She did her graduation from Assam and then Post Graduation from Baroda. It has been ten years now that she and her husband settled here, and also she is working in the Space from two years now. Apart from the common feeling of Baroda being peaceful and having closely knit artist community, she also added, “Baroda is artist village for me”.

One thing is very interesting about Baroda is its friendly and interactive environment. Most of the younger artists say that they have been supported and helped by the older, while the older hold that younger generation is very inspiring. Now nothing comes without a pinch of salt but when one looks at such a strong sense of community, one is often reminded of its minority.

If we reflect back to years when artist were underpaid and called ‘hippy’ by the ‘normal’ people; the same sense of community came as rescue and shield to save their identity. And now when even freshly passed out artists are getting enormous returns, they need not be competitive. Thus, the environment has been more or les friendly throughout. No wonder, proximity is the first thing that a human being looks for security. And probably such collective spaces of working artists are a result of that.

Via these studios artist get closely linked to other artists, buyers, dealers, art lovers and critics. Moreover, the artists inside have collective celebrations for festivals, birthdays etc. Senior artist keep visiting. Plans for camps, shows, films, discussion are all on the list.
  
Such spaces add to the comfort level as they are close to the phenomenon of ‘office going’. Artists come here by nine in the morning and work till nine at night.
However, most of the artists seemed happy with this idea of collective working. You might just call this Artists’ Hub! But I would call it Artist’s Lane!

Everyday in the morning when I reach Faculty I see a new shape being built on ground cleaning the fallen leaves and garbage. This is a site-specific installation of David Ayoun, exchange program student from France.

To know how outsiders react to Baroda Art scene, I thought to interview the foreign students in the Faculty as well. One thing that they all held about Baroda was that it did not look the same as shown on the Internet. Probably lack of cleanliness is what prompted David for his installation. The concern with cleanliness is what many of us have in our early days here but gradually most get immune to it. Quite many times the pass out students miss it! [I am not joking] They did not seem very happy with the administrative system either [alas! They have seen only Baroda] but were quite happy with the fact that life here was very safe especially for women. They liked the Faculty also for the reason that no one stares at them here unlike other places in the city.

The foreign exchange students: David Ayoun and Arnaud Dubois from Ecole des Beaux Arts [Fine Arts School of Paris], France seemed to be impressed by the amount of work done here in the Faculty. However, Gerad Foy, another foreign student, part of masters course from Mauritius says that students here give too much emphasis on technique. They don’t begin with concept in mind. I find it a bit contradicting as the Faculty and staff stresses more on concept.  Another student who has joined the Bachelor course, Hayan Lee, is from South Korea, she finds the course in India better than her country as here the Faculty has a preparatory session for one year, where the students are exposed to all genres of Fine Arts unlike there.

However, Hayan has a long time to stay in Baroda, others too have plans to come back to the city to work and stay. I cannot resist mentioning the closing line of David, “the way India is growing…be careful…the western way is dangerous”

The artist and the foreign students have different concerns. They have few basic similarities and little basic dissimilarity in their approach to the city. But what is genuine to see is since the establishment of the institution of Art or even before that. Artists come from different background, carrying certain elements from their past, maintaining their individuality, settle here as one community. Baroda has been encompassing multitudes, absorbing them and reflecting back a cosmopolitan character in art.