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the-south-asian.com March 2004 |
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March
2004 Wildlife Music Dance Environment Art Books
Books Between
Heaven and Hell
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STUDIO POTTERS: RE-INVENTING THE WHEEL by Isidore Domnick Mendis
Traditional pottery may be struggling for subsistence in small towns and villages. But in urban India, studio pottery is spinning a fortune. It is a craft steeped in tradition. For eons the Kumhar or the traditional potter has been at his pottery-wheel, spinning out earthen pots and pans and earning a frugal existence from his creations. Modern, electricity-fired kilns may have devalued the kumhaar’s small trade, but fortunately it still lives on in big cities. As the tussle between tradition and modernism continues, a new set of urban studio potters have emerged who have elevated this modest craft into an art form at par with paintings and sculpture. Functioning from individual studios, most of these artists feel that studio and traditional pottery go hand-in-hand as age-old skills can be combined with studio facilities to achieve astounding results.
These studio potters have gained instant recognition because of the quality of material used and the innovative designs. Wall hangings and jewellery, hitherto unknown in pottery ware, are now crafted in studios. The sizes too have developed from tiny pieces to large murals which adorn the foyers of business houses and fashionable residences. Not surprisingly, some of the leading artists are making a fortune out of mud. The Delhi Blue Pottery recently organised its second exhibition Peace and Harmony at the Visual Arts Gallery. Renowned names from across the globe and from various parts of country displayed their eye-catching creations. A milestone of the exhibition was the launch of a book titled The Legacy of Sardar Gurucharan Singh a documentation of the work of Gurucharan Singh considered to be the father of blue pottery. Besides Gurucharan Singh and later Rabindranath Tagore some of the contemporary doyens of the art are names like Mansimran Singh, Debi Prasad, Bani De Roy and the younger brigade comprising Adil Writer, Manisha Bhattacharya, Vineet Kacker and more. These new designers are quite unlike the traditional clan. Their’s is not a father-to-son or mother-to-daughter learning process. Many have acquired this skill from studio masters around the world. In fact, studio pottery came to India during the renaissance of art and craft brought about by Rabindranath Tagore. Which explains why many established studio potters have a Santiniketan background. Though most of the potters still follow the traditional European style, two distinct and different schools have emerged from India--Delhi Blue Pottery established by the late Sardar Gurcharan Singh and the Golden Bridge Pottery at Pondicherry started by Deborah Smith and Ray Meeker. The continuity of tradition and the aesthetic approach is important to any art form and particularly in studio pottery despite the advancement in the technology and tools being used. But in India studio pottery is still in its infancy. Only in the last few years have some of the potters become financially independent and also begun teaching. Today, studio pottery can boast of a large number of world-class potters. Nirmala Patwardhan, Daroz Panduranga, Rachna Parasher and Manisha Bhattacharya. Though a many follow traditional lines of the Euro-Oriental style started by Hamada, blended with their own distinct signatures, some are ready to break away and try a different approach. Debi Prasad’s work is essentially functional, as he doesn’t believe in creating "purely for commercial purposes." Manisha Bhattacharya’s turning point came with her year-long scholarship under Nirmala Patwardhan, whom she had met in Delhi. This was followed by a stint at the Ceramic Community Studio, the Golden Bridge Pottery at Pondicherry. " No doubt the traditional kumhaars are skillful," admits Bani De Roy, who operates a successful pottery studio from her residence in Delhi, " but they can’t afford fine-textured clay. They use what is found in river beds which gives the end-product a gritty finish." According to Manisha Bhattacharya, the designer potter has not harmed the interests of the kumhaar. Both have their distinctive spheres. He creates the traditional matkas, gulaks and surahis whereas the studio potter’s work is experimental. " There’s freedom to experiment with designs, shapes and colours." Manjari Anand, on the other hand, does not like to categorise her work either as functional or experimental. " I believe in versatility of art," says Manjari whose work is characterised by stimulating ideas. For instance, her watch is framed by the ceramic figure of a reclining man looking thoroughly bored. The piece is titled Time Pass. Tableware is till the most sought-after in studio pottery. But some artists want to go further. Says Manisha, "Earlier I confined myself to tableware and ceramic jewellery. But now it’s mainly experimental pottery." All artists have individualistic styles and there is hardly a cohesive movement to propagate the art. Most studio operators do their own experiments and sometimes, don’t even share their achievement with others. But Debi Prasad says he gives notes to his students and teaches them the principles of glazing and devising newer glazes. Besides, he says, "glazes are easily available and have been standardised through years of practice. So what’s the idea of being secretive?" Sales have never been a cause for worry for studio potters. The last few years have seen a manifold increase in the collection of studio pottery by corporate houses. The number of private collectors has also swelled as pottery, like art, is now considered a form of investment. Veterans like Devi Prasad have acquired a definite clientele. "The size of the community that can buy or understand art has increased considerably and thus there is a growing market for studio pottery," he says. In fact, a Mumbai collector has Prasad’s creations right from his earliest works to present ones. Studio pottery is prized anywhere between Rs. 300 to Rs. 2,000--depending on the size of the work and the intricacy of design. There is a constant momentum towards evolving newer ideas and objects. Devi Prasad is into tableware. Rachna Parasher is experimenting with vases and Manjari is doing murals and sculptures. And even as more and more people enter the field and competition heats up, veterans like Devi Prasad have not forgotten the traditional potter. He says, "They should be encouraged by the Government. Traditional pottery like handis and kullars should be introduced at government functions. Unless encouragement comes from the highest echelons, the traditional potters will continue to be on the endangered list." *****
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