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the-south-asian.com September 2000 |
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Anjolie Ela Menon
In the course of her career Anjolie has held over 30 solo shows, culminating in a retrospective exhibition, in 1988. She has also participated in several international group shows . A well-known muralist, she has represented India at the Biennials of Algiers and San Paolo. The intensely energetic artist reveals that when she is preparing for an exhibition, she can paint 15 hours a day. A punishing schedule for a person even half her age. But for her, it is a part of her creative life. Anjolie has been invited by the British Council, the US State Department and the French Ministry of Culture to confer with leading artists in those countries. She has also served on the advisory committee of the National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi, India. Who does this highly creative and respected artist look up to? Without blinking an eyelid she replies, " I am really inspired by M.F. Husain. When I was young, I learnt a lot from his way of functioning. He taught me that one could paint anywhere, even sitting on the floor. Even today, I sit on the floor and paint. To create something in the mind, and then to actualise it requires intense energy. It is a very arduous business. Husain has all this and more. Every painter has to ultimately face a blank canvas. To carry an idea to its fruition, you require all your resources, knowledge, skills and inspiration." Speaking of inspiration, one sees a constant recurrence in her work of human figure. Has she generated a special empathy for the people she has put on her canvas. She thinks, and then replies, " Sometimes, not always. But, a figure as a recurring motif in my work tends to point to certain phases of life, or my thinking at that point of time. It is autobiographical. It could refer to a romantic phase, or motherhood." Then her face breaks into a smile as she adds, " I am into painting babies again, because of my grandchildren. So you see, it doesn't refer to anyone specifically." People who know the artist well will tell you that besides babies she has a special fondness for her old school, Lawrence, Lovedale. She admits, "Yes, I certainly do miss my old school a lot. I often go back there. I think it is the most beautiful school in India. I have visited Doon and Rishi Valley schools and they are not a patch on Lawrence. It has such beautiful old buildings, a lovely environment and lush lawns, forests and the bluest skies you ever saw." She has had her grandchild registered there, through at the moment he is barely two years old. It is this softer side of Anjolie that gladdens your heart. Her eyes soften when she talks about her grandchild, and she admits that she places her family on a high priority. She laughingly adds, " Of course, I would like to live a more lethargic life right now. I love people. I love spending time with my family and friends. I spend quite a lot of time looking after the house, and now that I have a small grandchild, I also spend a lot of time with him." She goes to her studio, around 10.30 a.m. every day, but this also depends on the amount of work she has to do there. When she is in Delhi, she goes out quite often in the evenings. As she says, " I am lucky that my work is such that my day doesn't have to be structured in any way." But, what does she feel about the many auctions---where she is mostly represented---conducted by houses such as Christie's and Sotheby's? Are they helping a younger generation of artists to evolve? In fact in one of the recent auctions, though Anjolie's work did rather well, other contemporary Indian artists did not fare so well at all. " I think, on the contrary, because of this talk of auctions and the `market all the time, the younger artists have become very greedy. They don't wait to define a medium of their own or struggle to find a niche or style of their own. Youngsters who have just come out of college are already charging Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 75,000 for their work which I think is both foolish and very presumptuous. I don't think the `market', is that big, that it can sustain so many people at that price. I don't think any of us ever thought of money until it really started to happen to us despite ourselves." Yet, Anjolie also hastens to add, " I do feel that these auctions have added a credibility to the purchase of contemporary Indian art. Their catalogues provide an excellent reference point both for individual buyers and for galleries and museums. They establish not only prices but the provenance of Indian contemporary art." How does she feel Indian art has evolved in the past fifty decades since independence? Anjolie shrugs her shoulders. Admitting that it is tough to answer it she says, " That is a mammoth question. I don't think that I can answer it in a couple of sentences. The base of the pyramid has become very broad. There are so many schools and trends. It would require a book or at least an essay to answer that one. I however do feel that Indian art is coming into its own and will clearly evolve in this decade." It is perhaps best to sum up with Anjolie's own conception of the passion to paint that has driven her life. She says, " Creative confidence is the hallmark of the great artist. The connection between the mind, eye and hand guided by emotion and imagination results in the ultimate creation of a work of art. Sometimes I feel the people I paint will come out and talk to me." There is perhaps nothing more left to say beyond that. Art speaks for itself when in the hands of Anjolie Ela Menon. _____________________
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