A good piece of art fulfils half of an artist's commitment

Eminent poet and painter Jogen Chowdhury is a professor at Visva Bharati University. He is a popular MP, elected by the MLAs of the State Government of West Bengal, India.  The living legend was born and raised up in Faridpur of the then undivided Bengal. In 1971, he wrote a poem and portrayed a painting called “Homage to Bangladesh”.

The master artist, currently a resident of India, recently received Zainul Sammanona 2016, conferred by Faculty of Fine Art, University of Dhaka. In a candid conversation with The Daily Star, the artist shared many facets of his life and art. Here's the second part of the interview.  Excerpts: 

“The creation of an artist relays diverse feelings to the spectators. An art lover gets infused, interacted and reacted at the sight of the forms, textures, colours, composition and presentation of the artworks. We find rough texture in Ramkinkar's sculpture while Henry Moore's sculptures are polished. The understanding and realisation of arts is important.  Rabindranath is the first Indian modern artist. His predecessors could reach that highest point.”

“Tagore observed the European art, especially the Impressionistic and Expressionistic. His own paintings evoke expressionism. The Bard started painting at a mature phase of his life when his creative pursuits were already established in multitude fields like –poetry, dance, music, philosophy, thoughts on society and the world. ”

“His paintings convey untainted joy, a deep involvement. Our hearts automatically get attached to his arts. I have found the transcendental quality, the sense of infiniteness and a living vibration in his paintings. We also find these in the German expressionist forefather Van Gogh's paintings. Tagore observed all these things. The major difference between them is Tagore incorporated the conventional Indian conscience in his paintings; that's why his paintings are profound, tranquil and peaceful in manner.”

“Tagore's paintings are like the movement of Indian Classical Music that is inward in nature while Van Gogh's ones are like the music of Beethoven that is outward in approach. European artists showed the physical reality of a statue or form while Tagore showcased the essence of unreal and the surreal of supernatural in his works. A connotation of mysticism lies in his works.”

“The timeless works of Matisse have enriched the arts of the world. So a good piece of art fulfils half of an artist's artistic commitment to humanity and society. We simultaneously find Picasso to protest through art in his famous mural-sized oil painting, Guernica. We find the same social conscience and consciousness in the paintings of Goya and in the works of the big three Mexican muralists -- Orozco, Rivera, Siqueiros.”

“Every person is not socially liable. An artist must continue his artwork; his characteristic personality or social consciousness may involve in his work. I react at the killings, global terrorism, social disorder, decay and destruction, others may not be so and do work like a saint. My paintings have a reflection.  An artist's first freedom is to make art.” 

“Tagore created masterpieces like Achalayatan, Tasher Desh, Gora and Chandalika on the backdrop of society. The conscience lies in his minds genuinely. Again, the poetry of Subhash Mukherjee and Jibanananda Das are not the same. The sense of fantasy, beauty and life together with the complexity of personal relationships and social conscience are part of Jibanananda Das' paintings while Subhash Mukherjee is straight forward in his presentation. These are the parts of life. If someone tries to disown these, nothing is left in life. If I fill my life with harsh reality, I cannot pass a single day. I require a bit unreal fantasy… (laughs)”

“The touch of art, culture and beautiful environment are imperative to build a humanistic society. Why does a person get involved in wrongdoings? I think his genetics and education are primarily liable. We have to ensure that ambience. We have to give our children the proper atmosphere and freedom to flourish their creativity. If we train them up in a regimented environment, they will not become a proper human being. We have the same artistic and cultural roots. According to Okakura, an artist creates art incorporating his individual personality, his past history and the conflict of the present.” 

“While going to sketch the meditative statue of Prajnaparamita, it seemed like diffusing the rays of illumination and wisdom on me, and I got infused.  Force, transcendence, meditative, supernatural — these are the words I use to explain art. I will try to keep it simple before embarking on the exposition. When something has been created out of something and the creative mind infuses it with a transcendental quality, making it out-of-the-world, sublime, meditative, or even supernatural, that is art. The beholder should be able to enjoy it with a feeling that is of a higher nature. I don't believe in any written religion. I think, religion should be changeable in accordance with the people of society. ”