Most of us associate the month of March with the decline of the bitter cold of winter, and the vibrant fervor of Holi when we welcome the warmer weather with rainbow washed streets and youth making joyous mischief. Internationally March is hailed as Women’s History Month, with the 8th of March being International Women’s day commemorating the movement for Women’s rights.
Some critics of the Feminist movement would claim that the fight for gender equality is over, however recent history has displayed time and time again that this is not the case, particularly in our corner of the globe. Art cannot be separated from contemporary life. Expression can never exist in a vacuum, and experiential knowledge seeps through into all which we create, thus Art & Deal Magazine dedicates this March’s issue to portraying notions of gender in the Art world, and celebrating the achievements of female artists in an industry which continues to be largely male dominated.
Our correspondent interviews Delhi based Artist Shobha Broota, who has been continuously making work for over several decades. She candidly discusses the internal journey which has been the result of decades of changing process. These days Shobha Broota is known for her extreme minimalism, and she discusses her gradual development from realism to ‘essentialism’ and the internal implications of this shift in style. Our London correspondent Rajesh Punj interviews one of India’s leading contemporary artists Bharti Kher, known for exploring the collective inequalities and unease of her gender, intending her work to challenge social and cultural norms.
Art historian and curator Vikas Harish writes on Gond artist Choti Tekam in the article ‘Where lyrics are images, the forest her palette’ detailing her journey from the small village where she was born, to facing the challenges of City life and never ceasing to give up on her dream of becoming an artist in her own right.
The history of textile work is vast, as a practice traditionally associated with so called ‘feminine craft’ yet in contemporary times the rift between craft and fine art is being bridged. There is a wealth of textile based art works which have emerged in recent times, drawing from the historical associations of textile works and applying new meanings. Palak Dubey explores this concept in ‘Existential Paradigms, Series of works on textile with embroidery and appliqué by Aditi Raman.
In ‘The rebellion of the dead’ Franck Barthelemy reports on the Paris exhibition of Indian artist Nalini Malani, whose videos, installations, paintings, and performances tackle issues like women’s place in society, fundamentalism, or ecological disaster.
In ‘Notes towards sighting/citing/sitting women in Hindi Cinema of the 1950’s and 60’s Anuradha Dingwaney Needham takes on the mammoth concept of women’s role in Indian cinema, focusing on these two decades following India’s independence where the socio-political scene was rife with reforms undertaken on behalf of women’s emancipation. Lina Vincent Sunish presents direct discourse from six female artists, bringing into purview the politics of gender, women’s freedoms and limitations in society,motherhood and its challenges, and women being ultimately, close to nature acting as nurturers of the environment.
In this issue Art & Deal also presents a report on the recent Indo-Korea workshop at Udaipur, and a review of the New Media Art Project ‘Building Bridges’ curated by Ushmita Sahu. Happy Reading, and as always feel free to get in touch with your feedback and suggestions.
-Siddhartha Tagore