Art and soul
The term “art” is vague, perhaps as vague as the idea of God. Most of us believe there is a supreme power that runs the universe, which/who we call “God” but we don’t know if the God is a he or a she.Art (here, visual art) can mean different things to different people. Perfect art for a five-year-old could mean painting a pretty flower. For an abstract expressionist, perhaps it would mean creating a painting that is wild, unbound by motifs and thoughts. For a figurative painter like me, nothing satisfies us more than painting figures. And yet for conceptual artists, they worry more about the concepts than anything else.
At the risk of sound a little clichéd, our country has always been rich in the visual arts. We live with majestic sculptures all around. We take these for granted but we need to realize that it might be difficult for us to compete against the rest of the world in the sciences or technology, but we can outshine a lot of countries when it comes to our ancient arts. We live with the majestic mandalas, the beautiful art forms that balance us emotionally, spiritually and physically.
To be living in a country as artistically, culturally and spiritually rich as Nepal, it is important for us to realize the significance of the arts. But for that it makes sense to find the artist in us. Art comes naturally as a child. As a kid, we all love to draw and paint without any formal education. But to learn to read and write, we need to go to a school. As Picasso aptly puts it, “Every child is an artist. The problem is, how to remain one once we grow up.”
There is this example I give in all the talks I give in schools and colleges when I teach art appreciation. If a few of us looked at an apple on the table and painted it, each one of our apples would look different. If we got the world’s greatest artist (if we could find the world’s greatest artist), his apple would still be the apple he created on the canvas, and it wouldn’t be edible. So, the entire genre of modern art talks about creation and not replication, as replication is never possible. Each one of has this ability to create our own apples, our own art, in our own ways. This makes each one of us an artist. But the realization is important.
That said, each artist has a particular perspective to art. And this changes from time to time. So a billion things are happening in the arts as you read this. This is the joy of the arts. The differences in thoughts and approaches, differences in choices of motifs and mediums.
For me the most joyful movement in painting was Impressionism in the 19th century. Monet had his beautiful colors, light and shades, Van Gogh had his power strokes, Cezanne had his robust forms and Seurat created his works in tiny dots which he called “Pointillism”. This beautiful movement, I believe, explains what art should be all about. The Impressionists were observing and absorbing nature and creating art works in the impressions. For me art should be first about feelings and emotions, everything else, including intellect, comes later. But if you differ, it is perfectly alright, I told you art is different things to different people.
So how can we enjoy and appreciate all forms of art? For that we need to understand the artist’s perspective to creativity. There are artists who believe in realism and super-realism. That is their joy and strength. An abstract expressionist believes in creating art works that are not bound by forms and sometimes even motifs. We need to enjoy the liberty they seek, the textures created, the sense of colors maybe! Traditional painters who create our rich Thangkas paint beautiful mudras and asanas in fascinating, intricate ways. Conceptual artists create art works that give voice to what they have to say about the society, or perhaps about themselves! And yet we have artists who seek and find equal pleasure in painting beautiful landscapes.
It is impossible to compare the different art forms, as it is to compare different artists. But having painted for more than 25 years now, and with over 25 solo exhibitions, I have come to realize, being an artist is a lifestyle: a perspective to life. Today I see and experience everything the way an artist does. And this is something I can’t explain or write about.
What is the purpose of the arts, you may ask? What good is art? But can you imagine life without music, without poetry, without paintings?
Art keeps your soul alive.
Chirag Bangdel is a Visual Artist, Writer, RadioPresenter/Producer
