BY NEETA OMPRAKASH

VASUDEV SHETYE and Praveen Naik, two young budding artists, held an exhibition ‘Harmonies and dimensions’ of their recent paintings at Kala Academy last week. Both are graduates from the Goa College of Art and presently teaching art in schools.

In such shows where two or more artists exhibit in the same space, one gets an opportunity to see the diversity of the human mind in its expression of intuitive ideas and talents which manifests the imagination. The input given to both the artists in their colleges is same as they are the product of the same college. Both are in the same profession of teaching. Both share the same cultural background and the geographical location of a Goan village. They are of the same age group so they also share the same zeitgeist. Yet their work does not have anything common which can categorically have the stamp of any ‘school’.

POLES APART

BOTH are poles apart in terms of the choice of the theme and the style of expression. Vasudev is rooted in reality whereas Praveen takes a leap in fantasy; Vasudev has painted his ‘Mona Lisa’ embroidering their future and Praveen imagines his fairy immortalised on a high pedestal. Praveen is in a dilemma, Vasudev is certain. Praveen animates the desuetude garments and Vasudev takes immense pleasure in painting the textile patterns. Praveen’s forms are sculptural where as Vasudev’s are painterly.

Artistic expression is the reflection of the thought process of the artist which, in turn, is the reflection of his/her personal life or an empathetic and sympathetic observation of society itself. Man’s life is immediately affected by the people around him. To be inquisitive about the life of another person is human nature. Throughout life, man takes immense pleasure in this activity of indulging in other’s affairs. This human nature becomes the major theme of artistic expression. Some artists subtly portray the various nuances of young heart and the turbulence of mind whereas some portray the hypocrisy of superficial human nature. As a result of this, art indirectly becomes the document of contemporary society.

IMITATING LIFE

THE observation made by Oscar Wild "Art imitates life and life imitates art" can be aptly applied to Vasudev’s paintings. Vasudev’s work is the sympathetic understanding of emotional changes in the life of a young girl who enters a phase of life where fantasy is supposed to transform into reality. The floral motifs in his paintings create interesting patterns. The small squares of different design in the background are symbolic of the life itself, which is full of unexpected and inharmonious blending of various incidences. Such appliqué work in the background, even in garments, symbolises the woman’s role of nourishing and nurturing. His idea of a woman is highly romantic; a flower becomes the very similitude of her blossoming youth. In one of his paintings, he combines 25 small portraits of a girl with a flower engrossed in different moods which can be felt through her smile, smirk, laughter, grin, giggle, titter, snigger etc. He also paints mundane activities such as one woman oiling the hair of the other in the painting ‘a bond of care’, or morning exercise or some acrobatics as seen in a circus. He has made an attempt to break away from his earlier style of working in a smaller space.

Praveen’s forms are suggestive of his dilemma of making statements about reality, fantasy and philosophy. He paints winged figures, a truncated Buddha head with a megaphone in the mouth and truncated human torsos, deceptive of its true nature. It is for the viewer to think whether these iconic forms are imitating life or whether life is frozen to become an icon.

The consistency in creating art works in spite of facing the hardships of life shows their dedication and aspirations to grow as a serious artist. This is the third consecutive exhibition they had together in the past three years. Their zeal for creative activity is admirable.