Jyoti Bhatt

It has now been more than fifty years since you graduated from MSU in Baroda. Can you tell us about the evolution of your creative process since then, and the various genres and media you have worked with over the course of your artistic career?

After completing my studies at the MSU (in 1956), I worked for a year as a free lancer and then got a ‘Cultural Scholarship’ for working under Prof. N.S. Bendre...

It has now been more than fifty years since you graduated from MSU in Baroda. Can you tell us about the evolution of your creative process since then, and the various genres and media you have worked with over the course of your artistic career?

After completing my studies at the MSU (in 1956), I worked for a year as a free lancer and then got a ‘Cultural Scholarship’ for working under Prof. N.S. Bendre (1957 to 59). Then I got a teaching job at my alma mater (1959 to 1992). Its liberal program gave me ample opportunities to pursue my painting, to work also in their printmaking and photography departments, and to travel. For being able to help the students it became almost imperative for me to obtain enough acquaintance with newer media and approaches. I had learnt printmaking during my study period at the MSU. But, I concentrated on etching while I studied at Pratt Institute in New York, USA, for two years (1964 to 66). In the beginning my etchings reflected the visual quality of my paintings that I had made during the early 1960s. Then my etchings, especially the ones done with a sharp needle and fine lines, started affecting my paintings. Similarly many of my photographic images from the early 60s were mainly of surfaces and interesting textures. They looked like my abstract, non-figurative paintings of the same period. In fact all these three apparently different mediums got themselves penetrated in each other. Often I have hand coloured my prints and photographs, collaged my photographic images and prints in my paintings and used photographic images and techniques for making prints. For me pursuing these art forms is the only way I can express my thoughts and feelings visually. But when that was ineffective, then, as it was and has been practiced by many artists, I also included written words as the integral, visual parts in my works. Doing this made me conscious about the relationship of the words and syntax. And, this in turn seems to have prompted me to use images like words; without following the established rules for creating the illusion of three dimensional space.

Can you tell us about your time with Group 1890? What was its appeal to you, and how did it influence your art?

I was invited to join ‘Group 1890’ after it was formed as I was out of India (1961-62) then. And, after having our first group show at Rabindra Bhavan, I was out till 1966. Due to this I did not have enough opportunities to interact with its other members. However, the group was not formed on the bases of any specific stylistic or political ideology. Apart from this I did not really make any effort to have such interactions. During 1967, we had tried to hold a second group show but could not succeed. By then, thanks to the initial thrust, like all its members I too had started showing my works independently. The support of each other was no more indispensable.

Nevertheless, it is because of the group, I made new friends like J. Swaminathan, Ambadas and Eric Bowen. Apart from my teachers, I am greatly indebted to Swaminathan. Their help and encouragement enabled me to develop love and respect for tribal societies and their art forms. Because of Swaminathan and Bharat BhaVan, I could travel and do my photographic documentation in Madhya Pradesh. Apart from this, Swaminathan also provided me opportunities of knowing many poets, writers, musicians, dancers and theater personalities. This, I am sure, has contributed to my growth and work indirectly and subtly.

You have worked extensively with the documentation of rural arts and crafts; how have your projects in this field shaped your artistic practices? Apart from that, being one of the first Indian artists to actively take up photography, what has your relationship with the changing nature of the practice been like? Has the evolution of photographic technology affected your work?

I started using a camera from 1957 onwards, mainly for recording paintings of my own and those of my fellow artists. Then, I used the camera for making visual notes. I also realized that apart from being faster than my pencil sketches, these photographic notes were also more objective. Over the course of time, I became aware of potential of photography as a medium for personal-creative and graphic- expressions. But I had to suppress my cravings for using it in that manner. And, from 1967 onwards I concentrated on documenting fast disappearing living traditions of visual arts which were being practiced by women – mainly in the tribal and rural villages of our country. I had to do that with my own resources and also to attend my teaching duties. These did not leave me much time for pursuing it ‘creatively’ and for making paintings and prints. But the satisfaction of doing this ‘socially relevant’ work sustained my zeal. Fortunately, some renowned photographers were among my close friends. I could get their guidance and often the opportunity of working with them during our trips to remote areas. However, due to certain age related physical reasons I have stopped traveling to distant places for such documentation purpose. So, though at a very slow pace and on a small scale, since the late 1990s I have started painting and have made some prints too. My visual and emotional experience related to ‘folk art forms’ and increased respect for their simple, un-contrived character have affected my way of working. Such forms keep on surfacing in my own works.

As the earlier form of photography has been taken over by digitalization and also due to my acutely deteriorating eyesight I had to close my dark room. So, I adopted a P.C. While trying to remove scratches and dust specks from my photographic images, I also started ‘editing’ them. The P.C. has permitted, or rather encouraged me to modify the images freely. Thus my photographic images have forgone their ‘silver gelatin’ look. They are now printed with the high tech inkjet method and appear more like ‘photo gravure’ prints. Working on the P.C. (helped by a friendly technician) also provided me with opportunities to create non-photographic images directly on it. Yes! I am really very happy that the new technology has kept the artist in me still alive. However, it is rather sad and disheartening that most of our art collectors still can’t appreciate the art forms that involve photographic or digital technology. Unfortunately, the surface on which an artist has created the images is valued higher than the work itself! I hope I will not have to declare under oath or write on my prints something like “an etching made with imported inks and acid free archival paper of 100% cotton fiber”.