Jogen Chowdhury

Q. What were the early influences on your work?
You will see a lot of Bengal influence in my art. The leftist movement that was at its peak in West Bengal since the 40s influenced my earlier works. There was passion in the air, the desire to change the world. In later years, my art became more personalised and subtler.But in the earlier days there was no way I could escape the political influence of the left...

Q. What were the early influences on your work?
You will see a lot of Bengal influence in my art. The leftist movement that was at its peak in West Bengal since the 40s influenced my earlier works. There was passion in the air, the desire to change the world. In later years, my art became more personalised and subtler.But in the earlier days there was no way I could escape the political influence of the left movement. There was a lot of disturbance in the air. Partition, famine and the food movement all left their mark.

Q.What was the genesis of the Progressive Art Movement in India?
Modern art was invoked because of the British colonial regime. On one hand, the British interrupted the raditional art practice, but on the other hand, the emergent istorical, socio-political conditions caused the Western perception and skill to be associated with the Indian creative process. Socio-political reasons affected art in all countries, and India was no exception, though the perception had changed. The social and political thematic content had replaced the former religiosity.

Q.So you think the modern art movement was a reaction against the British Raj?
In a sense against Western art. Britishers introduced art training in this country not because of any creative reasons. They wanted skilled designers and draughtsmen for their administrative jobs. They did not really have any clear notion of traditional Indian art, and looked down at it as primitive.Consequently, the western naturalistic art was imbibed through various institutions. In Kolkata, and in other cities, naturalistic or realistic art spread like wildfire. There happened to be some extremely skilled Bengali artists. Some went abroad to acquire more skills. The subject of their works was portraiture and landscape. It characterised the British Art Academic schooling. The urban rich patronised it. The medium was mainly either water-color, oil-color or pastel; however, there also were lithography, etching, wood-cut prints. This schooling intermingled with traditional Indian styles like miniature paintings and folk art and there came to be a hybrid art.

Q. Who were the earlier modern Indian artists?
Rabindranath Tagore founded Kala Bhavan in 1919, and it became the center for art movements. Here the traditional Indian art interfaced with the oriental art from South East Asia, contemporary western art and above all the dynamism of life, and Kala Bhavan became the heart of the creative circuit. A fresh dialogue in art opened between Santiniketan and Western Europe on one hand, and China and Japan on the other. An emergent style in murals came to rule, and a new perception of fine arts developed there. Nandalal Bose and his two disciples Ramkinkar Baij and Benodebehari Mukherjee triggered the entire process. I consider Tagore as the first true 'modern' painter. One can also name Amrita Shergil and Jamini Roy. Amrita (Sher Gill)was a talented artist. She learned from an art school in Paris and drew some bold portraits at the beginning of her career. Later on, the Pahari miniatures and Ajanta fascinated her. Jamini Roy too was an academic realist in his early phases and went through the realm of the French Impressionism. He finally fell back on the folk art of rural Bengal. The movement was taken forward by most of the artists who lived and worked in post-independence India, particularly in the sixties, and who introduced new perception and styles in Indian art. They are now spread all over Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi and Baroda. They did not directly imbibe western art. They were grounded in their native soil, comprehended modernism on their own and developed their forms and content independently.

Q.How do you think the Progressive Art Movement reacted to all the political and social disturbances in the country?
The background was relevant. There was no way we could escape being influenced by it. That was one reason why the Progressive Art Movement rejected the Western style of painting completely and adopted traditional motifs and contemporary themes. We, infact, rejected the use of Western language in our work. There was a need to adopt a uniquely Indian approach to art, which had been wiped out and suppressed under the British rule. To be global you do not have to do something that is imitative of America, Australia or England. It has to have an authenticity, which is not what blind imitation allows for.

Q. There has been a strong figurative element in your work. But over the years, the figure has started becoming smaller and fainter
In the earlier years my works were based totally on reality. So every single detail was captured on canvas. Everything was painted after being observed in their natural surroundings. Now the need to capture images totally in their natural surroundings no longer exist. My purpose is to hide some parts, because if you show the entire figure the interest in details is totally lost. Earlier the desire to show reality was greater. Now, in some parts, there is a certain distancing from reality. Earlier, I would draw even in a crowd. Now, I need to work in solitude. I can't draw if there are guests or relatives in the house. I sense a vibration that is distracting. There is a certain power in the stillness of an object. Stillness is a form of speed while not in force. It is stillness that can create greater tension in a work of art. Life is a mystery and it is inexplicable. A given situation can only be explained. In such circumstances, there is tension that may be apparent, but for me, that is what is real. It is this factor that prompts me to conceive a magical situation which is akin to magic realism.

Q. There is also a lot of element of nature in your art?
Man's conflicting relationship with nature has affected the graceful, symmetrical beauty of leaves and flowers and drawn in elements of violence, threat or aggression. It is this world of arbitrary creativity and vitality of nature that have molded my perception of nature. I take liberties with the shapes and contours of the flowers, creepers and leaves, recasting them in accordance with the dictates of his will.

Q.You do very little of oil painting, unlike several other contemporary Indian artists. Why is that?
Oil is not my forte. I come back to it once in a while, because as opposed to the works in ink for which I have a spontaneous feel, in case of oils, I have to get involved. Also, it depends to a large extent on my state of mind. It is not just making figures or clothes, but making the drawings of figures or clothes purposeful which is important.