‘Art for art’s sake’ seems insufficient in the times we live in, the importance of art that addresses today’s complex world is that which is socially and politically engaging.
Artists working in the realm of the sociopolitical aspects are found using different mediums to deal with key questions of democracy, civil and human rights, capitalism, economic migration, environment and a whole host of issues. They strive to provide a counterpoint to the prevailing images of power and also to the stereotypes that are fed to us by the media. It’s a palpitating and dynamic world of questioning minds.
Art has a very long history of engagement with politics, art about politics is, in a sense political as it is about a person’s views and freedom to act and to express themselves freely. Art has always been about taking a position. There have been times in history when art has temporarily bridged the gap and made its voice heard.
It is difficult to pigeonhole and categorise what exactly art is and how it functions. But then that is its beauty, it is impossible to both quantify and qualify how art affects those who see it. It works in mysterious latent and very subtle ways, but its impact is unmistakable.
The merit of art cannot be judged by popular consensus, art allows for something that cannot be defined. Hence, it’s unpredictable how it can change people’s minds or influence their subsequent behaviour.
Art is a subtle power that changes the world, one perception at a time, slowly but surely. Therefore, art is often seen as a threat and, hence, silenced in Communist countries for exactly that reason.
The freedom to create art is one’s freedom to express and act, hence art is optimistic. It empowers a person to make a statement that can change the world, even if that world (work of art) exists on a tiny piece of paper.
Art as an act of shared communication is in a small way saying I make the world, I don’t simply inherit it. Art can change the way we think it can crack open cemented opinions and challenge the given. It looks at the world with a critical eye it opens up vistas beyond those which are familiar to us, and it challenges standardised or problematic views of the world. It exposes that which is often hidden under the carpet it reaches further than the accepted points of view, the known and takes us beyond the inevitabilities that we have been told we cannot escape.
Art is the conscience of society. Good art stands in front of you and questions your thinking prompts you to ask questions and put you into doubt. Art is testimony to the power of the human imagination, to dream and to reflect on things not only as they are but as they could or should be.
There are a lot of examples in the history of art where artists have addressed issues constantly in all forms, internationally and back home — whether it was art that was created as a community to put forth a point of view to the establishment or even posters with processions. Various examples throughout history are witness to this.
Not just figurative but abstract art too can be political. It prompts the viewer to reflect that all is not what it seems. There are layers and layers of meanings and contexts that create the picture that’s seen. Artists are revolutionaries of sorts.
Current shows
One of the interesting art shows I visited is that of Jitish Kallat. His works over the last 25 years are a journey of exploration. His continued engagement with the ideas of relating space and time, from the thick of dense humanscapes to its relationship with evolution to traversing out to the distant interstellar and communicating with galaxies is an adventure in art. His oeuvre spans distances, the spectrum of his tessitura continuously breaking the glass ceiling, as is deepening its roots to the very existence of being. It’s an opportunity to watch his show Otherwhile at Chemould, Prescott Road, Mumbai. It is on till January 2023
(Sonal Motla has curated Kala Ghoda 2020 with development and art as a theme and is currently working towards the issues on education on art, craft and design with a few educational institutions. Send your feedback to: sonal25fpj@gmail.com)
