Critical Theory Richard Bartholomew: the Art Critic

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Critical Theory Richard Bartholomew: the Art Critic

LOMEW HO rt BA D R D VE R E ES R E OF RICHAOF E T T A H T S IG E R LL THE A “Richard Bartholomew at his typewriter at his Jangpure home, New Delhi, 1984” Critical theory Richard Bartholomew: The Art Critic A Critic’s Eye, an exhibition of the late Richard Bartho- lomew’s black-and-white photographs of his family and artist friends, was organised by his son Pablo at the Photoink gallery in 2009. These images had been shot while Bartholomew Senior was working as a painter, gallery director, critic and writer for The Indian Express, The Times of India and other publications. Now, Pablo has brought out a compilation of these writings, published between the 1950s and early 1980s, edited by him, his mother Rati, and Carmen Kagal. Art The 640 pages are a treasure-trove of historical anec- dotes to engross anyone interested in art: perceptive writings on the role of art criticism, contemporary Indian art, and “pen portraits” or profiles of artists such as MF Husain, Satish Gujral, Ram Kumar and Biren De, and his reviews of landmark exhibitions such as the First Indian Triennale in 1968. There are also provocative essays on public institutions like the National Gallery of Modern Art and the Lalit Kala Akademi (Richard was its secretary from 1977 to 1985) that seem relevant in the wake of the recent allegations of mismanagement at the Akademi. These writings are framed in context with an analytical introduction by critic Geeta Kapur and a more personal afterword by Pablo, who sums up the book in these words: “So this book needs to be out… to allow this man to breathe his words and as a toast [to] all those who have passed on and to the ones surviving; Memory, collectively lost, can now be somewhat regained.” Bart, `3,000. Available at a discount at www.rich ard b artholomew.info/artbook/pre_order.php. 2 www.timeoutdelhi.net September 28 – October 11 2012.

Copy Link

Recommended publications

The Silver Series - 3
DAG : THE SILVER SERIES - 3 THE SILVER SERIES EDITION 3 6 - 10 JULY 2020 10% SALE PROCEEDS TO 1 DAG : THE SILVER SERIES - 3 THE SILVER SERIES EDITION 3 100 ARTISTS ² 100 WORKS Modern and Contemporary Indian Art 6 - 10 JULY 2020 FIXED-PRICE ONLINE SALE The Silver Series is DAG’s initiative towards raising funds for charity through its fixed-price online sales For further information please contact us at [email protected] 1 DAG : THE SILVER SERIES - 3 FROM ASHISH ANAND’S DESK Hundreds of great artists have marked every decade of the twentieth century, which is why I have always been surprised at the invisibility of so many of our masters. Painters, sculptors, printmakers, teachers, they have made a name for themselves, but in the absence of their work being shown nationally—rather than regionally, as has been the norm—many have remained outside mainstream discourse. At DAG, it has been our effort to ensure their rediscovery and recognition, something we continue to do with our Silver Series, fixed-price online sales. The outstanding success of the first two editions is an indicator that art-lovers also have an appreciation for lesser-known names, as well as those whose works do not appear frequently in the market. Our endeavour with every edition will be to continue to surprise you with the mix of artists and the quality of their work. I hope the additions in this edition will bring you joy. If you miss any favourites, I assure you that you will find them in subsequent editions.
[Show full text]
The Paintings of Ram Kumar
SWASTI RAM KUMAR SMRITI Raza Foundation 1 The Paintings of Ram Kumar Among the Indian painters today Ram Kumar is he strives after in his paintings would influence his perhaps the only one who has no imitators and no method of work. His hours are regular the fresh hours followers, for both his themes and method are simple. of the morning he spends in his studio in Karol Bagh in His themes are everyday subjects we in the cities see; Delhi. There he paints, sketches, thinks his way out of the poor, the oppressed, the destitute, the frustrated problems, always within reach and in the company of lower middle class, not necessarily or typically Indian, the finished work and the tools and implements of his but nevertheless alive and boldly stated in non- craft. This is a very necessary discipline, for the ground theatrical yet dramatic terms. of a great painting is craft, the knowledge of surfaces, textures, the limits there can be no heavenly bread he For all this there is nothing of the grotesque or the knows, too, that the spirit of man that destroys the ugly or the sentimental in his paintings. Subject matter enemy of essentially fragile in its desire for peace and and style are mutually supporting. With the minimum for love. He is content to depict the fragility of life and delineation of the human figure, he strengthens line people. He is a painter of the people, not the people of and perspective, allowing eye to see first things first, a the people of the countryside but of the city.
[Show full text]
A Study of Dynamics of Himmat Shah's
JUXTAPOSITION OF FIGURATIVE AND ABSTRACT: A STUDY OF DYNAMICS OF HIMMAT SHAH’S ART A Thesis Submitted to For the award of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (PhD) in FINE ARTS By Arjun Kumar Singh 41100144 Supervised By Dr. Abid Hadi LOVELY FACULTY OF BUSINESS & ARTS LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY PUNJAB 2018 i DECLARATION I declare that the thesis entitled “Juxtaposition of Figurative and Abstract: A Study of Dynamics of Himmat Shah‟s Art” has been prepared by me under the guidelines of Dr. Abid Hadi. No part of this thesis has formed the basis for the award of any degree of fellowship previously. Arjun Kumar Singh 41100144 Lovely Professional University Phagwara, Punjab Date: ii CERTIFICATE I certify that Arjun Kumar Singh has prepared his thesis entitled “Juxtaposition of Figurative and Abstract: A Study of Dynamics of Himmat Shah‟s Art”, for the award of PhD degree of the Lovely Professional University, under my guidance. He has carried out the work at the Department of Fine Arts, School of Journalism, Film Production and Creative Arts, Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, Punjab. Dr. Abid Hadi Associate Professor Dept. of Fine Arts, A.M.U., Aligarh (U.P) Date: iii ABSTRACT The study explores the aesthetic sensibilities of Himmat Shah‟s art by analyzing the development of his artistic vision in the context of Post-Colonial Indian art. This broadly entails the life, training and major projects undertaken by him. His career span protracted from 1950‟s till date which has juxtaposed the nuances of all modern as well as contemporary practices. Through the analysis of Himmat Shah‟s art, this research seeks to explore his development in the context of modernity, materiality and individuality which are the key features of his art practice.
[Show full text]
Contemporary Indian Art Royal Academy, London
C0NTEMPOw-t INDIAN ART "J "R- -%J h.~.HUSAIN, I Came Across. Exhibition of Contemporary Indian Art Royal Academy, London The Festival of India in Britain is designed to project "the spirit of India and her achievements" in all the areas of living experience which constitute and condition contemporary Indian society. Undoubtedly modern Indian art is a manifestation of this spirit. It forms a part of our environment as public art, the ceramic murals by Satish Gujral at the Delhi High Court and at Shastri Bhavan or as a repository of creative value representing the range of themes, approaches and individual modes of expression in the splendid collection of the National Gallery of Modern Art at Jaipur House, New Delhi. Profrssional galleries in Delhi, Calcutta, Bombay and Madras programme exhibitions of art right round the year presenting and promoting contemporary Indian art for their intrinsic aesthetic value as well as for their value as investment. There are at least fifty Indian artists today who sell their work at prices which are three times what they were ten years ago. Investment in contemporary art is also a matter of public interest and concern. The Tata Institute for Fundamental Research at Bombay, for instance, has an impressive collection of some of the finest works produced in recent years which make their presence felt to workers and visitors. With the National Exhibitions of Art, presented annually by the Lalit Kala Akademi, and the Triennale of International Art every three years as events of interest to the public, contemporary art is now not only an all-India proposition but also a link with the endeavours and expression of people the world over.
[Show full text]
SOME PORTRAITS Curated by Devika Daulet Singh, Photoink
Shilpa Gupta (In collaboration with Asia Art Archive) That photo we never got Mumbai-based artist Shilpa Gupta and Asia Art Archive (AAA) present 'That photo we never got', a research-based project that explores friendship, associations, love, and incongruities in the field of art. By drawing out narratives from AAA’s collection, Gupta gathers incomplete stories from documents on art institutions, artist-organised camps, workshops, exhibitions, publications, and artist travels around the world. The artist worked alongside AAA Senior Researcher Sabih Ahmed, looking at material from the 60s, 70s, and 80s housed at AAA to follow the innumerable tangents and overlapping vectors across and beyond the Archive’s collection. Gupta delves into chance encounters and fraught friendships, some imagined and others not, revealing the varied aspirations of artists and their relationships to peers, cities, and the world. Gupta’s practice examines the dynamics of contexts, perception, and cartographies of knowledge, and has often incorporated methods of archiving into her work. While a number of stories gathered for this project had archival trails to follow, others surfaced as annotations from conversations and interviews conducted during its research. As the artist herself stated, ‘an archive can only be a proposal’; this project positions itself as an incomplete proposition of fragments placed in the interstices of the archival document and living memory. Earlier iterations of this project were shown at the 2015 India Art Fair in New Delhi, and at Asia Art Archive in Hong Kong in 2016. Shilpa Gupta (b.1976 Mumbai, India) completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts in sculpture at the Sir J.
[Show full text]
The Body Unbound
INDIAN MODERNIST ART FOCUS OF NEW EXHIBITION SERIES AT RUBIN MUSEUM OF ART Installations of Figurative Painting, Abstraction, and Landscape Create Vivid Picture of Transformative Era September 21, 2011 – New York – This fall, a new, three-part exhibition series providing a detailed look at the colorful history of modernist art in post-colonial and post-Independence India will premiere at the Rubin Museum of Art. On view from November 18, 2011 – April 9, 2012, the first installment of the series, The Body Unbound, will trace the trajectory of figuration in modernist Indian art from the 1940s to the 1980s and show how the country’s shift from colonial subject to sovereign nation impacted artistic trends. The works on display, gathered from local private and institutional collections, will explore the relationship between traditionally Indian, realistic depictions of the human form and the growing influence of abstraction. After the country gained independence in 1947, growing secularism and modernity emerged in the 1950s, as artistic collectives like the Progressive Artists' Group in Bombay and the Delhi Silpi Chakra in Delhi worked to establish and convey artistic and cultural identities for a new India. The groups integrated international modernist styles including Expressionism with imagery and ideas that resonated locally, and they sought to establish a place for professional artists as they grew the urban art worlds in Bombay and Delhi. The museum will present the works of a number of India’s most influential painters of this era: M.F. Husain, a founding member of The Progressive Artists’ Group, for whom the female figure – including goddesses and regular women – was an enduring subject and his way of representing an intrinsic quality of “Indianness.” Because he was Muslim, Husain was later widely known and criticized for his provocative paintings of nude Hindu goddesses.
[Show full text]
KRISHEN KHANNA: Visual Diarist
India’s Rockefeller Artists India’s Rockefeller Artists An Indo-US Cultural Saga KISHORE SINGH 2 | India’s Rockefeller Artists India’s Rockefeller Artists | 3 India’s Table of Contents NOTE FROM THE CURATOR ................................................................................6 Rockefeller INDIA’S ROCKEFELLER ARTISTS The Twentieth Century Snapshot .................................................................11 Artists Fuelling Philanthropy ....................................................................................16 Early Nudges for a Visual Arts Grant ...........................................................19 Council on Economic and Cultural Affairs...................................................22 Copyright: 2017 DAG Modern, New Delhi The JDR 3rd Fund/Asian Cultural Programme ..........................................22 Porter McCray...............................................................................................27 The Issue of the Culture Vultures .................................................................29 From the Heady 1960s and 1970s to a Slowing Down from the 1980s ........33 The Experience of the Grant ........................................................................36 The Change of Guard at the Fund ...............................................................36 11 Hauz Khas Village, New Delhi 110016, India The Asian Cultural Council ..........................................................................39 Tel: +91 11 46005300 • Email: [email protected] And, in
[Show full text]
Download Spec Sheet
Richard Bartholomew The Art Critic An insider’s account of the birth of Modern Indian Art Archive Editors: Rati Bartholomew, Carmen Kagal, Pablo Bartholomew Introduction: Geeta Kapur 7.5 x 9.5 inches 640 pages 250 colour and black-and-white illustrations 1.75 kg Hardback ISBN 978-93-5067-365-2 Approx. 2,25,000 words INR 3000/- “No person becomes an art critic by writing six column inches of ‘appreciation’ ten times a month. He must do better and more.” Between the 1950s and the early 80s, Richard Bartholomew wrote relentlessly about art. He challenged institutions like the Lalit Kala Akademi and the NGMA with his provocative questions about the role of the state in promoting art; he visited artists’ studios, befriended them, and advocated on their behalf the need for an aesthetic language that could reflect the modern Indian condition; he curated some of the most prominent shows of art in India and abroad, and, in his capacity as director of Kunika Chemould, the country’s first commercial gallery, nurtured some of the finest Indian artists. As critic for the Indian Express, The Times of India, and Thought Magazine, Richard was privy to some of the definitive moments in the history of Modern Indian art. Seen in retrospect, his massive body of writing on art is prophetic as it harks bak to an era when Indian painters such as S.H. Raza, M.F. Husain, Tyeb Mehta, F.N. Souza, Ram Kumar, and others who were still struggling to break free from the tired, overused idiom of the Bengal school and work within a more nuanced understanding of what constitutes the modern aesthetic; a time when paintings were sold for “the price of a bottle of whiskey or a cotton sari” as Richard recorded in one of his pieces.
[Show full text]
Mapping the Field of Indian Art Criticism 03 Chronology
Note Year Events Related to Art Institutions/ Artists groups Publications/ Journals etc ‐ information regarding art texts Artists/Writers/historians biographical details Miscellaneous Political/Social events 1838 * Society for Acquisition of General Knowledge founded in Bengal, 12 years after the founding of its parent body Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge in London 1839 * First art school Calcutta Mechanics Institution and School of Arts, founded by Fredrick Corbyn. More permanent school founded by Society for Promotion of Industrial Art in 1854 1855 * An exhibition of students works, first public show of its kind in India, in Calcutta Art School 1856 * Sir J J School of Art opened in Bombay supported by Parsi industrialist Jamsethji Jijibhai 1857 * A museum of Indian manufactures opens in Bombay, the curator Sir George first large scale uprising against the British East India Company. Led to consecration Birdwood is an authority on Indian industrial arts. The museum is named of Victoria as empresses of India. Institutions like National Gallery of Modern Art Victoria and Albert Museum in 1868 use 1857 as the starting point for their art collection 1861 * Rabindranath Tagore born 1869‐ * Indologist Rajendralala Mitra's seminal work Antiquities of 70 Orrisa , illustrated by art students * Between 1872 ‐ 85 students of Griffiths made complete copies of Ajanta wall paintings 1873 * Raja Ravi Varma's holds his first exhibition in Madras 1876 * The Government Art Gallery is established in Calcutta and placed under the * Scottish historian James Fergusson publishes History of charge of the adjacent Government School of Art Indian and Eastern Architecture 1877 * Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy born 1882 * Nandalal Bose born 1884 * British scholar and pedagogue E B Havell reaches India and takes on the post of Superintendent, Madras School of Arts 1885 * Government issues a call for the use of 'Oriental models in school drawing classes'.
[Show full text]
For Immediate Release SOME PORTRAITS Pablo Bartholomew
For Immediate Release SOME PORTRAITS Pablo Bartholomew Richard Bartholomew Madan Mahatta Sadanand Menon Ram Rahman Ketaki Sheth Sooni Taraporevala Curated by Devika Daulet-Singh In collaboration with PHOTOINK Preview: March 9, 2017 On view until April 22, 2017 Chemould Prescott, Mumbai is pleased to present a group exhibition of black & white photographs, Some Portraits curated by Devika Daulet Singh in collaboration with PHOTOINK. Drawn from the archives of Pablo Bartholomew, Richard Bartholomew, Madan Mahatta, Ram Rahman, Sadanand Menon, Ketaki Sheth and Sooni Taraporevala, this exhibition, spanning over forty years, is an evocative mosaic of portraits of painters, writers, poets, architects, dancers, designers and photographers — most of whom have passed away. What makes this series of portraits distinctive and novel is the profound interest the photographers felt for their subjects as none of the portraits were commissioned. Some Portraits is as much about remembrance and celebration as it is about that blurred space between life and art — artists photographing other artists. ABOUT THE ARTISTS PABLO BARTHOLOMEW Pablo Bartholomew (b.1955, Delhi, India) is a self-taught documentary photographer. World Press Photo awarded him the first prize in 1975 for his series on morphine addicts. In 1984 he won the World Press Photo ‘Picture of the Year’ award for his iconic image of the Bhopal gas tragedy. As a photojournalist he has documented societies in conflict and transition for over 30 years and has been widely published in international magazines. Pablo Bartholomew’s photographs have been exhibited at several international photography festivals: Chobimela, Dhaka, Bangladesh (2006), Angkor Photo Festival, Siem Reap, Cambodia (2006), Nooderlicht Photo Festival, Netherlands (2006, 2007), Month of Photography, Tokyo, Japan (2007) and Les Rencontres d’Arles, Arles, France (2007).
[Show full text]
SAHMAT: Project Participants
SAHMAT: Project Participants Artists Alert (1989) Chauraha: All India Street Theatre Festival, Delhi ( 1990) Participating artists: K. M. Adimoolam, Krishen Ahuja, Akhilesh, Vasudevan Participating theatre groups: Aavahan (Bhilai, Madhya Pradesh), Abhinaya (West Akkitham, Altaf, Navjot Altaf, Amit Ambalal, Amitava Banerjee, Maitreyi Banerjee, Bengal), Garage Studio (Ahmedabad, Gujarat), Goregaon Cultural Unit (Mumbai), Prabhakar Barwe, Manjit Bawa, Bishen Bhardwaj, Veena Bhargava, R. B. Bhaskaran, Jana Natya Manch (Delhi), Progressive Writers’ Association Theatre Group (Tamil Jyoti Bhatt, Harinder Singh Bhatti, Pulak Biswas, Usha Biswas, Shobha Broota, Nadu), Rang Chetna (Trichur, Kerala), Sahas (Cuttack, Orissa), Vihan (Banaras, Uttar Arpana Caur, Jayashree Chakravarthy, Jagdish Chander, Kanchan Chander, Suneela Pradesh). Bindra Chopra, Bijon Chowdhury, Dhiraj Chowdhury, Jogen Chowdhury, Walter D’Souza, Devraj Dakoji, Pratibha Dakoji, Amitava Das, Biman Das, Jatin Das, Chauraha: All India Street Theatre Workshop ( 1991) Dharmanarayan Dasgupta, Robin David, Ajay Desai, Meera Devidayal, Jagdish Dey, Resource persons: Ramgopal Bajaj, Rati Bartholomew, Bhaskar Chandavarkar, Atul Dodiya, Ajit Dubey, Laxma Gaud, Siddhartha Ghosh, K. Ganesh Haloi, Somnath Chandralekha, Rang Chetana G. P. Deshpande, Sudhanva Deshpande, Hasan, Alpana Hore, M. F. Husain, Rummana Hussain, Nirmal Kapoor, Naresh Kapuria, Kishori Kaul, Khare, Aishwarj Kumar, Sonal Mansingh, Sadanand Menon, Dadi Pudumjee, M. K. Bhupen Khakhar, Krishen Khanna, K. Khosa, Devayani Krishna,
[Show full text]
Photographer Pablo Bartholomew's Book on His Father, Acclaimed Art Critic Richard Bartholomew, Is an Attempt to Exorcise Ghost
THE SUNDAY READ www.mumbaimirror.com/city MumbaiMirror SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2012 14 PICTURES: THE ESTATE OF RICHARD BARTHOLOMEW. ALL RIGHT RESERVED. Reema.Gehi suggests that Richard had no @timesgroup.com favourites. He was particularly fond of work put out by Ram lmost 27 years since Kumar, Satish Gujral, MF artist, photographer Husain, Kanwal Krishna, Sailoz and acclaimed art critic Mukherjee, Jeram Patel, A Richard Bartholomew Ramachandran, and Jagmohan A passed away in tragic Chopra. And it is they who ben- circumstances in 1985, his pho- efited most from his writings. tographer-son, Pablo In the name One of the most engaging Bartholomew has compiled a chapters in the book — Politics voluminous book on his work of Art — discusses his battle focussing on art criticism from with the state policy in Delhi 1950 to ’80s. during his tenure as secretary of In a revealing afterword of Lalit Kala Akademi. “I think he the Richard Bartholomew: The Art fought for the artists, the budg- Critic, the 56-year-old Pablo ets, and the kind of shows that recounts, “A stroke took him, at he put together for exhibitions an official meeting at the home of the father abroad. And of course, see that of the head of the arts’ organisa- Photographer Pablo Bartholomew’s book on his father, acclaimed the Triennale happened on tion he served then. Those time,” says Pablo. “There was around him thought it better to no blemish on my father’s let him lie and rest and not take art critic Richard Bartholomew, is an attempt to exorcise ghosts name, but it killed him.” him to hospital.
[Show full text]