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. A thorough study and interpretation of the body of his art reveals the journey of artistic creativity and aesthetic sensibility in his career. As per the title, “Juxtaposition of Figurative and Abstract: A Study of Dynamics of Himmat Shah‟s Art”, an attempt has been made to evaluate Himmat Shah‟s body of works. The term juxtaposition indicates the co-existence of Form, Content and Material within a conceptual framework. The title deals with two distinct characteristics „Figurative‟ and „Abstraction‟ which the researcher finds employed by Himmat Shah, juxtaposed in his body of artwork. The usages of these two components in Himmat Shah‟s art have resulted from the discussions in the intellectual circle where social thinkers and artists were still debating on the artistic vocabulary for the contemporary Indian art. Shah‟s practice conforms to the debates on the Indigenous modernism in the quest of Indian identity. The search of this identity helps him to assimilate and reconstruct his figurative art, from all possible sources. In 1940‟s, a movement, led by radicals to negate the late medieval tradition of image making, emerged all over India. In negotiating with the demand of imagery, there were many artists who experimented individually in their own way. The import from the tribal and the folk tradition led by the Madras School was started in the 1950‟s, they preferred more abstract imagery rather than natural presentation. Himmat Shah, against this backdrop, is also concerned about his own artistic imagery. For him, pre-historic art, free from the confines of modern boundaries is more important. Rather than sticking to one particular place he is trying to evolve a vocabulary which appears more universal than being endemic. In a career spanning about fifty years of experimentation, appears to have helped him in combining iv „Figuration‟ and „Abstraction‟, in a perfect harmony. This is his unique & original contribution to Post-Colonial Indian Art. This study is an Exploratory Research. A qualitative approach is taken to shed light on the personality and creativity of Himmat Shah. It underlines his contribution in the context of Post-Colonial Indian Art. It elaborates upon how he arrived at this stage through his experimentation and his artistic sensibility. The Descriptive Research Method has been used for the interpretation of data and visuals collected from the various sources. This study has some elements of the Historical Research. Therefore, Case study, sample survey, content analysis, self-report, and self- observational methods have been employed. This study is based on Purposive Sampling Technique for the collection of data as a form of focussed group discussion and Semi-Structured Interview. Fifty-seven art practitioners (art educator, curator, art historian, art consultant, art collectors) have been interviewed/ discussed by the researcher to understand the countless dimension of Himmat Shah‟s art activism. The method of content analysis has been employed to interpret the formal development of Himmat Shah‟s body of artwork. For this, the theory of „Formulism‟, Elements and Principles of Art and Design have been explored to study the nuances of his creation. The content analysis is based on the primary and secondary source of data which was found in the form of visual, textual and audio-visual form, have been utilized to narrate the phenomenon realized by the researcher. The Case Study method has been used to explore Himmat Shah‟s artistic practice in the domain of Post- Colonial India to examine the method and procedure he has adopted throughout his career. The Self- Observational Method has also been utilized to interpret the structural and formalistic development driven by Himmat Shah throughout his career. The objective of this study contains the various aspects of Himmat Shah‟s creative process which explores the development of his artistic vision and sensibility to discover the trends of modernity, materiality, individuality and nationalism between 1975‟s to 2002. By juxtaposing Indian and Non-Indian trends, he has tried to explore above-mentioned phenomenon, formulating his art methodology employing various methods and materials. The artistic vocabulary of Himmat Shah has developed from the Cubist style after a long struggle, witnessing the debate on Indigenous Modernism. His style evidences now a complete fusion; a harmonious v assimilation of artistic styles and techniques. Himmat Shah has explored the prehistoric elements of art to strengthen his vocabulary expressing human feelings and desires. In the way of searching an appropriate methodology, Himmat Shah has utilized clay as a major medium to express his artistic prowess. He has picked clay as a material from the earth, as a source for sacred and healing powers. The clay has more than three thousand years of history behind it as an art medium. By employing this material, he has tried to make an association with the ancient Lothal; the port of Harappan Civilization, where he was born. He also tried to take inspiration from the bygone civilizations where clay had an important medium. Lothal had a great tradition of the black and red wares pottery as evidenced by the excavations. Incidentally, Himmat Shah has derived his sculptural language from the pottery tradition. He has experimented with clay by using age-old Slip and Slab techniques. He has explored the possibilities of these techniques to achieve the better result, by mixing different types of clay, chemicals and colours in order to get a good impression at the maximum temperature. This research is focussed on his terracotta sculptures, especially „Head Series‟done during late 1970‟s to 2002. At this backdrop, the researcher has diagnosed the artistic exploration done by Himmat Shah. By choosing „Heads‟ as a metaphor, he tries to relate himself to a theme which does not need any explanation or introduction. It has a great tradition in the art history. Following the rich tradition of human brotherhood, Himmat Shah has treated his body of art (head series) to address the human race cutting across the regional barriers. The human feelings which are common to all clearly reflect his attitude towards human beings. Through this metaphor, he is trying to convey Indian ageless ethos for common people. His creative sign made in clay and other metaphorical elements, free from the confines of time and space, signified through his transformative discourse talks about the materialism and its relation with human life. He wants to put contemporary Indian art at-par with pre-historical tradition which binds people of different continents into a common interest. The investigator has realized in the process of making different types of heads (sculptures), from one or separate moulds in terracotta. The researcher has come across forty-one head sculptures from „the Head Series‟ which is dated and can be differentiated easily. In Himmat Shah‟s concern, human head and skull are just vi as a tool for their strong transformative quintessence. He has repeatedly made head throughout his career, by trying different permutation in styles, techniques and their compositional arrangement. The same kind of result was achieved, his favorite hallmark (taken as a totem). This results in making his art more pronounced and expressive. In this study, the researcher has divided his head series works in three different clusters, total eight head sculptures in his first phase (1975-85), eighteen in his second phase (1985-1995) and fifteen in his late phase (1995-2002). There are as many as forty head sculptures which are not yet dated and they have to be classified within these three groups by studying minutely their features. Making „Heads‟ was Himmat‟s obsession in his last stage that dating lost its meaning to him, they have lost identity and local, they are self-personified, self-centered and self-encumbered. The individual assertion is one of the vital appearances in Himmat Shah‟s creation and designates the success of his masterful presentation of heads as a significant form. It appears that personal problems led him to arrive at this stage to get identified as „Heads‟, totally ageless and awfully hushed.