Gyankosh: An Interdisciplinary Journal ISSN : 2581-8252 Volume II, December 2019 METAMORPHOSIS OF MIND, MATTER AND LINES Dr. Kavita Singh ABSTRACT A sincere effort has been made to study the essence of the genre of drawing analysing its fine nuances and what sets apart a drawing from a sketch, as a majority of art lovers think sketching is fine arts whereas by studying the works of five Indian Contemporary artists for whom the genre of drawing stands much more than a mere sketch which is infact simply a study of an object and preliminary sketch to actual imaginative drawing. These five prominent artists have their own unique styles, perceptions and convictions; what unites them is the common chord of deeply intense expression about the human situations and social milieus and values, which compels them to create such meticulously fabulous aesthetically charged masterpieces of drawing which are equally valued as other genres like painting and multi-media. This research paper also traces their creative journeys, explores their minds and tries to demystify their artistic vocabulary and what qualifies as a good work of art which has the potential to charge the minds of the people and infuse a silent cerebral revolution. Keywords: Prehistoric Cave Painting, Drawing, Crowquills, Sketching, Traditional Drawing, Drypoint, Aquatint, Miniature Painting, Indian Contemporary Art, Jogen Chowdhury, J. Sultan Ali, Sunil Das, Jatin Das, Tao, Jon Moraes, Satwant Singh. Assistant Professor, S. Sobha Singh Department of Fine Arts, Punjabi University, Patiala (Punjab). 1 Guru Gobind Singh College for Women, Sector 26, Chandigarh Gyankosh: An Interdisciplinary Journal ISSN : 2581-8252 Volume II, December 2019 “Drawing is a magical process of self-discovery. The artist, as he draws, discovers himself more genuinely in the fantasies that sprout forth from his imagination. The line is an instinctive form of self-revelation, whereby the artist and his viewer are drawn together in a quest that is less conscious and less contrived than the formal and finished oil painting.” - Geeti Sen Art Critic and Author Introduction It was perhaps in the Prehistoric Caves where that the first homo sapiens yearned to express their observations, thoughts and perceptions in the form of innocently drawn drawings depicting birds and animals and the scenes from their immediate environs. The intriguing power and mysteries of natural phenomenon often amazed and overwhelmed their mind and raised their curiosity about the wild forces of nature’s elements which they desired to replicate in the simple, bold and expressive drawings on the rocks and the walls of their caves, using simple tools made of twigs, sharpened stones and pieces of bones, dipping them in the animal blood, fats and earthy pigments. The works of primitive artists are found in the Prehistoric Caves in many parts of the world particularly in India (Panchmarhi Caves, Bhim Betka Caves, Kaimur Caves, Mirzapur Caves etc.),1 in France (Lascaux and Chauvet Caves), and in Spain (Altamira Caves). In these caves, the predominant subject of these drawings includes hunting scenes, forms of birds and animals, scenes celebrating their victory over an enemy or a rival tribal group in symbolic shapes invented to represent certain social events and rituals. Interestingly, each tribe possessed the ingenuity to design their own individualistic symbols and insignia giving credence to their existence and the strength of their status. The world has moved from those early rock and cave drawings to the present era when drawing is considered one of the most fascinating form of artistic expression and it now implies numerous instruments such as graphite pencils, high-tech pens, crow quills & ink, coloured chalks, crayons, pastels and a variety of markers. Simply put the genre of ‘Drawing’ is a form of visual arts in which a person uses various drawing art materials to mark and draw his thoughts and ideas in two-dimensional form on a surface like a paper, a cardboard, plastic sheet, animal skin, canvas, mount board, duplex sheets and glazed art papers, using a number of art materials like coloured inks, water colours and diluted acrylic paints so on and so forth. The preferred surface for drawing still remains paper and fine canvas, though there are no limitations to use other flat or textured surfaces as per the requirements of an artist. A quick, free-hand drawing, is usually not intended as a finished artwork, it is simply a preliminary sketch for tackling an artistic 2 Guru Gobind Singh College for Women, Sector 26, Chandigarh Gyankosh: An Interdisciplinary Journal ISSN : 2581-8252 Volume II, December 2019 problem but an artist has to master the fine nuances and fundamental elements and aspects of a good sketching, which enables him to bring out his intense visions and creative ideas onto a surface of his choice in the manner, style and mediums he is well conversant to use.2 Today in the Contemporary art scene, drawing is indeed a fully developed genre of art which is very popular and is being practiced all around the world by creative artists who have acquired meticulous drawing skills and they are free to choose immensely interesting, engaging and mesmerising subjects weighing on their minds. Traditionally, drawings were done in monochrome shades and tones with limited use of colours and hues as the art experts or art critics presumed that the colour will turn a drawing into a painting. But such restrictions and boundaries have vanished. Now a powerful drawing often uses fragments of colours to enhance its visual appeal and add an aesthetic charm to a work of art. Coloured pencils, both oil and wax crayons, brown and black conte and charcoal are richly used without artistic inhibitions, infact their use has added another dimension to the genre of drawing, freeing the drawings from limited vistas. In western terminology, drawing is distinct from painting, even though similar media are often employed in both tasks. The process of drawing is initiated with a fine tip tool covering a smaller space and then stretching forward from one point to the other forming a line. Repeated exercise can generate desired facts of lighter or darker shades, textures and dimensions creating forms and shapes as per the requirement of the theme or subject. Though the art of drawing was being practised with great aplomb in Indian Traditional art for centuries, using the surface of paper, leather, wood, earthen pots, calicos, textiles, walls and other fine or coarse surfaces in stylised versions each pertaining to a particular region with a thematic content. Several Art Schools were established in India by the Britishers in nineteenth century where the accent was on teaching classical and academic art forms and styles. The three-dimensional study from life, portraiture and still-life was introduced and Indian art students were taught to sketch from nature, surroundings and their immediate locales depicting villages, streets of towns, monuments and the flora and fauna found in their surroundings besides figurative drawing from imagination. The glorious legacy of the genre of drawing brought to practitioners of art in India broadly focussed on the need of realistic and meticulous rendering of art objects for creating masterly works and even today the drawings and sketches of Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Durer, Botticelli, Delacroix, and others are revered and appreciated by new generation artists. These art institutions also introduced perspective drawing and three-dimensional drawings of objects instead of Indian version of stylised flat surface drawing.3 Persian, Mughal and Pahari 3 Guru Gobind Singh College for Women, Sector 26, Chandigarh Gyankosh: An Interdisciplinary Journal ISSN : 2581-8252 Volume II, December 2019 Miniatures also dwelled upon the importance of lyrical fine lines which have enriched and inspired many generations of Indian artists. Later on during the early twentieth century, India produced many stalwart drawing artists such as Rabindranath Tagore, Jamini Roy, A.R. Chugtai, Ram Kinker Baij, Benode Bihari Mukherjee, Chittoprasad, Hemen Mazumdar to name a few. Their drawings were in their own individualistic styles as they departed from the earlier religious and historical themes and pursued their chosen subjects based on social environments and realities, projecting the insights and perceptions in a very lyrical and aesthetical way. The credit goes to the Contemporary artists in establishing drawing as a complete and separate genre from painting and in this research paper contribution of some of the artists who have devoted their lifetime in creating very fine and engaging works of art based on drawings will be analysed critically and aesthetically. The emphasis will be on stylization, use of material, thematic content and subjective mannerism simultaneously demystifying their artistic contribution and impact on Contemporary art. The popularity of the genre of drawing can be gauged from the fact that drawing ‘Biennials’ and ‘Triennials’ are organised in all major cities around the world, which see the participation of large number of inter-continental artists as drawings are easier to be forwarded to the venue of the show. Such shows are being organised very successfully which results in exchange of artistic ideas, social concerns and propagation of Contemporary art amongst a large fraternity of drawing artists. Jogen Chowdhury- ‘Reading the Folds and Bulges of Human Agony’: One is spellbound by the magical yet powerful lines of ‘Jogen Chowdhury’ which have the potential to capture even the minutest detail of his chosen subjects specially works done on the men and women seated or reclining in pensive and sombre moods. Each line criss-crosses the folds and brings out the unwritten woes of rigours of life lit large on their faces and body folds revealing their skeletal structures and enhancing the bones of limbs stretched or folded in dramatic poses. He has a deep sense of observation and has immortalised the common people, housewives, shopkeepers, peasants, labourers and common men and women bearing typical Bengali cotton saris and dhotis.