Frame of Mind

When I began, contemporary art was less trendy. There were probably 10 artists who did not think about the commerce in art. It was important to be an artist first and develop a vision. My earlier works were actually bought by collectors in Belgium and Switzerland.

You have also been teaching art for 20 years. In September 2015, you were appointed as the director of the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts. How has the experience been? 

It gives me great pleasure to have a contact with students. It is a great opportunity and a challenge. This was the first time that the ministry decided to have an artist as the director, and that was new in France, unlike Germany where artists manage such schools. Here, it’s much more linked with the administration, but they took the risk. I don’t really know if they’re satisfied. For me, the artists come first, and I try to defend them, but sometimes with the ministry it can be like an elephant in a porcelain house.

You also made an attempt to blur the lines between photography and art.

What makes a photograph art is the question. If you photograph a beautiful girl, the photography will be good, but an artist has to transform reality and change the vision. This is the moment when a photographer becomes an artist, when you see the subject is less important that the vision.

You’ve also challenged the traditional exhibition spaces with your work. On the cover of your book Dead Calm, we saw a photograph being showcased on the floor.

I am part of the generation where it was important to use white walls to present art. I tell my students that white is just a colour and you can hang a piece on a coloured wall too, so at Beaux-Arts we have painted the walls in different colours. It about having a different vision. India is important for me because they play with colours so easily, and with elegance and tradition. In France, people are more conventional; to be in black is best because there is no possibility of going wrong.

How are young artists today experimenting with art? 

Nowadays, students are influenced by art from India, Japan or Africa, unlike before, when art was influenced by the US and Europe. Students prefer coming to Delhi than go to New York. Earlier, the maximum that students would experiment was with videos or installations. Today, students want to engage with art with their bare hands, there is a desire to touch and be closer to the craft. They are open and curious, and travel. One can discover art anywhere.