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Journalism of Courage
USUALLY, the success of an event is judged by the length of the line of people trying to get in. By that index the Koln (Cologne) Art Fair at the Rheinhallen trade building is a triumph. Packed with people eager to get a look at this year’s art fest, it helps to be able to flash a special card that the group of 22 international participants, selected by the Goethe Institut and German Council, are provided with.
Once inside, there’s art that whirls and clicks. Some of it just screams out at you with its vivid colours and large format, while others draw attention with their inversely small size. Over 150 stalls await the scrutiny of nose-in-the-airs, buyers, eager students, sharp-tongued critics and the general janta who like looking at art but couldn’t dream of being able to afford any of the works on sale. But what one quickly realises is that contemporary Indian art doesn’t have much of a presence at an ‘international’ festival. A small city on the German map, Cologne is, however, known to be important for art and culture and this absence isn’t a very heartening sight.
In fact, Anish Kapoor, a London-based sculptor and installation artist, is the token ‘Indian’ artist. It leads one to contemplate: though India ‘knows’ its international art, will it still be a while before names like Atul Dodiya, Jitish Kallat or even MF Husain roll off German tongues with ease? Bhupen Khakhar gets a few nods of recognition, since his art has had an international presence for quite a few years now. But gallery owners are still contemplating whether to jump into the Asian lake or not.
Monika Sprut, who has galleries in Munich, Paris and London, reveals, ‘‘In that sense the Koln art fair is very provincial and caters to collectors who aren’t very experimental. Besides, I have to admit that I am not cued into Indian art well enough to know who to include in an exhibition like this.’’ So works by artists from Russia, China and Japan have a strong presence with some subversive anti-establishment art. It also brings about a good mixture of big names like Pablo Picasso, Braque, Marc Chagall and Miro balanced out by the presence of younger contemporaries. But the Indian scenario has the international market nodding only to Kapoor who, by international standards, is a very well established name.
Neville Tuli, chairman of Mumbai’s Osian’s Auction House, who has just launched a large auction of ‘Established and Emerging Artists’ feels the reason young contemporaries in the Indian art market don’t get due recognition is, ‘‘There is no knowledge of Indian art abroad. People think New York and London drive the market, but India has great potential that still remains dormant. Artists in China get a lot of support from the government and they don’t have to pay huge amounts in taxes and duty on import and export of art the way we in India still have to.’’
Berlin proves to be the city with a bigger vision, though, and it’s quite thrilling to see Khakhar, Kallat and Dodiya along with other artists like Sharmila Samant, Shilpa Gupta and Vivan Sundaram displayed so well at the Haus Der Kulturen Der Welt (House of World Culture). At the Hamburger Bahnhof, also in Berlin, photographer Dayanita Singh’s exhibition of black and whites gets a whole floor. A space like the Bahnhof, however, is not about selling and can afford to take less of a commercial angle. Should we then be relieved? After all, there are always the auction houses to do the selling.
