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Auctioneers Sotheby’s catalogue has fine Gandharvan bodhisatvas and CentralIndian medieval figurines of divinity. Icons in sandstone vie for attentionalongside Chola bronzes and amazing collection of Mughal screens. Thesevarious pieces were plundered from the myriad kingdoms that dotted theIndian subcontinent during the colonial era; some literally torn of ancienttemples and palaces, others sold by grubby feudal lords hard up for money orseeking Imperial patronage.

Most of these works are today forgotten by Indian art lovers and buyers (whoseem to prefer spending their money on contemporary art) but are much soughtafter by the Euro and US millionaires and educated bargain hunters. Theprices for some of these pieces are as low as a few thousand dollars but cango as high as $ 200,000 to $ 300,000. While modern Indians pay lip-serviceto "the 5,000-year-old culture" it’s the modern Europeans and Yankees whoput their money where the `art’ is and actually buy representation of thisculture.

Saucy & Unsuitable
There are suitable Indian girls and then there are the unsuitable, saucygals of the South Asian Women’s Creative Collection (SAWCC), a dynamicorganisation "dedicated to the advancement, visibility and development ofemerging and established South Asian Women artists". SAWCC’s programmingincludes monthly meetings that showcase creative works of South Asian women,public events, referrals and partnerships. From the initial collective of ahandful of women three years ago, SAWCC has grown to include over 300members today, and counting. Celebrating their strength, this organisationhas put together an exhibition of art and photography at the Paisley Gallery(which I wrote about a few months ago). Titled `(Un) Suitable Girls’, thisexhibition brings to New York provocative and dynamic new works by SouthAsian women artists from around the US.

The well attended opening night reception on Friday March 24, included avideo lounge curated by Prema Murthy, recipient of the New York Foundationfor the Arts and Creative Capital awards. Arani Bose, partner of Bose PaciaModern and expert on contemporary Indian art, spoke along with the curators,Nandini Chirimar and Tara Sabharwal. `(Un) Suitable Girls’ encompasses thework of 14 visual artists across the disciplines of painting, sculpture,digital and mixed media, photography, film and video. Artists JaishriAbichandani, Fariba Alam, Amita Bhatt, Safia Fatimi, Chitra Ganesh, ShaliniKantayya, Swati Khurana, Annu Matthew, Karla Murthy, Prema Murthy, PreranaReddy, Annu Ratha, Tejal Shah and Sonya Shah, were on hand to dialogue abouttheir work.

Prema Murthy, whose work will be featured in this year’s Whitney Biennial,says, "Although these pieces encompass the common thread of being a storytold from the perspective of a young South Asian woman, each is also veryunique and different in style and technique. At once exemplifying andacknowledging the diversity within our own South Asian community". Withvideo technology having advanced to a point where Mickey Mouse digital videocameras are capable of producing images that are comparable to 35mm more andmore film-makers are taking to the new medium to express themselves. For afew thousand dollars to under a million dollars films are being produced,not just by fringe independent directors, but noted names like Spike Leeetc. The most recent to join this style of film-making is India’s own MiraNair. She is currently in New Delhi scouting locations and casting for anoriginal story she plans to film in the monsoon. She has just won ravereviews and an award for her new documentary on Bombay’s own "Laughing Club" those wonderful gatherings where people of all economic strata gather andlaugh out loud in the name of health. The documentary will screen on HBO whoalso has plans to release this in theatres worldwide.

Decadent Definition
THE front-runners in the Dogme movement are the film-makers who evolved theDogme95 theory, Lars Von Trier and Tomas Vinterberg. Their first work TheCelebration became a cult hit and the tribe has increased since withproduction of more such films. The most recent is "Mifune, which opened inNYC recently to full houses. The Dogme collective work by a strict code ofproduction conduct. They want to make films that are shot on actuallocations (no sets and hired props), with available lighting, and withactors who perform sans make-up. When the film is completed, the directorhas to submit the film to the collective members for evaluation and sign aconfession letter where he reveals any transgressions he has made duringfilming. The collective then sits in judgement and decides if thesetransgressions are too severe or can be pardoned and only then give the filman official Dogme certificate! It’s all a bit too much like a bad schoolsorority ritual but the ideals are quite intriguing. To quote from the Dogmemanifesto (see their website dogme95.dk for more info): "Today atechnological storm is raging, the result of which will be the ultimatedemocratisation of the cinema. For the first time, anyone can makemovies.

But the more accessible the media becomes, the more important theavant-garde. It is no accident that the phrase `avant-garde’ has militaryconnotations. Discipline is the answer…we must put our films into uniform,because the individual film will be decadent by definition!"

Riyad Wadia, avant-garde filmmaker, is at home in New York.