Furore over nude art show continues
7 Feb 2013 6:28 AM IST
The capital saw two groups – Durga Vahini, the women’s arm of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and a band of 20 intellectuals – engage in heated arguments over an exhibition titled The Naked and the Nude at a gallery.
Over 50 activists of the Durga Vahini, carrying placards against nudity, assembled outside the Delhi Art Gallery, Hauz Khas Village, demanding that the gallery withdraw the exhibition.
The group of intellectuals and artists, meanwhile, including photographer-activist Ram Rahman, critic Nilanjana S Roy, and painters Manu Parekh and Kanchan Chander, defended the exhibition saying the protest was an attempt to stifle creative expression.
Durga Vahini activists raised slogans like ‘Ham Bharat Ki Nari Hain, Band Karo, Band Karo (We are Indian Women, Shut down the Exhibition!)’ and ‘Nagnata bardasht nahin (We will not tolerate nudity)’. The artists and writers attempted to persuade the protestors, explaining that such acts would quell freedom in artistic and cultural pursuits.
A posse of at least 30 policemen and private security guards cordoned off the exhibition venue, allowing protestors to battle it out.
The gallery owner and staff refused to be intimidated by the protests, and the exhibition continued.
‘Nudity would not be tolerated in art in view of the recent incidents of gender atrocities and rape. It goes against Indian moral sensibility,’ a senior functionary of the Durga Vahini said, refusing to be identified.
Independent editor, free speech crusader and writer Nilanjana S Roy said, ‘This has been happening for the last 10 years. It is a slow set of pitched battles... A protestor (against the show) was spreading rumours that the paintings were of rape victims.’
She said ‘nobody was buying the idea of the VHP protestors and there was a political motive behind the orchestrated protests’.
Roy cited Supreme Court judgments saying ‘dissent was fine but one could not afford to be selective in protest’.
The exhibition has been in the news since it opened on 1 February to coincide with the India Art Fair that was held from 1 to 3 February, which has, in the past, courted controversy for exhibiting M F Husain’s works. After the artist’s death in 2011, the fair exhibited Husain’s works without criticism.
Husain had to leave the country in 2006 and died as a citizen of Qatar after right wing activists protested against ‘objectionable depiction’ of gods and goddesses in his Bharat Mata paintings.
On Wednesday, the Chitra Kala Parishad in Bangalore had to remove art works of Hindu gods and goddesses by young artist Anirudh Sainath after the BJP protested their ‘blatant nature’.
The nude exhibition at the Delhi Art Gallery features 258 works, and traces the history of nudes in the history of modern Indian art for over 150 years in a variety of mediums.
Almost all masters of Indian art – K H Ara, F N Souza, Jamini Roy, M F Husain, Chittoprasad, Gogi Saroj Paul, Jogen Chowdhury, Jahangir Sabavala and Akbar Padamsee – painted nudes as an academic pursuit to master anatomical drawing and sensuous form, art critic, writer and curator Kishore Singh said.
The gallery, which has one of the biggest collections of modern Indian art in the country, is known for its broad-canvas shows on different aspects of modern Indian art with time-sweeps of at least 200-400 years to help viewers understand art history.
DELHI POLICE GUARD GALLERY IN HAUZ KHAS VILLAGE
An art gallery exhibiting paintings of nude human figures was provided police protection on Tuesday after protests by right-wing groups. The gallery owner said no painting has been removed since there was nothing objectionable in them.
The galley is being provided protection after an art academy in Bangalore was forced to remove ‘objectionable’ paintings of Hindu deities.
‘We have sought police protection and policemen have been posted outside the gallery to prevent right-wing groups from vandalising the artwork, bulk of which is rare and old. There is nothing objectionable about the paintings,’ Anand said. ‘It is an extremely important show.’
The show explores the popular thematic concept of the human body in art and how artists have looked at it as part of their narrative.
Anand said attempts to disrupt the show were a cause for alarm with regard to India’s liberal tradition and freedom of artistic expression guaranteed by the constitution.
‘We believe in everyone’s right to debate, discus and protest provided it is non-abusive, non-violent and non-threatening. The exhibition will continue,’ Anand said.
However, Chitra Kala Parishath in Bangalore on Monday removed some paintings of Hindu gods and goddesses by artist Anirudh Sainath amid fears of offending religious sentiments.
Over 50 activists of the Durga Vahini, carrying placards against nudity, assembled outside the Delhi Art Gallery, Hauz Khas Village, demanding that the gallery withdraw the exhibition.
The group of intellectuals and artists, meanwhile, including photographer-activist Ram Rahman, critic Nilanjana S Roy, and painters Manu Parekh and Kanchan Chander, defended the exhibition saying the protest was an attempt to stifle creative expression.
Durga Vahini activists raised slogans like ‘Ham Bharat Ki Nari Hain, Band Karo, Band Karo (We are Indian Women, Shut down the Exhibition!)’ and ‘Nagnata bardasht nahin (We will not tolerate nudity)’. The artists and writers attempted to persuade the protestors, explaining that such acts would quell freedom in artistic and cultural pursuits.
A posse of at least 30 policemen and private security guards cordoned off the exhibition venue, allowing protestors to battle it out.
The gallery owner and staff refused to be intimidated by the protests, and the exhibition continued.
‘Nudity would not be tolerated in art in view of the recent incidents of gender atrocities and rape. It goes against Indian moral sensibility,’ a senior functionary of the Durga Vahini said, refusing to be identified.
Independent editor, free speech crusader and writer Nilanjana S Roy said, ‘This has been happening for the last 10 years. It is a slow set of pitched battles... A protestor (against the show) was spreading rumours that the paintings were of rape victims.’
She said ‘nobody was buying the idea of the VHP protestors and there was a political motive behind the orchestrated protests’.
Roy cited Supreme Court judgments saying ‘dissent was fine but one could not afford to be selective in protest’.
The exhibition has been in the news since it opened on 1 February to coincide with the India Art Fair that was held from 1 to 3 February, which has, in the past, courted controversy for exhibiting M F Husain’s works. After the artist’s death in 2011, the fair exhibited Husain’s works without criticism.
Husain had to leave the country in 2006 and died as a citizen of Qatar after right wing activists protested against ‘objectionable depiction’ of gods and goddesses in his Bharat Mata paintings.
On Wednesday, the Chitra Kala Parishad in Bangalore had to remove art works of Hindu gods and goddesses by young artist Anirudh Sainath after the BJP protested their ‘blatant nature’.
The nude exhibition at the Delhi Art Gallery features 258 works, and traces the history of nudes in the history of modern Indian art for over 150 years in a variety of mediums.
Almost all masters of Indian art – K H Ara, F N Souza, Jamini Roy, M F Husain, Chittoprasad, Gogi Saroj Paul, Jogen Chowdhury, Jahangir Sabavala and Akbar Padamsee – painted nudes as an academic pursuit to master anatomical drawing and sensuous form, art critic, writer and curator Kishore Singh said.
The gallery, which has one of the biggest collections of modern Indian art in the country, is known for its broad-canvas shows on different aspects of modern Indian art with time-sweeps of at least 200-400 years to help viewers understand art history.
DELHI POLICE GUARD GALLERY IN HAUZ KHAS VILLAGE
An art gallery exhibiting paintings of nude human figures was provided police protection on Tuesday after protests by right-wing groups. The gallery owner said no painting has been removed since there was nothing objectionable in them.
The galley is being provided protection after an art academy in Bangalore was forced to remove ‘objectionable’ paintings of Hindu deities.
‘We have sought police protection and policemen have been posted outside the gallery to prevent right-wing groups from vandalising the artwork, bulk of which is rare and old. There is nothing objectionable about the paintings,’ Anand said. ‘It is an extremely important show.’
The show explores the popular thematic concept of the human body in art and how artists have looked at it as part of their narrative.
Anand said attempts to disrupt the show were a cause for alarm with regard to India’s liberal tradition and freedom of artistic expression guaranteed by the constitution.
‘We believe in everyone’s right to debate, discus and protest provided it is non-abusive, non-violent and non-threatening. The exhibition will continue,’ Anand said.
However, Chitra Kala Parishath in Bangalore on Monday removed some paintings of Hindu gods and goddesses by artist Anirudh Sainath amid fears of offending religious sentiments.
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