Art and Life in India: The Last Four Decades

English156About theArtists have faced various charges in recent timesbeing out of touch with social reality, reflecting only the sordid aspects of it, or, on quite a different tack, looking back to the past. In this volume these and many other related matters are discussed by some of Indias leading artists and critics. En route they consider the relation between art and environment, the religious motif and the role of the establishment. What has happened on the art scene since Independence is surveyed, and what is more, there is mention of what we may expect in the future. This hardhitting, wellillustrated, but unusual book will fascinate all who are concerned with the quality of life in India today and how art can enhance it.The seminar on Indian Aesthetics and Art Activity organized by Dr. Niharranjan Ray in 1967 focussed on the relation, if any, between theory and practice, in the field of art. Our focus in this volumes is on the relation between art and life. We are still engaged in reflection on what is, quite obviously, an activity. I do not think our present focus is as hackneyed as it might at first sight seem. Artists, and now I speak of all the arts, have often been accused of moving away from life. This charge, in certain quarters, has been levelled against those who go in for abstraction. An unjust charge in my opinion, for as soon as we embark on language of any kind, whether in words or in any other medium, we are, willy nilly, selecting, that is abstracting. The opposite charge has also surfaced from time to time, that certain art forms have come too close to life. This lobby would like the artist to divert our attention, to entertain, or, Heaven forgive the presumption,