Opposition leaders have thrown their weight behind protests against the Centre’s plan to move the art collection at the soon-to-be-sold Air India building in Mumbai to Delhi’s National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA). Congress leader Manish Tiwari tweeted Wednesday, “Why should Air India give its valuable artworks free even to the National Gallery of Modern Art? Why should they not be auctioned? If the iconic Air India building can be sold why not paintings? Why free?”.

Soon, TMC leader Derek O’Brien joined in. “Why should Air India be gifting away artworks worth millions of rupees for free. Be assured, we will investigate. We will act. We are keeping a close watch. Watch this space,” he tweeted. The Maharaja collection, as the collection is called, has over 4,000 works.

The Ministry of Culture clarified Wednesday that the Centre zeroed in on NGMA to transfer the collection by way of donation by Air India since it is the only national institution with a mandate to collect and display Modern art. Culture Secretary Raghavendra Singh told the reporters, “The Ministry of Civil Aviation approached us with the proposal and we are glad to take it on.”

A group of Air India unions has opposed the move. “Crores worth of taxpayer-owned art to be given away for free! @sureshpprabhu @jayantsinha we are watching your looting and pillaging of our national carrier. You are modern day Mahmud of Ghazni,” tweeted Air India Joint Forum Against Crony Capture on Wednesday.

The Culture Ministry said that if the artwork is auctioned, it will end up in private drawing rooms. “We would rather put it up for public display than allow it to land in private drawing rooms,” said the Culture secretary.

Written by Divya A | New Delhi | Updated: July 6, 2018 5:36:02 am
https://indianexpress.com

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In May, artist Nalini Malani was working on a 25-metre wall drawing for Castello Di Rivoli Museum of Contemporary Art in Rivoli, Italy, which will host a retrospective of her work later this year. In between work, whenever she took a break, Malani started a new project – creating notebooks of iPad animations. She opened an Instagram account to share these notebooks in May, and by the end of June, she had shared 15 animations.

An artist’s notebook is a glimpse into her creative process, a guide of sorts to viewing the world as she does. It is rare to get a glimpse of a senior artist’s notebook and even rarer to find one making original artworks for Instagram. So why is Malani – who has had 12 solo exhibitions at international museums and retrospectives at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris and the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art in New Delhi – interested in sharing these notebooks on social media?

“This is a fun thing I like to do,” she said, in a phone conversation in June. “I keep doing these little exercises to open up my imagination. It’s like having a conversation with a friend. You could call it ‘short thoughts’. Also, I like the idea of Free Art.”

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For those who walk into Jaipur’s 283-year-old Nahargarh Fort and marvel at its history, there is now another unexpected attraction: contemporary sculpture. On December 10, Rajasthan’s chief minister, Vasundhara Raje Scindia, inaugurated a one-of-a-kind sculpture park inside the fort’s Madhavendra Palace. The project, a public-private venture between Saat Saath Arts, the government of Rajasthan and corporate houses, took a year to set up. It houses 40 sculptures by Indian artists like Jitish Kallat, LN Tallur, Thukral & Tagra and Manish Nai alongside works by French artist Arman, American artist James Brown and British artist Stephen Cox among others. Visitors will be able to take in a giant spiderweb by Reena Kallat, Subodh Gupta’s old remodelled ambassador car, and multi-coloured papier-mache work by Manish Nai. The park aims to strengthen contemporary art in a region predominantly known for its history and heritage, As Reported By Hindustan Times.

According to the Newspaper, It’s also a reason to get visitors to keep coming back to the fort. “We need public spaces for art to use culture as a conduit for job creation, tourism and economic growth,” says Aparajita Jain of Saat Saath Arts, which supports exchange between India and the rest of the world through the visual arts. Malvika Singh, the cultural advisor for the government of Rajasthan, says it is important for the government to look at how historical sites can be used for present-day exhibitions and performances. “It is only when a sense of pride is generated through such rekindling and reinvention of public domains, that conservation becomes real and a priority,” she says. Across the world, sculpture parks have become a way for visitors and locals to appreciate the location and new art. In the US, the DeCordova Sculpture Park outside Boston has more than 40 gigantic colourful sculptures across woodland.

Hindustan Times Mumbai Tue,12 Dec 2017
https://www.nyoooz.com/news/mumbai/982983/in-an-ancient-jaipur-fort-ndash-a-new-connection-to-contemporary-art/

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Eighteenth-century India was “the theatre of scenes highly important” to Britain.¹ So wrote the artist and traveler William Hodges. He was in a good position to judge. Hodges was one of the first British professional landscape painters to visit India, spending six years there under the patronage of Warren Hastings, the most important British official in the subcontinent. As well as painting portraits and creating other works for Hastings, Hodges undertook extensive travels throughout India. And all of these experiences were documented in sketches and drawings, many of which were later worked up into finished oil paintings or published as prints.

In matters of trade and war, the Indian subcontinent had assumed an increasingly important role in British political and economic life in the second half of the eighteenth century. This relationship between Britain and India was complex and had its roots in the activities of a London-based trading company. The “Company of Merchants of London, trading to the East Indies” – usually abbreviated as the East India Company – controlled British trade with Asia from its foundation in 1600 until the 19th century, and was once described as “the wealthiest and most powerful commercial corporation of ancient or modern times”.

Any examination of Britain’s relationship with India must take account of this extraordinary organisation.² By the time Hodges was working, the company had become a powerful economic and political player there. And its influence was felt not just in Asia. The company’s commercial, political and military activities altered the way politicians and merchants in Britain thought about the wider world.

Ultimately, it helped to lay the foundations of the British Raj. If the American colonies and Caribbean islands had once captured the British imagination, the commercial possibilities offered by the Indian subcontinent increasingly occupied British politicians, merchants, and travelers as the eighteenth century neared its end.

But the “intimate connection”, as Hodges termed it, between India and Britain was not just a commercial or political one.³ It was also an intensely visual one. The historian PJ Marshall reminds us that the British encounter with India was “prolonged and intense”, and that it was concerned with the cultural exchange as well as commercial endeavor and exploitation:

Even by 1800, thousands of Englishmen had been to India, a huge flow of trade had developed (including the import of artefacts of high artistic quality), many books about India had been published in Britain and visual representations of India and Indians were being widely reproduced.⁴

James Rennell’s much-reprinted Memoir of a Map of Hindoostan, which first appeared in 1783, offers visual evidence of this. It gave the public in Britain an image of India in which, as Rennell put it, “no considerable blanks” remained.⁵ It was a time, in other words, in which Europeans attempted to fill the linguistic, cultural and visual gaps in their knowledge of India. Images played a crucial part in this process. The visual variety of the subcontinent presented so many “valuable subjects for the painter” that it attracted a host of artists and travelers keen to record, depict and bear witness.⁶

Indeed, these artists helped to document and celebrate the richness and sophistication of Indian culture that later 19th-century views often denied. Artists contributed to the work of intellectual engagement with India, offering a parallel to activities in other disciplines such as cartography, comparative linguistics and topographical surveying.

William Hodges’ ‘A View of the Fort of Agra’ — select views in India, drawn on the spot; in the years 1780, 1781, 1782, and 1783; executed in Aqua Tinta, plate 15, 1785–88.

Like other European travelers and commentators, the British artists who depicted India in the period took their own expectations, preconceptions, and prejudices with them, based on their artistic training, popular notions of taste and the prevailing political sentiments in Europe. Nevertheless, these images, produced in the late 18th-century heyday of the East India Company, reflect its significance and the impact of its activities on Indians and Britons alike.

Among the artists who arrived on India’s shores, Hodges was one of the most influential. He had served as the official expedition artist on James Cook’s second voyage to the Pacific in 1772–75, and he exhibited regularly at the Free Society of Artists and the Royal Academy in London. His work offers some of the most striking insights into the ways in which British artists engaged with India, and we will encounter him and his work repeatedly in subsequent chapters. But he was not unique. This book charts the impact of India on a variety of British artists and travellers who, like Hodges, were fascinated by the sights and scenes before their eyes. And it also considers the impact of their work on audiences and viewers.

While many aspects of the East India Company’s story have been discussed by historians, few have considered the visual sources that survive and what they tell us about the connections between images and empire, pictures and power. This book draws on the unrivalled riches of the British Library – both visual and textual – to tell that history. It weaves together the story of individual images, their creators, and the people and events they depict. And, in doing so, it presents a detailed picture of the complex relationship between British artists and the people, places and cultures they encountered in India.

Picturing India: People, Places and the World of the East India Company; John McAleer; British Library; Niyogi Books

The story of Thomas Daniell and his nephew, William, gives a sense of how deeply intertwined the East India Company, the Indian subcontinent and its representation in visual images had become. The Daniells, like William Hodges, were instrumental in bringing India to audiences in Britain and making the country a subject for mainstream art there. One contemporary complimented the works of Thomas Daniell as “increasing our enjoyment by bringing scenes to our fireside, too distant to visit, and too singular to be imagined”.¹⁷

The influence of their work was extensive and enduring, and it can be seen in representations of India until the middle of the 19th century and beyond. Thomas Daniell was born near London in 1749. The son of an innkeeper, he was initially apprenticed to a coach builder. His artistic talents began to flourish when he worked for Charles Catton, coach painter to George III, between 1770 and 1773. Thomas subsequently enrolled in the Royal Academy Schools in 1773 and exhibited a number of pictures there over the next decade. However, his big break came when he received permission from the East India Company in 1784 to work as an “engraver” in India. His nephew, William, travelled with him as his assistant and apprentice.

The Daniells worked primarily in Calcutta, the leading British commercial city in India by this time and one that, as we will see, was the basis for the company’s power in much of the rest of the country.

There they restored paintings in the Council House and the Old Court House. They also produced the first topographical series of prints recording different scenes and prospects in this rapidly expanding commercial metropolis. Published as Views of Calcutta between 1786 and 1788, the 12 prints were engraved and coloured with the help of Indian artists.

The Daniells’ ‘The Old Fort, Ghaut’ — views of Calcutta; plate 6, 1787.

According to contemporary sources, they proved very popular among both Indian and European audiences. Claude Martin remarked that “everybody has approved [their] Calcutta views”.¹⁸ William Hodges thought that they offered excellent descriptions of “the mixture of European and Asiatic manners, which may be observed in Calcutta”.

They also included scenes of daily life: “coaches, phaetons, single horse chaises, with the pallankeens and hackeries of the natives – the passing ceremonies of the Hindoos – the different appearances of the fakirs – [which] form a sight perhaps more novel and extraordinary than any city in the world can present to a stranger.”^₁₉

The Daniells captured the scenes of hustle and bustle in this thriving metropolis, translating the descriptions of travellers into visual images.

The Daniells’ ‘Calcutta from the River Hooghly: Gentoo Buildings’ — views of Calcutta, plate 8, 1788.

I quitted the boat at a spacious sloping ghaut or landing-place, close to the north-west angle of the old fort. The lower slope went some way into the water, and was crowded with natives, men and women, bathing with their clothes, or rather cloths on, and which they dexterously contrived to change under water, without embarrassment to themselves or the bystanders.²⁰

Their view of “Calcutta from the River Hooghly” conveyed a similarly lively scene with the crowded river bustling with all sorts of craft. In the center is a pinnace budgerow, of the type used by the Daniells themselves, flying a Union flag. So-called “country boats”, or indigenous craft, with bamboo decks and great rudders, can be seen all around, and a horse-headed pleasure craft is also visible. Meanwhile, the shore is lined with the houses and warehouses on which the commercial success of the city depended. Scenes like these, captured and conveyed so powerfully in the graphic work of these artists, played a big part in making the company’s commercial and political activity in India – half the world away from Britain – a reality for viewers.

(Excerpted with the permission of the publisher from Picturing India: People, Places and the World of the East India Company, written by John McAleer; Niyogi Books)

Credits : https://www.dailyo.in/arts/british-east-india-company-picturing-india-east-india-company-empire/story/1/20640.html

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Shiavax Chavda’s retrospective show, which begins this week at Mumbai’s Jehangir Art Gallery, features some of his best-known paintings, sketches and drawings, many of which carry the motif of Indian classical dance forms, writes Bhumika Popli.

What excites me is pure painting: line, pattern, colour and balance which constitute the quintessence of composition.” This is what the artist Shiavax Chavda said in a 1981 interview with a newspaper when he was asked about whether he prefers to work with colour alone or is it the subject matter that appeals to him more. Chavda explained, “I don’t care for subject matter. Any subject is good enough. It’s just a peg to hang your composition on. It is incidental.”

His idea of “pure painting” is to be reflected in this second posthumous retrospective of Chavda (1914-1990), slated to be held from 24-30 October at Mumbai’s Jehangir Art Gallery. Entitled The Dancing Line: Revisiting Shiavax Chavda, this exhibition will bring viewers face-to-face with Chavda’s versatility as an artist. In over four decades of practice, where he dedicated himself to his art, Chavda dabbled in a variety of subjects, many of them done in tempera, including human studies, fisher folk, birds, serpents and animals, Balinese masks, Indian musicians, classical Indian dancers, as well as semi-abstract and abstract art—all of which represent his ability of establishing a deep connection with his practice.

Parvez Chavda, son of Shiavax, highlights how different the upcoming retrospective is expected to be from all the previous shows. “In the 1993 exhibition, we had showcased abstracts and semi-abstracts. But in this upcoming show, many of his older works will be covered. The works will range from his time when he was studying to be an artist in the J.J. College of Art, till his final years. Here, we are showcasing portraits and murals he worked on across a period of time; the animal series, village life paintings, portraits of important personalities like Gandhi and Nehru, and the dance performances he has painted.”

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These reports make one wonder about the benefits of investing in art.

As an industry, art has always been underrated and undervalued. Of late, its awareness has been increasing. In terms of being a commercially viable sector, art is still nascent and unconventional. Investments in art are extremely vulnerable, as these primarily depend on public taste. You can never guess the right price or the right time to buy or sell a piece. Bhavna Kakar, owner and founder of Latitude 28, an art gallery in New Delhi, says, “Art is not a commodity like property, stocks or gold, and it is best that way. Buy it only if you love it and can live it; else, stick to conventional investment options.”

The Indian art market is expected to see enormous growth through the next 10 years. “People have become used to hearing about multi-million dollar sales of works by Tyeb Mehta, S H Raza or M F Husain. Now, the art market is viewed by many as an active commercial sector, with auctions and exhibitions held all over the world,” says Harry Hutchison, associate director of the Aicon Gallery, New York, a premier art gallery in the US selling Indian art works.

When asked about art as an investment, Anu Ghosh Mazumdar, vice-president (Indian and South East Asian art) at Sotheby’s, said, “We do not encourage people to buy art as an investment. Rather, we encourage them to buy what they love, so that they can live with their art works despite the vagaries of the market. Art has a legacy; it is much more than mere investment.”

To buy art as an investment, one should have good knowledge of the artist, the medium, the time period, previous buyers, the category, etc. Menaka Kumari Shah, country head, Christie’s India, says, “The best investment is to buy what you like and then, regardless of its value, you still have a work of art you like. We always advise our clients to buy the best work available in their budget, and buy with passion for the art.”

Kakar says though entry prices for works by some artists have plateaued, one should also consider those yet to make a mark and whose art comes at reasonable prices.

An important question is when is the right time to buy and how does one know about it? If you are interested in buying art, you should be in constant touch with art galleries and auction houses. “Some pieces come in the market only twice in 100 years, and these will always be desirable, no matter in which cycle the market is in,” Shah says. However, some say anytime is a good time to buy a piece of art. “There is never a best time to buy. If you like it and want it on your wall, now is the time,” Kakar says.

To own a piece of art, one must have very deep pockets. Prices could vary from $1,000 (Rs 64,032 at a rate of 64.03 against a dollar) to millions, depending on the medium and the size of a work. For modern art, one might have to spend at least $30,000 for a canvas and $2,000 for a drawing. Each auction has a minimum bidding price. At Sotheby’s, the least price for an art work is $5,000. But some auction houses such as Saffronart and Astaguru have no reserve auctions; so, bidding starts at really low prices.

Hutchison says, “With regard to contemporary art, one can buy terrible street art for very little. But art that might, in the future, be worth investing in would cost more, as the odds are not in your favour of selecting a large canvas from a soon-to-be-super star at his/her first solo show for a cheap price. By the time they are on your radar, they would co st more to invest in. I would estimate at least $1,000 for a drawing and $3,000 for a canvas but depending on the size of the work, this figure could, of course, go up.”

In case one doesn’t have this much money, there are other ways in which he/she can be a part of this segment – one can lease art, accumulate credit and eventually buy the piece through companies such as Art Remba, which allows members to rent art pieces from top galleries and artists for their home or office.

Returns on investments (RoIs) for art work are never fixed. Those involved in this sector say if one wants fixed RoIs, they should stick to investments in real estate, stocks or gold. RoIs in art depend on the artist, the chain of ownership and the art time cycle, among other factors. “A person should own an art work for at least five years before selling it. Also, returns vary from 20 per cent to 200 per cent,” says Ajay Seth, chief mentor at Copal Art, an art advisory board and bank that researches, procures and makes Indian art works available to clients. He adds the rate of price appreciation for an art work is 8-10 per cent a year. So, the longer one owns these, the more price he/she gets. Hutchison agrees. “In most cases, one shouldn’t look for returns before the five-year mark. Also, one should not invest more than 18 per cent of their net worth in art.”

It isn’t necessary to buy art physically; one may also invest in units of art funds electronically. The rise in demand for Indian art has prompted a few art houses to launch mutual funds to enable investments in the art market. For instance, institutions such as Copal Art, Edelweiss Securities and Osian have launched such funds. International organisations such as Aicon Gallery also have various art funds, though the response to these is varied. While Seth from Copal Art says he is against the concept of art funds in India, as the art market here isn’t big, Aicon’s Hutchison says art funds are very successful. After its first art fund, two others by Aicon are up and running.

But art funds are risky, too. Osian art fund, started by Neville Tuli in June 2006, had to be wrapped up in 2009 after a poor performance. It had also faced a probe by the Securities and Exchange Board of India and is still in the process of returning money to investors. In recent times, Fine Art Fund (www.thefineartfund.com) has been one of the most successful. Its stock comprises impressionist, modern, contemporary, post-war and old-master paintings.

Art is an illiquid asset, which might not necessarily generate income. It needs maintenance, proper storage and security, all of which aren’t cheap. “The key is to familiarise yourself with the works available and take plenty of advice. Any investment can go up or down, and a lot of the possible upside can only be realised after many years of owning and enjoying a piece,” says Shah.

To reduce the risk involved in art investments, Seth says one should consider three important aspects – prominence and authenticity of the artwork, the entire chain of its ownership and the title of the art work.

So, if you like an art work and think you could own it for life, go ahead and buy it. Get to know the work and have passion for it. A good piece of art is a treasure to behold.

Apoorva Gupta in Business Standarad

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