Days after a seminal book on the reclusive master V.S. Gaitonde was released, there has come a book on S.H. Raza yet again. The book is titled just that — “Yet Again” — for there have been several books on the nonagenarian artist. But this one takes a different path, feels Ashok Vajpeyi, poet, essayist, former chairman of Lalit Kala Akademi and a close friend of Raza. Apart from both being based on artists who are considered major modernists belonging to the Progressive Artists’ group, the two works also meet for reasons like crisp writing, which makes them concise and thus not tomes. Vajpeyi, who has edited the book which comprises nine essays by Ranjit Hoskote, Krishen Khanna, Ina Puri, Manish Pushkale, Geeti Sen, Roshan Shahani, Kishore Singh, Ashok Vajpeyi, Udayan Vajpeyi, admits having penned books on the artist. “Raza: A Life in Art” written by Vajpeyi (published by Art Alive in 2007) was a tome and so was the anthology of comments Raza had received all these years in English, Hindi and French. “But this is not a free-wheeling writing,” he says.
Raza turned 93 on February 22 and it was on his birthday that the book, produced by Akar Prakar, Raza Foundation and Mapin, was launched. Alongside are three exhibitions of Raza’s works on display simultaneously in three cities — Vadehra Art Gallery in Delhi, Art Musings in Mumbai and Akar Prakar in Kolkata.
Explaining the motivation behind this book, Vajpeyi says, “Here is a painter who at the age of 93 is still painting. His palette has changed. And he has arrived at a situation where the distance between life and art has been abolished because he lives to paint. These three exhibitions showcase more than 70 works all of which were done last year and early this year.”
With a view to have a fresh look at his oeuvre, Vajpeyi chose three poets — Ranjit, Udayan and himself — along with three art critics — Kishore, Ina and Roshan — and his friends and confidants like Krishen Khanna, Manish Pushkale.
“Anybody who is interested in knowing what Raza is all about can pick up this book. While Ranjit probes the cartographic element in his work, Kishore Singh asks if there are two Razas. Ina Puri talks about the innate erotic element in his art and Manish Pushkale writes about his current state of being.”
If everyone else presents Raza as an idea, a thought or a spirit that reflects in Bindu, Bija, Manish’s poetic musings on his mentor present him as someone in flesh and blood who struggles with his tough physical condition and paints.
“It was originally written in Hindi and was translated. These people were chosen because all of them have handled his art earlier.
The plurality of viewpoints on his critical language and aesthetic visions is interesting. The master is one but examined by many.”
