Have a heART!

The desecration of Balbir Singh Katt’s sculpture at the Mandi House roundabout raises questions about the safety of art works in public spaces

July 28, 2017 01:34 pm | Updated July 29, 2017 07:34 pm IST

Photograph showing the violated scultpure and our indifference towards public art

Photograph showing the violated scultpure and our indifference towards public art

Is a work of public art to be treated as a canvas for an anonymous irreverent artist who decides to decorate it with ugly graffiti? Can anyone walk up to a sculpture armed with paint and brushes and just stroke it with colours when it’s made of marble and reflects an artist’s sensibility?

Mandi House the most prominent space on the arts district roundabout at Copernicus Marg boasts of a series of sculptures that have been loaned to the New Delhi Municipal Council by Lalit Kala Akademi — the most important work is an untitled piece from 1977 by Balbir Singh Katt, former Dean of Visual Arts at Banaras Hindu University,who disappeared mysteriously in 2000.

NGMA Director General Adwaita Gadanayak stood in front of the sculpture on Tuesday night aghast. “I cannot believe that someone has actually done this to the work of one of the greatest sculptors. I am deeply saddened to see that someone has painted this deliberately and completely changed the power and beauty of this marble sculpture. Balbir Singh Katt was a senior sculptor, greatly revered and has created monumental works . How can an artist of one discipline destroy a work of another discipline?” is Gadanayak’s query.

The painted sculpture was first noted by sculptor Arun Pandit last week. Pandit was alarmed that no one had noticed the vandalisation. “Works are put in public places for appreciation and admiration, the NDMC has to protect these sculptures after all they belong to our art heritage,” says Pandit.

“Something like this is considered a desecration of art in countries all over the world. In foreign countries they identify and report it and protest and remove it at once,” adds Gadanayak. Strange how so many people who walk by Mandi House didn’t notice it either. “Perhaps people in the Capital don’t quite care to look at art works — this itself smacks of indifference,” states artist Abhijit Pathak who was shocked to see the disorderly manner in which the painting had been done.

Urban ugliness

Pathak who visited the site and took photographs, stated the name Imran Tausif was written in bold letters on top of the sculpture — while the graffiti on the pedestal makes it look like a tablet of urban ugliness. The symbols and the colour tones smack of poster, slap dash design dictates that are crude and rough hewn. Obviously if the artist is Tausif, he is a novice who has no clue about graffiti. But the manner in which Imran Tausif has been painted is far clumsier than the graffiti on the pedestal. Could the artist be someone else? Pathak also wonders how any artist who has studied art could actually come and deface the work of another artist. “When we study art we are taught to revere our elders and respect their works of art,” says Pathak.

Pathak talked to the fruit seller sitting at Mandi House who claimed the painting was done at night a few weeks ago. Katt’s marble slabs have been painted in a dirty yellow and indigo blue tones, so much so that the entire orientation of the sculpture has been destroyed. Indeed graffiti art is a rebellion across the world but you don’t desecrate works belonging to an institution .

Some questions need to be answered by the NDMC that has placed art works throughout the city. Are art works safe from vandalism? Does the NDMC do a periodic check on the physical state of these sculptures? Some of the other sculptures at Mandi House have turned into utility items. Pathak’s pictures show the reality of scant disregard and apathy for public works of art. While one work is a pole for underwear, on top of Katt’s pedestal you see lemons drying.

Whose responsibility?

The NDMC and LKA should see that Katt’s marble sculpture is restored to its original brilliance and the paint taken off as soon as possible. The lender and the borrower of art both have a responsibility. The LKA too should have a dossier on the state of art works loaned and an updated observation on their physical status. The Ministry of Culture, LKA along with NDMC need to draw up a blue print of rules and regulations for the protection of public art throughout the city. Otherwise great works of art by Indian artists will become fossils of ruination with self proclaimed irreverent artists, leaving their salacious signatures on significant works of art.

One is reminded of an earlier incident in which French anti-war campaigners desecrated a statue of Winston Churchill in Paris on the anniversary of the death of Rudolf Hess.

They daubed the statue's hands in red paint to signify blood and scrawled the initials RH on the plinth. Of course, the alleged Imran Tausif does not have the intellectual wit or wealth of the anti-war campaigners so all we are left with is a pedestal that screams a few characterless symbols in its attempt to ape a lesser art.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.