The story playing out in the art world is not too different from the one in the corporate world, the movies, education, media…
Art may be life for artists Razia Tony, Manisha Raju, Thejo Menon, Rajny Krishnan and Hemalatha, but still, they cannot ignore the fact, it is often very much a man’s world.
The conversation with them starts off normally enough. Razia explains her paintings –— they are spiritual and stem from her philosophical musings (she teaches philosophy too, besides art). Manisha Raju’s works are serene and introspective. When she came to the large and intimidating metropolis of Chennai from Nagpur, she felt isolated. And she was caught between the traditional world and the new one. In order to find her true self, she chose to travel inwards where she found comfort. And that is reflected on the faces in her paintings that have their eyes shut and wear a beatific smile.
Large and vibrant is Thejo Menon’s art. Then there are bursts of colour that she says reflect her origins, beliefs and ‘everything that is a part of me’.
The sculptors in this group are Hemalatha and Rajny Krishnan. Hemalatha grew up under the tutelage of her sculptor/artist father M. Senathipathi. She exhibits stunning copper sculptures. Anjenaya, Krishna, Ganesha... in glowing copper and enamel, the figures from mythology are beautiful. Rajny has worked with fibreglass, a medium, she confesses, she is not very comfortable with. But it is convenient and practical and she has made it her own with additions of ‘natural’ touches.
One of Rajny’s sculpture makes you smile. It is a figure of a woman, like the divine figures carved outside of temples. But in her arms she embraces a bunch of spoons! “It is a combination of the divine and the domesticated, the story of our lives!”
Why did Rajny choose to work with a medium she did not like? “Metal was too heavy and too expensive. I worked with terracotta and realised that I was not taken seriously in the art circles,” she says. And that comment unleashes a torrent. Like any other profession, the world of art is no different for women. They have to constantly prove themselves.
“Weekend artists and hobby painters” are the kinder names they are labelled with. “We are always the second line,” says Thejo. “You can count the number of women artists in our country” says Razia. “We have to be grateful to K.C.S. Paniker who mentored women artists such as Anila Jacob and T.K. Padmini and brought them into the limelight.
Women artists are given a short shrift, more so if they are from South India. Even art galleries give them the step-motherly treatment.
Cronyism is rampant and often only the moneyed and the well connected get the exposure. As women they are always expected to embrace the straight and the narrow, says Rajny. “Sculpting is my first love. But in order to do that I have to compromise and do other stuff that will bring in the money.”
Often women artists give up only because their husbands will not give them money to pursue art, or their parents won’t allow it. Even for those who have struck out and started painting whole time, there is a glass ceiling, says Razia. “The male artists will let you be till it does not threaten them. Otherwise, we are just swept aside,” she says. She adds that one bad comment from a senior artist (inevitably a male one) can kill a reputation faster than anything else.
Happily, Rajny, Manisha, Thejo, Hemalatha and Razia hold their own. They say a collective show as the one at Kasthuri gives them immense satisfaction and a feeling of solidarity. “We are happy for one another. I feel we should come out more aggressive if we have to make a mark. And holding each others’ hands is one way of doing it,” says Thejo.
Manisha, like her paintings, has decided to look inwards.
Her husband is an artist too; so, may be it is easier for her.
But they all say they are bigger than the discrimination they face and no matter what will continue to paint or sculpt.
Says Thejo, “I have assimilated my life experiences in my art. It reflects who I am.” Manisha sees no difference in women and their art.
“Whether it is putting kolam on our doorstep or stringing flowers, it is our day-to-day life. My art embraces the woman that I am, I can’t separate it from me.” For Razia, her art has evolved with her.
“From women-centric, romantic and often angry art, my work is now more mellow and philosophical,” she smiles. Rajny says she does wish some things were different, but she has made her
peace with circumstances. If she has to work with fibreglass, so be it, but no one can stop her from incorporating bits of natural products that she loves into that art and make it her very own. Hemalatha works out her angst through her three-dimensional bronze sculptures that represent the best in our mythology.
The exhibition is on till November 11 between 10 a.m. and 6.30 p.m. Call 0422-2574110.
