Vaishnavi, a student of fine arts, shows the promise of a new angle in portraiture
Romartika is always on the lookout for the future Picasso. And we feel that there will be radical transformation in the perception of what is good art and what is not, in another ten years time. The reason is the outlook of the new generation.
Today, people enjoying the spending power to indulge in buying artworks are aged 40 and above. This is because, usually, beyond that age an average middle class Indian man or woman begins to consider decorating their home. Until then it is the struggle for establishing one's financial worth.
This age limit will come down in the coming years with economic progress of the country. Hence, down the line ten years, we are likely to see youngsters of 30 and above starting to spend for artworks.
But will they purchase the same stuff as we buy today?
It is unlikely to be so. Because, our generation in India encountered a good and easy to handle camera not until we were 30 year old. Hence, the likeness of an object in a piece of paper or clothe captures our fascination even this day. When we look at an artwork, we begin searching for likeness. We marvel when a mango on the canvas resembles ditto a real life mango.
But , the younger generation who are in the college these days, were born with camera. Likeness is a run-of-the-mill aspect for them. Each of them take two dozen photographs daily. And to top it all, there is selfie. And each selfie-freak knows that the photograph does not represent the truth of their struggle or sorrows or worries. The selfie is a grand lie embellished with ear to ear smiles.
Hence, the younger generation does not care for likeness on canvas. They look for something deeper that camera can misses. Hence, their interest will no longer be realism or photorealism. In any case, they believe much more in machines than we did. Some of our parents believed the cashier in the counter of the bank more than the ATM machine. But the new generation does not care for the stuff made by human hands that a machine can do better.
What do they look for then?
They look for intellectual stimulation. They look for surprise. They look for something that can engage their attention not because of machinelike perfection but because of the novelty of the idea.
So, future will belong to expressionism and conceptual art. Not realism in classic sense.
Romartika keeps its eyes open all the time for a promising spark.
Such a talent is Vaishnavi. When we happened to peek into her drawing book, we were taken aback. The portraits could not be classified under any existing ism or category. Those are something new. We asked her why she painted that way.
Following are the words of the young artist -
People paint portraits as they see. I create the portrait in the back of my mind and then it appears on the paper. The short lines inside the forms represent the vibes I get from the subject. The voices whisper into my ear when I paint the portrait. For me painting is to represent the world as I imagine it to be. I capture the emotion of the person whose portrait I make. In my view, painting a portrait is not just bringing down the face as it is on the paper but to make it expressive and also make it talk to the viewer. Basic element of my paintings is line. A line can convey emotion and interact with the viewer.
Some sample artworks of Vaishnavi is as follows -
We shall look forward to see Vaishnavi contribute to the development of art in the coming day. After all, the future belongs to her.
Comments