EDITORIAL

Artist and the Society

The American writer O.Henry’s famous short story, ‘The Last Leaf,’ tells the story of old Behrman, a decrepit, aged painter whose entire life was spent dreaming of the one masterpiece he was to paint. Old Behrman died of pneumonia contracted while painting an ivy leaf on a neighouring building’s wall during a stormy, winter night. He did it to bring back to life a young artist, Johanne, who had decided that she was to die the moment the last ivy leaf fell. The last leaf was his masterpiece. He gave his life for the sake of a younger one, the ultimate sacrifice.

This story leads to the age-old question – what should an artist (or, any creative person, as such) give back to the fellow human beings, to the society at large ? Discussed and debated in hair-splitting details for centuries, even, the question still continues to be thrown back and forth all over the world. Should Art be for Art’s sake alone, or for Life’s sake as well ? Should the artists show their responsibility to society, and to other fellow human beings, or not? Whether artists should intervene in the society, and if so, what should be the format of such interventions ?

In this issue of Art Concerns, Kolkata-based art writer Oindrilla Maity Surai, in the cover story titled, ‘Tracing the Human Trail,’ deliberates upon the role of the artist in reinforcing public memory and the relevance of community-based art projects. In the Articles Section, Dr. Y.S.Alone, professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University New Delhi, discusses how the contemporary realities of caste relations get reflected in the works of some artists. And, Anupa Mehta, in her column, ‘Art Affairs,’ further raises a few questions about the general apathy towards the visual arts scene in India.

Elsewhere in this issue, L.N.Tallur talks about his monumental work, ‘Souvenir Maker,’ in the column, ‘My Work.’ Rikimi Madhukaillya, New Delhi-based art writer, continues her probe into the contemporary art activities of the North-Eastern States, this time delineating the history of the art scene in Assam from the middle of the Twentieth century.

Brian Curtin, Bangkok-based art writer, talks about the Bangkok-based photographer Olivier Pin-Fat and Waswo X.Waswo, reporting from Udaipur, traces the evolution of the city’s contemporary art practice. Paroma Maiti reports from Kolkata about the INTACH’s restoration process of the 18^th century artist Johann Zoffany’s, ‘The Last Supper,’ at the St. John’s Church, Kolkata.

In the Reviews Section, Dr. Vaishali Sharma reviews Nilima Sheikh’s recent solo show and Natasha Baruah reviews Zakkir Hussain’s solo held at Gallery Ske, Bangalore.

‘Spring Board’ presents the Baroda-based young artist Karishma D’Souza.

We also have the other regular columns including MT Thoughts, Open Text, New Stories and Listings.

So, happy reading !

- Team Art Concerns