Articles

Towards A New Viewership / Participation of Public:
A Bakul’s Experiment

Discussing Bakul Artfest, a public art event held in Bhubaneshwar last year, the art writer Rajashree Biswal discusses the possibilities of creating a new viewership for contemporary art through interventions in public life

‘Contemporary Visual Art’ is a term ridden with polemics.  However, the term may give a critical, contextual, analytical, and reflective thinking and picture about the present world. Besides, ‘contemporary art’ is the realm of expression of the physical, metaphysical, psychological, social, and political existence of being. It is also the site for experimentation of unforeseen possibilities of ‘the coming community’(1).

Contemporary art may encompass a broad spectrum of activities, a site for not only constructive collaboration among disciplines, culture, and people but also the space for contradictions and conflicts. It also creates the space for reflection, reaction and the contemplative action. Nevertheless, in order to be an effective language, it must reach the wider viewers/audience. There is an intrinsic inter-link between the artwork and its viewers/audience as meaning is produced at the dynamic moment of interaction of the reader/viewer and the text. Even there is the elevated status of the reader as proposed by Griswold (1993:457) i.e. reader as hero. However, if the viewers/audience of art is restricted within the nexus of artists/art world/gallery/auction house, it functions primarily as a commoditised object and its social function is denied.

The discussion on the significance of the term, ‘Contemporary Visual Art,’ and its effectiveness as a ‘contemporary language,’ was the beginning point of my paper, “Towards ‘A New Viewership / Participation Of Public’: A Bakul’s Experiment,” that was presented at the one day seminar organised by Art and Deal Magazine, New Delhi in connection with their 10th anniversary celebrations. The focus of discussion was  ‘Bakul Artfest- 2009,’ in Bhubaneshwar which was an experiment with viewership/audience and participation of public in contemporary expressions through art.

One can look into artist and critic Martha Rosler’s convincing statement in this regard: “Unconcern with audience has become a necessary feature of art producers’ professed attitudes and a central element of the ruling ideology of Western art set out by its critical discourse. If producers attempt to change their relationship to people outside the given ‘art world,’ they must become more precise in assessing what art can do and what they want their art to do. This is particularly central to overtly political art.”(2)

Besides, contemporary art is related to the larger question of  ‘history’ and ‘politics’  of ‘art’ and ‘life’  in a world of uneven forces of globalisation. Hence the process of creation of new viewers/ audience, awareness about contemporary visual language and their participation is an imperative one in ‘micro level.’

Further considering the aesthetic dimensions of the art, as semiologist Jean Mukarovsky effectively says, “Every work of art has two components, the ‘working-thing’ (which we can touch, purchase and have restored), and the ‘aesthetic object’ which is ‘laid down in the collective consciousness,’ (Mukarovsky, 1988, 7). To interpret the aesthetic object is to measure its participation in the multiple codes which govern the collective consciousness”.(3)

The ‘art world’ is a set of relations and transactions related to the ‘gallery system,’ and the work of art is made apart from the audience for the hegemonic operations of the ruling class ideology. In this context, a heightened awareness about the importance of ‘viewers/audience’ is more crucial especially when there are claims of social and political engagement through art with respect to this specific historical moment of time.

Now to understand the specific context of Odisha, despite its rich cultural legacy, there are a very few people who understand and appreciate the language of contemporary visual art due to varied reasons. The contemporary visual art may be said as the ‘minor other,’ with respect to other different art forms like folk art, traditional art, tribal art, popular visual art etc. in Odisha. All these art forms are integral to and the essence of every culture, but contemporary art has its own engagement with life at present.  The idea was not to create differences, rather, to see all different art forms adding to life in the process of creative interaction. The lack of awareness about contemporary visual art  can be  seen  in different levels: e.g. the identity of the artist is relegated to signboard or poster painter within the family,  there is scarcity of information, understanding and knowledge of contemporary art within intellectuals of different disciplines and of other forms of  art,  the distributive apparatus like mass media are with a little space for contemporary  art  and so on.  And most importantly, the internal  inertia within the existing art institutions and art world, lack of proper platform and lack of exhibition spaces and the idea of ‘self confinement of contemporary art’ add to this sorry state. (4)  The subject, which is having a local grounding, prevail in many of the non-metro spaces in India, which is situated within the larger discourses of art world.

In this specific context, the intervention of Bakul Foundation appeared to be crucial. Bakul Foundation, based in Bhubaneshwar, is an organisation premised on volunteerism and works at the grass root level through its various programme related to education, arts, environment, and voluntarism. The idea is to create a sensible and critical community of children and people from different walks of life through art, literature and other social and cultural activities.

‘Bakul Artfest-2009,’ aimed ‘towards ‘a  new viewership  and  participation of public.’ Here ‘towards’ is a process, a journey, at the same time it is a philosophy, an ideal as well as praxis. The word ‘new’ is not the denying or obliterating the previous initiatives(5) in Odisha in the creation of viewers/audience,  rather, it is a definitive moment of deliberate, strategic, and conscious movement for thinking and keeping priority on the receiving end i.e., the viewers/audience of contemporary visual art, besides the defined viewers/audiences of the art world. the emphasise was precisely on the ‘distributive apparatus’ of contemporary art and  addressing the loopholes within the existing structure to reach out to a larger audience and viewers, which, in its extended form, may result in the participation of the public.

The different activities organised by Bakul Foundation during the Artfest held during January 15-28, 2009 included the exhibition, ‘Towards a New Viewership/Audience,’ conceptualised and curated  by me in association with Art and Deal Magazine, New Delhi; the Wall of Peace, which was painted by artists, college and school students and the general public during the Artfest in Bhubaneshwar and the Video Evening, programme of video art and film screenings as well as interactions with artists.

The most striking aspect of Bakul Art Fest-2009 was the creative negotiation and effective mobilisation of the different networks, institutions, art lovers, and people from inside and outside the State by the collective efforts of artist Birendra Pani and Veejayant Dash with the help of other artists and volunteers of Bakul Foundation.  Volunteers of Bakul Foundation from different colleges tried to publicise the event in various educational institutions in the region including the government arts and science colleges, social science colleges, media studies institutes, engineering colleges, institutions for MBA studies and even coaching centres through posters and direct invitations. Bakul, with its reachability to the children, thus to their parents and their schools through children’s library and other activities, could approach the schools in the vicinity that had buses to bring the students to the Artfest. All schools within walkable distance were approached to visit and participate in the Artfest. The  artists motivated in the community of artists, dancers, literary persons, theatrepersons,  intellectuals and others to participate in the festival. In addition, a large number of new viewers were motivated by everybody in their individual levels. Media was used to the maximum to give publicity to the event.

The exhibition, ‘Towards a New Viewership/Audience,’ was held at Lalit Kala Akademi’s Regional Centre, Bhubaneshwar, Odisha. Thirty six artists, with varied understandings and experience about viewerships/audience of contemporary art, had participated in the exhibition. They included Alok Bal, Aparna Mohanty, Babu Eshwar Prasad,  Birendra Pani, Biswaranjan kar, Bhupen Burman, Debraj Goswami, Hrushikesh Biswal, Manjunath Kamath, Pratul Dash, Prithwiraj Mali, Rajendra Kapse, Rajiba Lochan Pani, Ravi Agarwal, Sharmila Samant, Surekha, Veejayant Dash, Vinod Patel and Zakkir Hussain among others. It was designed to incorporate varied modes, mediums and approaches in contemporary expressions in Indian art. It reflected the complexity of contemporary society revealed through the diversity of the artistic expression by paintings, drawings, sculpture, photographs, video works and installations.  There was the overhauling response of the expanded viewership/audience of people from diverse disciplines, schoolchildren, common men and others, besides the defined art world people. At least 2000 people visited the Artfest including more than 1700 new viewers, who were for the first time visited the gallery space. The volunteers, artists and curators did engage and interact with the viewers.  The exhibition later traveled to New Delhi later in the year, which was the reinvocation of the ‘specific context’ in a different space. Even though in Delhi the viewers were new, they had their own approach of perception and  understanding about the work.

There was constant interaction from the curator with the participating artists regarding the importance of viewers/audience of contemporary art, the different innovative methods/modes of reaching out to larger viewers/audiences and the responsibility artist and the art world in this direction in the Indian context.  

As the Ravi Agarwal reflected, “Taking art outside the established art institutions, known urban spaces and pre-conditioned audiences, only enhances its value as a creative expression. ‘New viewership’ is as much the part of the artist’s journey as the viewer’s.”

Sharmila Samant, while emphasising on the existing practices about the awareness of culture, pointed out that culturally Indians are not a museum-going people, viewership is to be developed at the very educational level. Public is a non-homogeneous one, and hence to be approached through different innovative methods. Besides, according to Samant,  the young artists had to struggle a lot to be the part of the art world. Just because of that, you can not expect too much from them, but, then all practicing artists must have some concern towards the receiving end of art, she stressed.

Zakkir Hussain pointed out that, “When we are talking about the ‘new viewers,’ we are talking about the configuration of the society and the change in the education system and in the grass roots level.”(6)

Veejayant Dash highlighted the importance of ‘public art’ in creating awareness among public about contemporary art, which, in turn, may create the interest to visit the art gallery as well. Birendra Pani reasserted the necessity of moving beyond the stereotypical viewers of art and reach out to the larger section of the society, while Vinod Patel emphasised the responsibility of viewers/audiences’ to educate themselves along with the responsibility of the art world. Hrushikesh Biswal’s opinion was that the awareness about the contemporary art would help in recognition of visual artists and their creative profession in the society.(7)

The other significant event of Bakul Art Fest 2009 was the ‘Wall of Peace,’ It took place in the immediate aftermath of the violence at Kandhamala in Odisha. So, Bakul Foundation planned to paint ‘Wall of Peace,’ opposite Big Bazaar in Satya Nagar, as a celebration of peace that acted as a counter celebration of violence. A  600-feet-long wall was painted upon with the theme of ‘Peace.’  More than 400 people participated in the campaign, including the practising artists from Odisha, artists visiting from different parts of the country  along  with the artists and students from  Khalikot Art College, Berhampur, Dhauli College of Art, Bhubaneshwar,  B.K. College of Art and craft, Bhubaneshwar and National Institute of Fashion and Design, Bhubaneshwar. Students  from 12 schools including the School for Deaf and Dumb, participated on the occasion with their teachers. Besides, people from all walks of life like professionals, tourists, retired people, housewives and even people who were just passing by joined in the event. Children on wheelchairs, autistic children and even the rag-picking children took part, along with the volunteers of Bakul Foundation.

It turned out to be a confluence of varied ideas, thoughts, and energies at one site, in response to the most disturbing developments of violent aggression related to religious intolerance and fundamentalism that is pervasive all across the world including the state of Odisha. Another important dimension of the event was the sharing of  the space, planning, and execution of their ideas through visual expressions, individually and collectively, within the group. The huge public participation was infectious and compelled many others, those who could not find a space or lacked the skill to express themselves, to add texts or even create symbols of peace. This collective gesture in the public domain was the reaffirmation and celebration of peaceful co-existence at the face of growing intolerance and politicisation of religion and fundamentalist mode of living.  

The Video Evening was on  every evening, in the premises of Lalit Kala Akademi Regional Centre, Bhubaneshwar. It comprised nearly 40 works of video art  and short films by contemporary Indian artists like  Manjunath Kamath, C. K. Murali, Birendra Pani,  Babu Eshwar Prasad, Pushpamala N., Pratul Dash, Raghavendra Rao K.V, Kiran Subbaiah, Surekha, M.S. Prakash Babu and others. It was the exploration of  the potential of new media art in reaching out to the wider audience, besides exploring the scope for experimentation in terms of materiality and technique. For the first time in Odisha, the art fraternity and others had the opportunity to see the divergent thoughts and expressions of the artists through this new media in such a large scale. Art historian Anil Kumar facilitated the discussion related to the possibilities and challenges of new media art, the copy right infringement and the rules related to reproduction in new media art.

As an experiment with viewers/audience and participation of public, Bakul Artfest-2009, was an overwhelming experience. It challenged many of the stereotypical assumptions of the art world about the perception and understanding of contemporary art by the larger public. The success of the event was the collective effort of the artists, the curator, the gallery, as well as that of Bakul as a voluntary organisation and the other supporting institutions and media. The exhibition ‘Towards a New Viewership/Audience,’ and The Video Evening did function beyond the limited confinement of private gallery space and created new  space in terms of its accessibility to larger public, adding to aesthetic dimensions of the art works, besides their commodity value. The ‘Wall of Peace,’ that turned into a public art gallery, was an important intervention in production, circulation and consumption of art by the people in the public space.

‘Radicalism’ may be an utopic idea worth  striving towards to,  ‘collective effort,’ ‘voluntarism’ and ‘net-worked community’ may, after all, make a difference in the present scenario with respect to the ‘limitations of the art world,’  the status of ‘contemporary art’ as a ‘commoditised object’ and its ‘effectiveness as a language.’  Bakul Artfest-2009 did indeed created a ‘new interest’ and ‘understanding’ among larger audience and viewers, which needed to be nurtured and sustained through the production of new spaces for further engagement  as a continuous process.

End Notes:

1. The proposition of Giorgio Agamben for a non-essential community in his book ‘The Coming Community.’

2.Martha Rosler, ’Lookers, Buyers, Dealers and Makers: Thoughts on Audience,’ in ‘Art After Modernism: Rethinking Modernism,’ Ed. by Brian Wallis, Published  by The New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York in association with David R. Godine, Publisher, Inc, Boston, 1984.

3. Stephan Bann, ‘Meaning/Interpretation’ in ‘Critical Terms For Art History,’ Ed. by Robert S.Nelson and Richard Schiff , University of Chicago, London, 1996.

4. Like WAA (Working Artists Associations), BAA (Bhubaneshwar Artists Association), Kala Melas by Lalitkala Kendra;, a few important exhibitions like ‘Home Bound We,’ ‘People, Place & Nation : Locating Art  and Self’ and other important shows and workshops have also happened in Bhubaneshwar earlier.

5. Rajashree Biswal, ‘Towards A New Viewership/Audience,’ (Cat.). Bakul Foundation, Bhubaneshwar and Art and Deal Magazine, New Delhi, 2009.

6. ibid.

7. ibid.

(Rajashree Biswal is a New Delhi-based art historian and curator. She is currently pursuing her research in Visual Studies at the School of Arts and Aesthetics, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Email: rajashreebiswal@gmail.com )