The theme of Samikshavad-III

Should artists close their eyes to what is happening around them? Can they remain unmoved by the appalling conditions which they are witnessing? Artists are the most sensitive group of people in any society. They cannot shut their eyes to the stark realities. They cannot sit idle. They realize their responsibility to the society in which they live in. The have to inspire the people to fight against evil. Samikshavadi artists realize their responsibility and are ready to work for their people. They do not consider art to be just a play or a pleasure seeking device. They consider art to be a powerful instrument of social upliftment and wakening. This is why they do not believe in any kind of abstract or non-objective art. They want to create art which becomes part and parcel of the life of our people. The movement is trying to bring back subject matter in art which has been totally neglected b the so called Modern artists. The subject matter of ‘Samikshavad’ is man and the figjavascript:void(0)ht between evil and good. These artists aim
at eradicating the evils of the society by educating the people.

Modern Western art is either an expression of the artists’ inner turmoil and tensions or mere feats of colour and form. Mostly it is aimless or personal fad. Can such art ever become popular and useful to the society at large? But the capitalist society has accepted it as a form of business transactions. They collect art and sell art just to make capital out of it. In a poor country like India art cannot fulfill that aim. Art can have no other aim but to serve the people, to inspire and educate them, to prepare them for a better life and society. And ‘Samikshavad’ aims at that.

‘Samikshavadi artists’ are not at all interested in merely showing feats of colour and form. Colour and form or their composition in itself that of Abstract art may produce musical or magical effect but art cannot survive or thieve on that alone. Such music or magic, if they just remain to be a form of entertainment and do not serve a higher purpose of social upliftment, cannot claim to be great art. They may remain in the category of crafts. But those crafts which are not useful like ‘witch-craft’ have no place in the modern society. To-day the so called Modern artists who are better than such craftsmen, when called upon to explain the purpose of their art, prattle, ‘We create ‘Form’, ‘Colour composition’ or ‘Symbol’’. They go no further and expect the visitor to appreciate and explain their jargon themselves. Line, form, colour, texture or tones are just elements of the language of art. They cannot be an and in themselves. They have to be used skillfully to serve the purpose of communication or expression. If they fail in this they are just like heaps of useless bricks, sand and cement gathered together. They cannot claim to be purposeful if they do not help in creating a building suitable for human living. ‘Samikshavadi’ painters are not interested in showing their excellence
of skill or painterly qualities as an end in itself.