Themes of Samikshavadi paintings
The Themes of Samikshavadi paintings are taken from social life of the common people. It is not something new. Many artists have done so in the past and are still doing so. In India Amrita Shergil was the first important and powerful painter of social life. Satish Gujral in his early phase also painted social life powerfully. Others have also done it. But there is a difference of approach between them and Samikshavadi painters. Most of the artists have been interested in their day to day social life. That also is no doubt important and useful in bringing about social change but Samikshavadi painters are not contented with that only. They have gone a step further. They may show the plight of the people also but they are much more interested in attacking those who are responsible for it. If the causes are exposed the people will be more alert to eradicate them. Their description of the malady suggests lines of treatment. Moreover Samikshavadi painters are generally interested in conscious symbolic sarcasm which is definitely a new phenomenon in the field of painting. This attitude has been witnessed casually in some form or the other in some of the artists’ work in India and abroad, but never before it has come out as a combined movement with this particular purpose. Mostly other painters have been just satisfied in mocking at the contemporary life pattern as did the Pop Artist of the west, which has been nothing but an anti-art attitude, or the Surrealists’ like that of Chagall, Richard Hamilton. Bhupen Khokhor of India has followed the same attitude of the Pop artist of the West.
‘Beauty’ is a misnomer. Whatever is liked by an individual is considered beautiful by him. There is nothing like Universal beauty. Similarly a group of persons or a particular society may consider something but the other society or culture may not. But certainly the artist being a part of a particular society does consider that thing beautiful which has been accepted by that society. Some particular form of things may be appealing to an individual or a particular society and paintings of that may be appreciated by them but the real beauty in art lies in its power of expression or communication. Samikshavadi painters believe in expressing their ideas feelings powerfully. They are not interested in painting beautiful objects, as has been done by idealist, traditionalists or realist painters. They just want to be simple, direct, meaningful and powerful in their expression, so that the people may be educated, moved and awakened. They are not idealist who imagine and invite others to an ideal world. Samikshavadi painters want the people to realize what is at the root of all their miseries and misfortunes. They do not want to lead the people on any predetermined specific course. They want them to become alert. ‘Samikshavad’ is a socially purposeful art movement quite different from Western Modern Art which is a generally purposeless or skill or technique oriented, like that of Op Art, or Kinetic Art and other such forms.
‘Beauty’ is a misnomer. Whatever is liked by an individual is considered beautiful by him. There is nothing like Universal beauty. Similarly a group of persons or a particular society may consider something but the other society or culture may not. But certainly the artist being a part of a particular society does consider that thing beautiful which has been accepted by that society. Some particular form of things may be appealing to an individual or a particular society and paintings of that may be appreciated by them but the real beauty in art lies in its power of expression or communication. Samikshavadi painters believe in expressing their ideas feelings powerfully. They are not interested in painting beautiful objects, as has been done by idealist, traditionalists or realist painters. They just want to be simple, direct, meaningful and powerful in their expression, so that the people may be educated, moved and awakened. They are not idealist who imagine and invite others to an ideal world. Samikshavadi painters want the people to realize what is at the root of all their miseries and misfortunes. They do not want to lead the people on any predetermined specific course. They want them to become alert. ‘Samikshavad’ is a socially purposeful art movement quite different from Western Modern Art which is a generally purposeless or skill or technique oriented, like that of Op Art, or Kinetic Art and other such forms.
