Today, I will share a few words about my experiences in America with you all. Naturally, it is not possible to talk about everything related to this vast country in such a brief period of time.
Nearly two years ago, I had to travel to the United States to supervise a major art exhibition organized by the Academy of Fine Arts. For about eight months, I travelled across the United States from East to West with this exhibition. During this opportunity, I had the good fortune to visit several famous cities, art centres, art schools and museums, as well as some notable landmarks there.
First of all, let me clarify that in America there is no concept of tradition or aristocracy. This is a new version of European civilization from the ancestors across the sea. Due to the absence of tradition, there is nothing to look back on. Therefore, they are advancing swiftly, solely driven by the allure of novelty. In this regard, they have benefited more than not only our country but also the other countries. In ancient civilizations, there are several ailments in the form of reform that took root deeply within the nation, but they are entirely free from this. Therefore, they haven’t had to destroy anything; they have just been continuously building one thing after another.
Rathin Maitra's Manuscript (Page 1) of His View on America
Life in America moves at an unceasing rapid pace. They don’t know, nor do they accept, the concept of a pause. Being opulent and mechanically civilized, there most of the tasks that humans are capable of achieving are completed with the help of machines.
Competing with the rest of the world, they have constructed skyscraping palaces. Without paying attention to any kind of decoration, the monuments, adorned with simple geometric lines, stand tall, proudly reaching towards the sky. Somewhere, it looks as if countless match boxes are stacked together, standing side by side in unison. In terms of architecture, they have brought about a revolutionary change. Indeed, I was impressed by a few examples of modern architecture in Europe as well, especially the ‘Rome Railway Station’. However, the monuments and lifestyle in America, whether from New York to San Francisco or Los Angeles, appear to circulate within the same motionless environment, regardless of geographical variations.
Now, I feel like sharing a couple of things about their cultural life.
In almost every famous city in America, I have seen museums, art galleries, libraries, music halls and in some places planetariums. There’s one thing about them that I really liked. The young boys and girls from each school have come with their respective teachers, smiling brightly. They explain the special noteworthy things to them in an engaging way. From an American friend, I learned that they have to visit museums and art galleries once a week and once a month at specific locations. At these places, there are also arrangements for special lectures. At the planetarium, there are also occasional arrangements for engaging and delightful speeches with the help of various modern scientific instruments. Among these, I must mention that a well-known planetarium in Chicago brought me the most joy. As long as I was there, I was immersed in the celestial realm of the solar system.
Let’s now discuss something about museums and art galleries. Their collections are incomparable. What delighted me the most was the way they arranged everything. It doesn’t cause any discomfort to the viewer’s eyes or mind. There is no attempt to repeatedly display the same type of thing. They have tried to preserve some examples of art from various cultures around the world - whether in paintings, sculptures, or crafts. As if in this grand temple, humanity has come and generously gifted its array of art.
After coming to this country, I was genuinely astonished by the collection of Chinese and Japanese art. In comparison, the presence of Indian art seemed very minimal. Although, some can be found in the collections at Michigan University in Ann-Arbor, Detroit, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington, Boston, New York and Cleveland, Ohio. Among these, the Indian art collection in Boston is particularly noteworthy, and for this collection the late Ananda Coomaraswamy will always be remembered there.
One of Rathin Maitra's Murals on Buddhism at the New India House,
Indian Consulate General, New York City
If you think about it from this perspective, bringing our Indian art exhibition to America proved to be especially meaningful, and the exhibition was a great success. The exhibition showcased paintings by artists like Abanindranath, Nandalal Bose, Jamini Roy, Rabindranath, Gaganendranath, Amrita Sher-Gil and more. A wide variety of handcrafts were also displayed at the exhibition. The exhibition was constantly bustling with visitors, and seeing their expressions of interest brought me a lot of joy.
I feel it's necessary to mention a bit more about their country’s art galleries. The paintings are spaced out with plenty of room in between, hung at a height that’s neither too high nor too low, allowing viewers to see them comfortably. The lighting arrangement is excellent, better than anything I have seen in Europe. The finest examples of this are the National Art Gallery in Washington and Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
In their major cities, you might come across three, four or even more museums or art galleries. Certainly, New York is an exception because, apart from the large art galleries, there are countless small galleries as well. On either side of Street No 47 in New York, there are numerous art galleries like this. At these art galleries, solo exhibitions and group exhibitions are constantly being held, one after another. While I was staying there, an exhibition of Jamini Roy’s paintings was held at the A.C.A Gallery on Street No 47, New York City. I can gladly express that his paintings generated a lot of excitement. There was a lot of crowd and the artworks received a great deal of praise in the newspapers. Now the situation is that most of the museums, art galleries, art schools and universities in their country are funded by affluent patrons, with very few being solely government-supported.
They have a large number of art schools as well, which can generally be divided into three categories. Art schools that are affiliated with major museums or art galleries are awarded diplomas. Those affiliated with universities are awarded degrees. Apart from that, a group of artists has established a special education center which has a homier atmosphere.
The number of students didn’t appear to be very high in any place. It was ranging between approximately 100 and 150. However, what I found unique is that, in addition to their academic curriculum, they were also being taught examples of modern artistic techniques. I’ll refrain from commenting on whether the outcome was good or bad. However, I found the technique of commercial art to be somewhat more advanced. In this context, I can’t help but mention that they knew how to captivate people’s attention and the effective way to present any object to the public (in English which is called ‘presentation’ or ‘showmanship’). They had mastered these techniques quite well. Therefore, it was inevitable that their commercial art was more advanced. It's quite surprising that despite having such a strong artistic sensibility and extensive arrangements, most artists of this country have to earn their livelihood through commercial art.
I observed that ceramics are widely used in this country. There are specific arrangements to give training in this. They are also utilizing this in sculpture. Now, I’ll conclude by discussing a bit about the contemporary art of that country. To create art - all alive and throbbing - it is not possible solely by means of taking resources to rhythm, standard and measure of the “Shilpa Shastra” (Canons of art) while ignoring the influence of the spirit of the time, it’s conditions, the surrounding milieu and the ways of life. Therefore, their artistic streams never follow predefined routes but flow along under the spell of renewed novelty with new experiments. Consequently, one often encounters an abundance of incongruous paintings or sculptures, disconnected from their intended essence. Even one can witness there a multitude of oscillating or moving sculptures, elegantly referred to as “mobile sculptures” in English.
Certainly, I would not entirely dismiss these creations as something futile.
To understand contemporary painting, one needs to observe it carefully, experience its essence and reflect on it. Just as scientific explorers seek out new theories, modern artists are on a quest for novel concepts. However, many artists among them are so caught up in the allure of modernity that they seem to me adrift and aimless, like a boat without a rudder, uncertain of their own direction. If the sole purpose is to captivate through novelty, then such creations appear to me ephemeral.
Therefore, in the realm of contemporary art, there is a lingering note of contention, marked by a heated sense of empty, inconsequential rebellion and denial.
In summation, I would like to say that while this country has amassed a vast and remarkable collection of resources for the pursuit of knowledge, it stands in stark contrast to the scarcity of dedicated minds to nurture and elevate this intellectual treasure. Their lives have overflowed beyond both shores, filled with diverse and enchanting pleasure and delightful offerings of many forms of life. Yet, in the profoundest recesses of human existence, where the most elusive mysteries linger, I must say, as an Indian and more so as a person from the land of Rabindranath felt that I seldom found its presence there.
RATHIN MAITRA
