“That freedom that Picasso afforded himself, to be an artist in a huge number of ways, seems to be a huge psychological liberation.”(Anish Kapoor) Conceived in the cosmopolitan city now called Mumbai, India 1954, Homi K. Bhabha (1998: 25-26) recalls growing up with Kapoor in Bombay; “The Bombay art scene, as I remember those energetic, emergent years, made no claims to aesthetic or civic order; everybody was caught up in the pell-mell project of trying to survive. What held it together, despite marked social differences, was the sense of post-colonial avant-garde-tilted away from orthodoxies, eastern and western- co-existing in an exciting atmosphere of innovation and experimentation”. “Cultural juxtapositions” was a way of understanding the thriving art gallery culture in the 1960s and 70s. Today in Mumbai, the boom of globalization has inevitably spearheaded the wealth of the middle class citizens, boosting technological advances and entrepreneurial success. An attempt, it would appear to somewhat “overshadow the gaps which remain clearly visible to all who wisely exercise their peripheral vision”. (H.K. Bhabha 1998: 26:1:1516) Here I am clearly making referencing to Anish Kapoor, his innovative “peripheral vision” influenced by his cultural surroundings and Hindu upbringing permitted Kapoor to conjure organic conceptual forms; depth-defying voids, the abstraction of light and exploiting materiality as a way of exploring space and playing on the psychology of the viewer. Author Germano Celant (1996: XI: 2:1-2) recognizes Kapoor’s works as a ‘the transformation of life’ to create new identities and “granting force and energy to forms and material”, through “the ritual of art”. This idea of symbolic rituals within art has derived from his unfathomable relationship with religion: Buddhism and Hinduism, as a means of constructing “a continuous metamorphosis of the universe” (Germano Celant 1996: XI: 1:4). Kapoor’s journey to England between 1973-1977 saw his pursuit in studying to become an artist and his revisit to Mumbai in 1979 captured his revelatory experiences. Somewhat of an epiphany, one may say that for which Kapoor realised his clouded identity was due to his failure to engage with his native roots; surrounded by shrines, religious art and architecture growing up in Mumbai. The artist revisits his childhood home to seek a new meaning and a self-reflection of which is evident in his works, post 1980s. (Left–Right; ‘Untitled, 1975’, ‘Eternal Bonds, 1977’) Kapoor’s early pre-sculptural works (as shown) introduces us to his pre-determined desire to explore forms and materiality in a wider spatial context. In the ‘Untitled’ sculptural performance, Kapoor begins to redefine himself artistically, by forging an identity. Seamlessly he unites fixed geometries harmoniously so that each connection co-exists as a result of the previous geometry and is presented as a performance. The forms cohabit the same context and share a familiar matrix. The placement of the forms have no beginning or end; it just seems to exist in a spatial context; dominating a corner, for which the breaks in the positioning allows for the user to manoeuvre between the geometries and also appearing as possible error by the designer. Perhaps, this is his interpretation of the universe artistically. The relationship between the human body,
spirit, be it female or male is enhanced through the use of a chalk- drawn human figure. The objective of this is to help the viewer understand that the geometries displayed; the form and shape are related to the human form and so the scale of the drawing effectively reinforces his intentions. What is rather interesting about the figure captured is that it is androgynous; as a result it is therefore open to diverse interpretations. Kapoor’s later works are performed without the human figure. Through this, he presumes the form will resume present in the viewer’s consciousness, therefore its reoccurrence is relevant. As if suspended in mid-air, ‘Eternal Bonds’ presents peculiar wire extrusions of differing heights for which white cloth is draped around the highest point, as if to suggest conversation as they circulate around a wooden carved chair. The viewer’s perception of this is that it exudes abstraction; conflicting components of physicality and its alluring capabilities. The theatrical, sensuous sculptural forms are not to be experienced visually; it’s a performance, a narrative. Kapoor effectively uses the white draped background and an everyday chair to establish a relationship with our living space. As a means of driving participation, the sculptor takes advantage of our sematic memory to reinforce the concept of ‘eternal bonds’, for which the two parties being the viewer and the object being, symbolism never meet. Therefore the viewer expresses emotive frustration, from the lack of intersection. It is the arrangement of the prolific biomorphic geometries in ‘Eternal Bonds’ that suggests Kapoor’s need to explore gravitational abstract forms in a controlled spatial context, in an attempt to attract the viewer’s attention and involve them in the performance. As relentless modification of views, consequently brings about disconcerted feelings amongst the viewers, Bettina M. Busse suggests they are “forced to complement, or relativize, their impressions with new views over and again”. (B. M. Busse 2009: 121:2:10-12) "I take my inheritance to be Caspar David Friedrich – you know, that kind of Romantic tradition of the sublime that is a moment of wonder." Romanticism, or as Kapoor recalls it as “romantic tradition”, was a rebellion against the aristocratic, political and social conformities of the 18th Century Europe as well as a revolt toward the depiction of scientific calculated social behaviours in nature. Closely associated with the ‘art of enlightenment’ (a cultural movement), both art movements endorsed and fortified intellectual division, the sharing of ideas and individuality. Disregarding social norms and traditions and emphasizing the importance of conveying reason in artwork rather than supporting conventions. The romanticism movement was most notable for its intense long-term effect on social conditioning in the 18th century, encouraging aesthetic and unique experiences for which elicited unheard-of sensations during the era of; anxiety, fright, terror and apprehension. The term ‘sublime’ was often used to discuss works influenced by the romantic’s art movement. A concept for which, you can express appreciation for art, “ the quality of greatness’ its full definition, praising the depiction of frightful, abnormal forms of the external wilderness. In regards to the German romantic landscape artist Caspar David Friedrich, who Kapoor earlier quoted to share a mutual ground with artistically, uses the sublime To capture gothic meditative silhouetted beings, against callous night skies in his works. Anti-classical and symbolic, the differences lie whereby Kapoor uses darkness, enigmatic forms and scale to depict internal landscapes of emotions and psychology, for which would become a universal language, he communicated through his works to the viewer. This language is in effect a form of identity for which we recognise his works and make associations.
(Left-right; 1000 names; Paris studio of Patrice Alexandre in 1980, As if to celebrate I discovered a mountain Blooming with Red Flowers, 1981, Mother as a Mountain, 1985, 1000 names 1979-80) On return from his 1979 retreat to Mumbai, India Kapoor identifies with the supremacy of primary colours in sculpture using materials. In his studio works, 1000 Names 1979-80s, the artist explores using a powdered pigment for which he manipulates to create opulent, erotic sculptural beings. 1000 names, refers to all the names of the blue god Vishnu in Hinduism. The forms all appear to self-emerge and extrude progressively from the ground-surface. Redolent and erratic, boxed, pyramid-like structure (bottom left) appear as malformed “Shiva lingams”, phallic symbols and the dome geometries, diminished “stupas”, a place of meditation in India. The Chromatic geometries present themselves as minimalized shrines and temples, for which he often recalls to seem as a repetitive spectacle on the streets of India. The performance and arrangement of the sculptural geometries are presented as if orbiting around a single point or object, perhaps this is symbolic of the universe. The Crescent and square shapes being representative of the ancient symbols of the earth and marine. The captured circuitous spiraled forms; ‘Blooming with red flowers 1981’ and ‘mother as a mountain 1985’, signifying a yogic, intramural spiritual energy, in Hindu, kundalini. In Hinduism, sculptural lingams are often depicted with a skin draped around them, sexual and tasteful in its physicality, it signifies liberation and purification, for which this characteristic of the Tantric Tradition in India. (J. D. Ebert: 2013) ‘Mother as a Mountain’ is overtly sexual; in it’s vaginal, rigid form. Fluctuating between painting and sculpture, Kapoor transforms symbols into reality, by painting into sculptural forms to magnify the delineations of volume of which absorb light, and when visited appear to pulsate and glisten in the light. This therefore gives the forms the ability to float in space, as the scattered acrylic allows the beings to be dissolved by the atmosphere. One would believe Kapoor wishes to inhabit the form’s itself, this is evident from the voids, which seem to manifest the sculptural forms as a nought point of creation. This revolutionary concept of to applying primary colour to sculptural forms was inspired by the vast street sale markets on his 1979 retreat, whereby mounds of raw powder were exhibited on stalls, ready for use in fabric dying, cooking and spiritual rituals. In these early studies, Kapoor creates individual identities and connotations for each primary colour he uses, expressing how diverse hues can create different meanings. Colour is explicit in its understanding of the significance of geometries and release of energy for which make up the universe. The artist explains; yellow conveys desire and lust, blue represents the cosmic sky and deep-sea, symbolising the inexhaustible and infinite. Mystical, spiritual beings are characterised by the colour red. The colour red seems most prominent in his early works, and becomes
progressive into his later works. It’s deeply compelling and emotive when used to epitomize the human body; the colour of blood, flesh or as a skin that swathes onto forms and so personified to create the illusion the form is living. Kapoor’s use of colour effectively defines the sculptural beings consequently permitting the viewer to isolate its manifestation.
(Left- Right, ‘When I am pregnant, 1992’ and ‘Sister Piece, 2005’, ‘Non-object, Spire, 2007’) “To say ‘void’ is a way of speaking of a thing as a non-object. So, the other fantasy, if you like, of my work, given the whole history of sculpture, is this history of material. Then, I’m interested in the way that every material has a non-material equivalenthence the non-object.” (Anish Kapoor) Void is a cavity, a state of absence for which the pitch defies the depth of the form and so presents it’s self as a non-space as it rises to the surface to be observed by the viewer. Kapoor seeks to embrace the concept of maternity; natural progressive growth as a means of developing his works through refinement and definition the same way the bulge of a female’s womb gradually begins to manifest her body. The early 90s marked Kapoor’s transition from floor performances to wall embedded forms, for which powers through the boundary to create a ‘positive space’. The sculptor successfully establishes a rapport with architecture through excavation to reveal a vortex, propelling the viewer toward an obscurity to create an intense experience. In ‘When I am pregnant 1992’ the boundary lines that separate illusion and reality are blurred to create a sense of emptiness and minimalism for which emphasises beauty, that is the female form. However, the absence of the body from the sculptural protrusion is somewhat disturbing, a darkness, perhaps its to suggest a constant re-birth for which we are encouraged to look beyond the denotation of the non-object. This use of phallic symbolism is similar to founding psychoanalysis and theorist Sigmund Freud’s ideologies of symbolism in dreams. The theorist claimed that the resistance to recall dreams; producing a visual recollection only occurred in specific dream scenarios, for which called symbols. Freud interpreted these symbols to be sexual; solid beings had different phallic meanings, for example number ‘3’ in dreams connotes a man’s sexual organ. Elements that are apparently similar to its form signifies the phallic symbol e.g. umbrella’s, sticks, mountains and anything that seems to jut out. Now applying Freud’s ideologies of the dream state to Kapoor’s ‘When I am pregnant’ and ‘sister piece’, the female genitalia is signified by hollow beings for which often contain objects, e.g. pits, pockets, caves and vessels. In relevance to the sculptural form, the phallic symbolism of voids; caves and pockets present the female reproductive organs. Perhaps, Kapoor is attempting to play with the sub-conscious, challenging what we see and understand in reality and what the mind can de-code and interpret in dreams. Therefore showing us that our intelligence
goes way beyond, our conscious mind, he makes this evident by absenting the human figure in his later works. Kapoor’s later works sees him exploring the distortion of light with abstract, concave geometries in a wider context. ‘Non-object, Spire, 2007’ sees the designer exploit reflective, transparent surfaces, mostly refined aluminium to refract light. It is the amalgamation of light and dark that elevates and intensifies peripheral experience. According to Ancient Greek in 212 BC, the Archimedes was at war with the Roman fleet, based at the Island of Syracuse. The Archimedes utilized the regularity of mirrors, for which operated as infinite concave reflector to re-direct the sun’s rays in order to diminish the Roman fleet. Overtime, the manipulation of mirrors for which he used as a solution in resolving issues in astrophysics. In 1668 Sir Isaac Newton realised substituting mirrors in telescopes rather than using aluminium, whereby the image is distorted regardless of its form would resolve chromatic aberration. Achromatism (Chromatic distortion) is a form of distortion whereby the lens or reflector for that cannot focus all the colours to the same convergence. The scientist realised that by arching mirrors rather than lens in telescopes the integrity of the natural light can be controlled and maintained, than it being refracted. Kapoor’s relationship with light through mediums is that he is confident; he is the first to exploit reflective materials so theatrically, in art as a performance. The rebirth of artistic designs simply comes naturally to me. Throughout, my intermediate studies, fine art became progressively dominant in my life. The ability to give life to 2-D structures and cinematic views in paintings, through the manipulation of colours and brush strokes. Now in my advanced studies I’m transferring and transforming my passion physically to generate fluent, sensuous forms. The inspiration behind the pictured 1:1 reading module in term 1, project 03 was rebellion and deviation. I see myself as an unconventional artist; I wanted to create a structure that supported the brief; to create a multi-purpose reading module with a specific function; using harsh, fixed lines in a permanent, stationary arrangement. I manipulated 0.8 mm plywood veneer, by warping around fixed points to generate a series of nests for which interlock and tension each other to provide enough stability to store books; for reading and studying. In ways, Kapoor and myself are not too different, the amalgamation of art and architecture to create sculptural forms for a non-specific context and deviation from conventional design. In conclusion, Kapoor uses his cultural identity in his work, as a language for which he communicates to the viewer in his work. His architectural recollections of admiring the crescent shrines and tetragonal temples on the streets of Mumbai as a child spearheaded his earlier works, ‘1000 names’. In these works, he realises his relationship with Hinduism and spirituality. He expresses this through symbolism in his forms and the ceremonious arrangement of the sculptural forms in his studio. In the 90s we witnessed a transition into wall art rather than surface performances and non- site specific objects, much of which he called ‘non- objects’, for its non-
functional use. The designer also, begins to portray his sexuality in his works, through his appropriation of the female being. In ‘Mother as a mountain’ and the ‘When I am Pregnant’ series, the forms are presented to the viewer as ambiguous symbols, but retaining small clues as to his true intentions and meanings. What is most notable about the ‘When I am Pregnant’ series is that Kapoor talks in first person; he becomes the being, in order to appreciate the beauty of parturition. As the sculptor famously quotes himself; “It is my role to bring expression, let’s say, to define means that allow phenomenological and other perceptions which one might use, one might work with, and the move towards a poetic experience”. (Anish Kapoor)
Bibliography ed. R Genn, ed.a. Shawn Jackson (2001) Anish Kapoor; Art Quotes: The painter’s Keys Resource of Art Quotations, (Online), Available: http://artquotes.robertgenn.com/auth_search.php?authid=6186 (27 Dec 2001). H.K. Bhabha (A.F Rothenberg) (1998) Anish Kapoor; ‘Elusive Objects’: Anish Kapoor’s Fissionary Art, publisher: Royal Academy of Arts, London (2009) G. Celant (1996) Anish Kapoor; ‘Artist as Sacerdos’, ‘The Garden of Origins’, publisher: Thames and Hudson (1996) L. Cooke (1986) Anish Kapoor; Anthology: ‘Mnemic Migrations’: publisher: Royal Academy of Arts, London (2009) Fig.1: Anish Kapoor; (1975) ‘Untitled’, (Online), Available: http://anishkapoor.com/262/Untitled.html
Fig.2: Anish Kapoor; (1977)‘Eternal Bonds’, (Online), Available: http://anishkapoor.com/261/Eternal-Bonds.html R. Crone & A.V. Stosche (2008), Anish Kapoor; ‘Considering Object and Subject in Space’, publisher; Prestel Verlag, Munich, Berlin. Hayward Publishing, Southbank Centre, London (2011), Anish Kapoor; Flashback Arts Council Collection, ‘Chronology’ (2009), Anish Kapoor; Shooting Into The Corner, ‘Aggression And Beauty’, ed. B.M.Busse; ‘Mythologies in the making’, Anish Kapoor in conversation with Nicholas Baume in: Anish Kapoor, Past, Present, Future, publisher; MIT Press: Cambridge, Mass, pp. 39, (2008) Publisher; MAK, Applied arts | Contemporary Art, Wien, Austria Sooke. A (2010) ‘The rise & rise of Anish Kapoor Inc.’, The Telegraph, 4 April, p.1 J. Gaddis (2002) The Landscape of History; ‘How historians Map the past, Oxford Oxfordshire: Oxford University press, Vaughan p.65, Murray 2004, p.338. Boele et al (2008) Caspar David Friedrich and the German Romantic Landscape, Amsterdam: Hermitage Amsterdam Fig.3: Anish Kapoor (1980)‘1000 Names’, (Online), Available: http://cinemadiscourse.com/cultural/?p=800 Fig.4: Anish Kapoor (1980)‘1000 Names’, 1979-1980 - mixed media and pigment , (Online), Available: http://likeafieldmouse.com/post/23848005873/anish-kapoor-1-000-names-1979-1980-mixed Fig.5: Anish Kapoor (1980)‘1000 Names’, 1979-1980 - mixed media and pigment , (Online), Available: http://likeafieldmouse.com/post/23848005873/anish-kapoor-1-000-names-1979-1980-mixed Fig.6: Anish Kapoor (1980)‘1000 Names’, (Online), Available: http://c4gallery.com/artist/database/anish-kapoor/anishkapoor-interview-1000-names.html N.Howes (2009) Anish Kapoor; Flashback: From the Arts Council Collection Exhibition Guide, Exhibitions, Manchester Art Gallery (Online), Available: http://www.manchestergalleries.org/whats- on/exhibitions/index.php? itemID=77&tab=related J. D. Ebert (2013) ‘Anish Kapoor’, ed. J. D. Ebert and J Lobell (Online), Available: http://cinemadiscourse.com/cultural/?p=800 De Pont, ‘Anish Kapoor’, Tilburg, Netherlands (Online), Available: http://www.depont.nl/en/collection/artists/moreinformation/kunstenaar/kapoor/info/ Fig.7: Anish Kapoor; (1980)‘When I am pregnant, 1992 and Sister piece of When I am pregnant, 2005 (Online), Available: http://www.studiointernational.com/index.php/anish-kapoor-artist-of-smoke-air-and-space/ Fig.8: Anish Kapoor; (1980)‘Non Object, Spire, 2007’ (Online) Available: http://iacobbogdan.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/non-object-spire1.jpg
2000 ThinkQuest Team, ‘Freud’s Approach to Dreams’, (Online), Available: http://library.thinkquest.org/C005545/english/dream/freud.htm The Royal Parks and The Serpentine Gallery (2011) Anish Kapoor; Turning the World Upside Down, Koenig Books, Kensington, London