Journey of the Lightning, its Creator and the Progressive Movement

Foreword

MARGUERITE CHARUGUNDLA

Lightning was created in 1975, during a very controversial period in India’s history, to be the backdrop of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s Emergency speech. Given the short time frame that Husain had to complete the work, it was titled Lightning, because it came about in a flash. The masterpiece was made up of twelve massive panels with ten wild, white horses charging through an open space. The depth in the painting is captured by coloristic blues and greens that go from dark to light following the progression of horses. Husain’s striking black lines that outline the horses stand out juxtaposed against the whites of their bodies. They resemble his billboard style, so that anyone viewing the work either up-close or from afar could see it in its full glory. Husain painted a nuclear crown above the head of a foal in a red semicircle, a red tank at war, and a bushel of wheat rising behind the last horse in the flock as a sign of the nuclear era, the Partition, and agriculture in India. The painting included depictions of family planning, farmers and their families, and a builder with an axe in hand. The work portrayed the political climate of the time in India post-separation. Maqbool Fida Husain, commonly referred to as the “Picasso of India,” was born on September 17, 1915 in Pandharpur in Maharashtra, India. M.F. Husain was a self-taught artist living on the meagre funds he received from painting Bollywood movie posters. In 1935, he began to receive formal training at the J.J. School of Art in Mumbai. He applied the modernist concepts of Matisse and Cezanne to create masterpieces that portrayed Indian life in society. He began to garner national and international recognition in the 1940s. In 1947, he co-founded the Progressive Artists’ Group (PAG) with five others. The six founding artists of the PAG were F.N. Souza, S.H. Raza, K.H. Ara, H.A. Gade, S.K. Bakre and M.F. Husain, whose operations were based in Bombay (Mumbai). Each artist brought a unique style influenced by European modernists, which allowed different perspectives and influences in their art as they became globally renowned. K.H. Ara was mostly involved in female nudes, which raised concerns and criticism in India. He was later guided by the group and started creating astonishing art that shaped India. S.K. Bakre was the only sculptor in PAG. His

works presented the face of India after colonialism and paintings that depicted modern art, which was ahead of its time .1 F. N. Souza (fig. 2) brought a level of expressionism to his works of nudes, human figures, sexuality and religious conflict between Christianity, Buddhism, and Islam. He expressed his feelings concerning the struggle during British colonialism in India. He was an internationally recognized artist. M.F. Husain focused on cubism with scenes involving Indian history and methodology (fig. 3). S.H. Raza represented the nature of India and the relationship between man and nature.2 He also created paintings with geometric abstraction (fig. 4) that usually left off at a bindu, or a point, that he talked about with several of his works of art.3 As Raza was the co-founder of PAG, he was very supportive of the Progressive Artists’ Group movement and he initiated Gade into the group.4 Each PAG artist had his own signature style, which allowed the artists to contribute ideas to one another.

(figure 2) F.N. Souza, Still Life

1 Boundless: India (2011). Available from: www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2018/boundless- india-in1801/lot.28.html 2 Progressive Artists Group (PAG): The artists who revolutionized Modern Indian Art (Oct 15, 2016). Available from: https://asiasociety.org/new-york/exhibitions progressive-revolution-modern- art-new-india 3 Progressive Artists’ Movement. https://www.artsy.net/gene/progressive-artists-movement 4 The Progressive Artists’ Group and Its Impact on Indian Modern Art (April 24, 2017). Available from: https://www.artisera.com/blogs/expressions/the-progressive artists-group-and-its -impact-on- indian-modern-art

(figure 3) M.F. Husain, High Tea, 1985, from the Raj Series Published in the book by Sumathi Ramaswamy titled, Husain’s Raj: Visions of Empire and Nation (pages 98, 99)

(figure 4) S.H. Raza, Untitled

The group aimed to break free from the nationalist Bengal school of art and take Indian art to a global level. A new movement started when the group encouraged Indian avant-garde artists of all skill levels to reclaim their freedom of expression through a global perspective, similar to European modernists. The PAG was also known as the Magnificent Six and Modern Artists of India. The group was formed after Partition.

The founding members believed that India required a revolution to achieve their common goal of independent art, just as India gained political independence from Britain.5 During this time, only the art institutions governed by Britain held exhibitions, allowing them to dominate the market and control Indian art. The two institutions were the Government College of Art & Craft, Calcutta and the Bombay Art Society.6 The PAG sought to allow artists control over their technique and content. Souza, the leading member, and his team worked closely with the Progressive Writers’ Movement in rejecting the monopoly of these institutions, which gave them the title “Progressive Artists’ Group.” Many other artists such as Ram Kumar, Krishen Khanna, V.S. Gaitonde, and Tyeb Mehta, later joined the group. Kumar was known for his abstract landscapes, usually in oil or acrylic (fig. 5), and Khanna is known for gestural style and thick impasto surfaces (fig. 6). While Gaitonde’s works are known for evoking subliminal depths, with plain, large surfaces with paint layered that subtly characterize his work (fig. 7), Mehta’s work was characterized by matt surfaces, diagonal lines and images of anguish (fig. 8).

5 The Progressive Revolution: Modern Art for a New India (Sep 14, 2018). Available from: www.eikowa.com/blog/progressive-artists-group-pag-the-sextet-of-artists- that- incited-an-artistic- revolution-in-post-independence-india 6 The Legacy of the Progressive Artists Group and the Importance of Secularism in India (2018). Available from: https://frieze.com/article/legacy-progressive-artists-group-and-importance-secularism-india

(figure 6) Krishen Khanna, Dusk Exhibited at the Queens Museum 2016, After Midnight:

Indian Modernism to Contemporary India, 1947–1997

(figure 5) Ram Kumar, Figurative

(figure 7) V.S. Gaitonde, Untitled Exhibited at Asia Society Museum of NY, The Progressive Revolution: Modern Art for a New India, 2018–2019

(figure 8) Tyeb Mehta, Untitled (Lovers) from the Diagonal Series

Exhibited at Asia Society Museum of NY, The Progressive Revolution: Modern Art for a New India, 2018–2019 Exhibited at the Queens Museum 2016, After Midnight: Indian Modernism to Contemporary India, 1947–1997

Akbar Padamsee (fig. 9) and Bal Chhabda (fig. 10) did not join the PAG but were very connected to the group. Padamsee’s works range from figurative to non-objective. His expressions of form, volume,

space, time and color can be seen in many of his works as can be seen in his painting Joker (fig. 9). He aided in shaping the perception of art in India and as they gained global traction. Bal Chhabda, a self-taught artist who lived in Mumbai, began painting in oils in the late 1950s. He was famously adverse to both the market and publicity. His works were mostly in oil, with very bold lines and vibrant colors as can be seen in the Christ Head, Crucifix and the Lady Liberty paintings (figs. 10, 11 and 12).

(figure 9) Akbar Padamsee Joker

(figure 10) Bal Chhabda, Christ Head Exhibited at TamarindArt, 50 Years of Bal Chhabda, a retrospective

(figure 11) Bal Chhabda, Crucifixion Exhibition at Delhi Art Gallery, India’s Rockefeller Artists, New York | Nov 7, 2017–Mar 3, 2018 (page 3)

All works that are illustrated here are from Bal Chhabda’s exhibition at TamarindArt, 50 Years of Bal Chhabda, a retrospective of the artist in New York in 2006. (figure 12) Bal Chhabda, Lady Liberty Part of the publishing of the exhibition at Delhi Art Gallery, India’s Rockefeller Artists, New York | Nov 7, 2017–Mar 3, 2018 (page 380)

After establishing himself as a prolific and well-known painter within the group, Husain transferred his artistic talents to the film industry. He developed his first film, Through the Eyes of a Painter, in 1962, and premiered it at the Berlin Film Festival figure, known for his eccentric yet iconic lifestyle and artwork. Kent and Marguerite Charugundla were taken with his work, and after acquiring Lightning in 2002, they exhibited the painting for the first time at

where it won a Golden Bear, an award granted to the best film at the festival. Additionally, he created two more movies, entitled Gaja Gamini and Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities. Husain split his time between Dubai, London and New York, but travelled frequently. His work did not stop there, while in Qatar, he worked on three major projects: the history of Arab civilization, the history of Indian civilization, and a celebration of 100 years of Bollywood cinema in 2011.7 As he traveled, he was known for his long white beard, shoeless feet and paintbrush-shaped cane. M.F. Husain was an instantly recognizable

(figure 13),

M.F. Husain, Voyage of Discovery, 2005 Exhibited at TamarindArt, Husain99, 2014.

TamarindArt in 2003. He painted several artworks while he was in New York, including his largest painting, his autobiography, Voyage of Discovery. He created his life’s work in 2005 on a single canvas (fig. 13). The international art community lost one of its most beloved painters on June 9, 2011 when Husain passed away at the age of 95 in London due to complications related to the heart condition he had been battling for nearly two months. M.F. Husain’s legacy and international presence will live on through his exquisite paintings, pencil drawings, watercolors, prints, sculptures and films.

7 M.F. Husain biography: paintings, life history, achievements, facts. Available from: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.culturalindia.net/amp/indian-art/painters/m-f-hussain.html

From the left: Sakina Mehta, Maqbool Fida Husain, Bal Chhabda, and Tyeb Mehta