A search... inward

A PRODUCT OF the College of Arts and Crafts, Kerala-born Viswanadhan today lives and works at Paris, France, though he makes frequent visits to Chennai, as he has now. It was purely by chance that he ended up in Paris. He went there in 1968 to participate in an exhibition and when people showed interest in his work and wished to exhibit them, he stayed on.

Similarly, it was also an accident that led him to venture into making documentary films on the five natural elements. Literally so. He was involved in a road accident in Germany in 1976 and was hospitalised. Tied down to bed, but wanting to get up and go, questions began to arise in his mind; "Who am I? Why am I here?" and so on. He began thinking about his home, his country. His thoughts veered to the coastal areas and all the historically important places such as Porbandar, Bombay, Goa, Cochin and around the peninsula.

It occurred to Viswanadhan then to make a documentary on sand, element of Earth. One led to the other and he completed making films on the other four elements, the last one being on air in 1994. Now, he has completed the shooting on the fifth element - ether or space. The sound has yet to be added and says he, "It is very important, because the evidence of this element is realised only through sound".

Talking about sound, it led to his views on the music and dance scene in Chennai. He has been attending a few programmes and being a sensitive artist, he has some very strong points to make. "Most of the musicians here are very knowledgeable and are expert performers. But why is there a lack of communication between the artiste and the audience? They do not seem to be able to create a sense of space, which is very essential for any art, be it music, dance or painting. The sound of their music does not envelope the listener, it fails to draw the listener into its core; and the amplification?" Viswanadhan shakes his head with a helpless gesture and adds "It chases away the listener, instead of drawing him like a magnet. Besides, why do they want to have such a big microphone so close to the face of the artiste hiding one's face, when very simple modern equipment is available?"

In his view there is no balance between the various elements such as the main artiste, the accompanists etc. He feels that the music of the earlier stalwarts was able to encompass everything around them and hold the attention of the audience, whereas today, there is too much "democracy" on the platform, everyone trying to outdo the other. Besides, he feels that instead of highlighting the most essential feature to make an impact, several unnecessary things are included.

The same lack of balance exists in the cityscape too, he feels; buildings are erected in any style without regard to aesthetic balance, without attention to the character of the city; if Paris is considered beautiful, it is because the city planners have maintained a balance with stress on aesthetic appeal.

On another aspect of these music and dance shows, he observes, "the stage decor is disturbing; the banners of the organisers and sponsors only add to the chaos; when one watches a dance programme, one should be able to discern the line of movement, but the background does not help one to do it; they keep hanging the same dark backdrop."

The five elements make up Nature and also human beings. Space is an essential element on which Viswanadhan's current documentary is based. Like music, painting too has to create a sense of space, thinks Viswanadhan. It is Nature and its colours that have inspired his paintings. Quoting from Gauthamiya/Nyayasastra, he says "The painting is colour. The form is constituted essentially by the earth, water and fire (light). The reality is revealed by the colours. The colours are six in number: white, blue (black), yellow, red, green and brown". These are the colours we find in his abstract works, for which he has his own medium. The pigments are mixed with casein, which is a powder made by drying milk and water. It has a special glow and has been his favourite for years.

"Every time I start a painting, it is like the first time. It is a search, a process of trying to know myself". He further adds, "The painter draws obviously in space. He recounts the colour, the light, the music. The fragments reunite and the torn pieces are reabsorbed in the creation. The contrasts, the contradictions and the harmonies return to the unity; a vibrant and silent surface, the picture".

Viswanadhan decries the attitude of some young artists who try to create what sells. "Once you chase fashion, your passion is lost. Without passion, true art cannot emerge", says this senior artist. He lives in Europe, but his heart is still in India, his sensibilities are still Indian. "The painter needs no longer adore a fallen world, but has to turn himself towards the only source of beauty which remains for him, him alone", says this founder member of the Cholamandal Artists Village, where he still has a house and lives whenever he is in Chennai.

LAKSHMI VENKATRAMAN

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