Shankar

“My realization as an artist” At the very outset I express my ardent feelings of joy and pride that I have been born here in this land of living as a human being. To me the mother earth appears to be a blue planet which is traversing its path in the orbit as if a magician is wielding his magic wand. The vastness of the cosmos, the expanse of the universe present myriads of cosmic mysteries which bewilder us with be benumbed serenity. We men, appear here like a microcosm in a microcosm. Our imagination practically shudders to think of the celestial elements operating in the whole cosmos. We, with all our combined strength, pomp and memificience, pride and luster, culture and civilization, attainments and glories, appear to be quite insignificant elements in the cosmic world. Yet man has his achievements, qualities of head and heart, power of inventions, intelligence of superior nature, and above all the power of realization of his true self have helped him to be a supreme being in the whole animal kingdom. Inventions and discoveries are the two legs which have helped man to achieve success in life. Aided by his consciousness and the power of realization man has been able to make much stride in the path of civilization. His colorful career, his uniting fighting spirit, his tremendous struggle for existence has made him capable of winning against all odds in life. A part from this man’s continuous efforts to express himself in various ways have also given birth to numerous media and channels to convey to others his feelings and ideas, thoughts and imagination. When in repose I think about these and go on concentrating on these manifold means of expressions, I become vigorously charged with emotions to express myself in my modest way, accepting a role of creative artist. Art to me is a means of offering my oblations to the great creator with this attitude I devote myself to create pieces of art like drawing and painting. My continuous efforts, sincere dedication to my creative abilities all are prompting me to look at the world in a colorful manner. Nature presents multifarious colors, sounds, hues, contours, pitches, numerous varieties. All elements of nature maintain harmony, rhythm and melodies which make the entire world a source of great wonder. From the very early period of my life, I cherished a long desire to be a part of this creative world and engage myself whole heartedly in a creative and constructive field of activity. So when the opportunities came my way. I took up the challenge to prove my worth as an artist committed to create pieces of exceptional variety of art. In and through my work I wish to bring solace to the suffering people, inspire people to bear with the hardship of the daily life, feel quite contented to win over the troubles, difficulties and hazards that come our ways of living I presume to be a faithful follower of joyful art in life. I feel myself gratified to share the feelings with others in the society. I have particular frame of mind which loves to stand up to the challenges coming out of the ills and evils of the society. The fear elements, the dark sides, the wrongs and misdeeds that endanger the lives of the people all make me so moved that I prefer to protest against these social evils of course. I still believe in the intrinsic goodness in man and hope to exploit these humane qualities through my works. A piece of art be an instrument of bringing in changes in man’s life in his mentality and also in his attitude and their lies the success of a piece of real art. The very life force of a picture is the message it carries to the people. “A thing of beauty is a joy forever” says poet Keats. This is a universal truth. I also like to emphasize on two aspects one that evokes hopes and aspirations and make people rejuvenated by looking at a piece of art and the other is the glaring protest against the ills and evils that bring disaster to the people. Those from whom I apprehend some dangers that make me somewhat perturbed, they quite unconsciously get involved and in prude my pictures and thereby make me more critical about the wrong doers. I believe such picture would draw the attention of the people. Another remarkable feature is depiction on the canvas. Here is an example --- If the upper part of a canvas reaming white another lower part is made black, the middle part becomes usually ‘gray’ (color things mixing) In our society we also find the white part it is not tarnished in any way. People belonging to this part enjoy some blissful living. Whereas those who live in dark or black part, they also enjoy life in a manner that may not be called fair and healthy. Most people fall in the gray areas for this living and keeping their existence as civilized being. In the present times a trend is being observed that a group of creative people is adopting or following ‘Installation’ as a medium to express their ideas. Some are using waste materials and low cost materials to create new things which are also becoming pretty interesting and in this way they are trying to reach people with their piece of work this has become a popular means of influencing people in a different manner. In my opinion, medium may differ but the works must bear the testimony of eternal elements of truth beauty and goodness as well as joy and happiness. Only then the piece of art would last long and also appeal to the people’s heart. My mother earth is now passing through many an unwanted natural catastrophic phases. Global warming is one such threat. Indiscriminate uses of natural products degenerating environments through pollution, advent of incurable diseases unscrupulous use of atomic weapons all present and create a disastrous atmosphere. To come out of these we need most is better fellow feeling among nations which are powerful; we adhere to higher order values of living, ideals of peaceful coexistence and cordial relationship. All glories of our mother planet would be saved if we all stand together and help each other if we all stand together and help each other to do away with the impending dangers. Gautam Paul

B. V. A. Passed in the year 1989 from the Govt. College of Art & Craft, under University of Calcutta.