Museum Musings

They made themselves Masters of their medium. Quite often breaking away from time tested academic techniques. Almost always allowing their instincts and their hearts to rule over the head thus allowing their souls to speak.The viewer would learn to see the world differently only after the exhilarating experience that the exposure to such artworks brings.

One can almost feel the breeze that moves the branches in Van Gogh’s cypress trees, hear the ripples in the water that reflect Monet’s water lilies, feel the softness of the luminous silk dresses in Sargent’s paintings, understand human muscular strength in Rodin’s sculptures or even sense the flow of lines, shapes and colour in a Mondrian abstract.

An elite and renowned educational institution that I visited in the US recently, has seen scores of its alumni reach phenomenal heights in their chosen occupations over the centuries. It has within its premises, a Museum consisting of and showcasing invaluable artworks that its alumni have donated. I would never have donated this! Don’t they know the value of it? Thoughts that were crossing my excited mind were just that - thoughts. Frivolous thoughts. Probably the unsaid yearning to be forever close to at least some of the unbelievably iconic works of art that I was looking at and walking past, wall after wall. Paintings that even a layman would somehow find familiar. Artworks that draw the viewer into them and hold them there. Each one of them magically capable of filling the room all by themselves. Created by people who had devoted themselves to the pursuit of portraying their unique vision to canvas in the way they thought right. In the medium they thought allowed for their perfect expression, be it canvas, paper, stone, clay, bronze or photographs.

Of course the alumni know the value of it in money terms. Does it compare to the value of the education that they received within the portals of their alma mater? How does one put a value on such things? Not always by attaching tags to items with numbers and currency symbols. But expressing the emotion of gratitude, sometimes, by making a visible and satisfying contribution. An effort to add value and respect to both - the educational institution and art.

Visits to museums and galleries bring about an urge to understand the mind of artists and seek a view into their journey. Were Master artists put on this planet with special gifts beyond those given to lesser mortals? Most often ‘No’. All we now see is the final product, and that too after she / he has tasted success and is considered an ‘Artist’. The years of toil, experimentation, failure and rejection get hidden behind the screen of glamour and fame. Some of the great Masters did not have a formal art education.

All one needs to be is a student of the arts. Hard work, never give up attitude, relentless efforts and focus - success in any field is made up of the same ingredients. And 1% luck - thats all! And Luck has no choice but to follow sincerity in purpose!

I find these stories inspiring and energising. Every story makes me want to do one more painting, to try something new without fear of ridicule, and to believe in myself a little more. I wish the same for you too. The idea behind the Master Artists’ stories is to create small doses of pleasurable moments of joy and positivity in every issue. Happy reading!

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This article was published in the Indian Art centric Newspaper Colour Canvas in Sept 2018