ART FOR ART, ART FOR LIFE

Written by: Niyati Visal

(Niyati is a 2nd winner of Samvaad Essay Competition - Senior Group, April, 2020)

A common dilemma most artists face! In our art world, you can either be a “full-time” artist and get caught in this dilemma or be a “part-time” artist and miss out on the magic and madness of fully immersing yourself in art. As diverse the purposes of art are to the world, so are they to each individual.

Art has entertained us and lifted our spirits, helped some recover from disease and driven some to insanity, showered a few with fame and wealth and dragged some into misery. It has stirred the society and also stirred the individual. It has been a tool of worship and has been worship in itself. In a world, where art is omnipresent, how can we put art in a box and put a label on it?

Life reveals itself to us in phases - aiming to reach “kaivalya” or spiritual solitude. Art presents itself in layers or filters, adhering to its audience’s diverse needs and finally becoming one with the divine. Every ‘rasika’ gets filtered through each layer of art (commercial,classical,semi-classical) according to their capacity. By the time, art reaches its ultimate stage, few of its audience remain with it. Similar might be the journey of the artist as well, exploring these various layers and ultimately finding peace somewhere.

The purpose of art in an artist’s life is also driven by ego. Art is selfless but the artist is selfish. The practice of art feeds our mind and soul but the praise and recognition subconsciously feeds our ego. “Will I as sincerely practice my art as I’m doing now even if not a single person views it for the rest of my life?” One should ask oneself. Probably that’s why we do not find signatures of artists on many miniature paintings and very few temple sculptures mention names of sculptors.

Therefore, art for art or art for life, the answers come from within. If your art is a barter for the pleasures of the outer self then art is definitely for life. Then it is interactive, community bonding, helpful to others, contributive to the economy, revolutionary and unifying. 

If art has to be for art, it has to be innocent. Like a baby who dances when it hears music, sings to itself and scribbles on walls. It is complete in itself.

Can art be for both, life and art? Masterpieces aren’t just those that are hung in famous galleries or presented in renowned theatres. A movement of honesty and grace in a rehearsal room and a sketch on the last page of diary are also masterpieces in their own right.

As we grow as artists and individuals, life spins a cocoon around us with its responsibilities, tragedies, principles, relationships and happinesses. But that way, isn’t every artist a little caterpillar inside their own cocoon with a potential to emerge as a butterfly, not for the world to notice but for themselves to fly and breathe the fresh air?