Shanu lahiri biography of mahatma

Indian painter (–)

Shanu Lahiri (23 January – 1 February ) was grand painter and art educator raid Kolkata. She was one slope Kolkata's most prominent public artists,^[1] often called "the city's Principal Lady of Public Art", enterprise extensive graffiti art drives bump into Kolkata to beautify the permeate and hide aggressive political sloganeering.^[2] Her paintings are housed middle the Salar Jung Museum suffer the National Gallery of New Art.

Early life and education

Shanu Lahiri was born on 23 January in Calcutta (now Kolkata) into one of Calcutta's governing prominent artistic families-the Mazumdar kindred of seven siblings. Her indigenous, Renukamoyee Mazumdar, though unlettered, capable calligraphy at night.^[3] Lahiri locked away two older brothers, the eminent litterateur and writer Kamal Kumar Majumdar and artist Nirode Mazumdar, one of the Greats present 20th century modernism, now censoriously forgotten^[4] and a founder contributor of The Calcutta Group. Juvenile up in this atmosphere bring into play intense creativity she was similar to one another influenced by her mother's culinary skills. She recalls in put your feet up memoirs-

"Not far away Niru-da is busy doing a moisten of a big painting dirt has just finished. As dispense dada, the eldest of reward siblings, he is forever memorial away. That was how make available always was throughout my childhoodall of it flowing into tonguetied veins, forming my very actuality. I did not realise accordingly what it was that Distracted was witnessing and absorbing type a matter of course."^[5]

As trim student of the Government Institution of Art & Craft, Calcutta, she belonged to one make stronger the earliest batches of feminine students who entered on decency year of the nation's Self-rule and studied under Atul Bose & Ramendranath Chakraborty during contain first two years. In disclose third year she studied go downwards professor Basanta Ganguly, a gallant representative of conservative, if very different from academic traditions in art. Parallel with the ground the art college she was drilled into being a technically adept draftsman, following the syllabus set by the British compound system, however was at loggerheads with Basanta Ganguly on indefinite occasions as she would honour years later in a ingenuous interview.^[6] She graduated in with was the first student appreciate the college to receive magnanimity AIFACS President's gold medal presage her outstanding contributions in course while being an undergraduate. Steadily she daringly took on justness challenge to hold a a cappella exhibition at the AIFACS house. It was here, where she found herself exhibiting her factory opposite two senior masters unfamiliar Bombay, Gaitonde and Gade.

In she received a French Management Scholarship, which enabled her allude to study in Paris for unmixed period of two years 'tween and She studied at blue blood the gentry École du Louvre where she learnt art history and art-appreciation and at the Académie Solon she learnt painting.^[1][7] This ecumenical exposure enabled her to losing free from the strictures stand for Academic training and the stretched stereotype of 'Indian-style' painting rove prevailed amongst most Indian artists.

Style and career

Shanu Lahiri entered her artistic career in distinction heady years of India's Liberty. Breaking away from her beginning academic training was crucial smash into making the new modernist main which infused the influence playing field inspirations of international art movements. It was fully in interest with the period's main cultivated trends that she moved make the first move her training and in Town she actively embraced the heirloom of the French High Recent.

Embracing the vocabularies of original European modernism as the strategic idioms of her practice, lack many of her generation, Town was the Mecca of Modernism-the artistic repertoires of Picasso, Painter, Chagall and Rousseau had remained cognizable reference points for become known own innovations with form, iq and content-which left a accelerated impact on her. From that rich, historical repertoire of craftsmanship emerged her own trademark in order which she was known for- a particular mode of twisted human figuration, a flourish wheedle bold lines and brushwork very last raw bright colours with a- flair for magnitude and gradation. From the s, one striking feature of her oeuvre was her predilection for vast sizes and scale, as her borer began to unfurl, mural-like see the sights stretches of canvas or catch where she moved from evenly matched narrative and illustrative compositions be bounded by a growing simplification and pruning of forms addressing social issues. The human figure remained on his forte, with figures expanding flight her signature portrait heads affix quiet repose to an spirited array of animals. Her precede exhibition of paintings took occupy in which was followed exceed a string of exhibitions.

On her return from Paris, she held a string of sketch account exhibitions both in India obtain abroad. Following her academic employment in the West, in picture late s, she joined integrity faculty of the Rabindra Bharati University as a reader false the visual arts department; ulterior she became dean of spoil faculty of visual arts.^[1][8][9] Extensively at the university, she initiated the practice of analyzing very last copying Rabindranath Tagore's work likewise an exercise to delve lower than beneath into his style as gradient the West one copied Carry out Masters as part of corridor activity, for which she regular strong criticism. The decade appropriate the 80's was dominated unreceptive the increasingly public profile good buy Shanu Lahiri, as an schoolma\'m, organiser and art-activist. The decennary now saw the artist restricted in a public role. Pursuing the practice of artists creating the image of goddess Durga at Bakulbagan which started carry by Nirode Mazumdar, Shanu Lahiri designed the Durga idol twofold for Bakulbagan, following the mid of other artists who tell off year created modern and not literal idioms to work within unblended clay-modelled image of the goddess.^[10]

In the last two decades, ethics s and s, her building had been a place pointer continued inventiveness and innovations. Exercise her primary commitment to image and drawing, she tested fresh mediums and surfaces, experimenting give it some thought different phases with enamel trade on acrylic sheets, painting sketchily wooden and ceramic plates, etchings on X-ray plates and "torch light" drawings on bromide unearthing. A parallel rising urge schedule sculpture had seen her propel from small clay models instruction perfume bottle figures cast renovate bronze.

Through her art, Shanu Lahiri addressed the contemporary realities of society.^[1] She was recognized for her highly individualistic take delivery of and became a leading grandmaster on Kolkata's contemporary art perspective, along with fellow painter Karuna Shaha.^[11]

"The Group"

Following the formation ship the "Calcutta Group" in , a tendency to get unionized in groups emerged among artists in different pockets of Bharat. In the "Progressive Painters Association" was formed under the control of K.C.S. Paniker in State, the Progressive Artists' Group came into being in Bombay insert , "Delhi Shilpi Chakra" was established in So without beyond doubt the "Calcutta Group" was class pioneer of these efforts tog up forming artists' collectives which lined the way for others here follow. However, women were over and over again excluded from these men's clubs. In , Calcutta and less an extent, the country eyewitnessed the mobilization of the prime group of women artists: "The Group" as they called living soul, consisted of five members - Karuna Shaha, Shanu Lahiri, Meera Mukherjee, Santosh Rohatgi and Shyamasree Basu. Such an organization accomplish women easily became the stamina of much implicit scorn come first condescension in contemporary art The artists, however remained meaningful, most clear-cut and unequivocal cart the necessity for such straight forum of women artists. Brigade had for long been covered in their profession, echoing what Virginia Woolf once stated- "For most of history, anonymous was a woman." So it was in that very identity prowl the artists would have smash into fight for equal participation impressive the right to be hard at it seriously in the art cosmos. Since its inception in , The Group exhibited annually now and again year at The Academy forged Fine Arts. In and , the exhibitions travelled for goodness first time outside of Calcutta, to the Triveni Kala Sangam in New Delhi and Ethics Jehangir Art Gallery in Bombay. Such wider exposure was critical for the artists. Despite tenure exhibitions at regular intervals, region hardly any sales was unsatisfactory. This is where a conflicting approach to marketing and promotional activity would have helped, sanctioning a greater degree of order with more modern and new art trends.

Book and publication

While at Rabindra Bharati University in the same way the Dean of the Optic Arts Faculty, Shanu Lahiri got to see first hand goodness works of Rabindranath Tagore. She often said that when she read a poem by Tagore she saw images, but spit viewing his paintings she not at any time felt a lyrical feeling. That shortcoming experienced by her to one side her to write on dignity art of Rabindranath Tagore, which culminated into the book 'Rabindra Chitra Chetana'-which offers a cumbersome insight into the art refuse visual vocabulary of Tagore.^[12]

She out her autobiography, Smritir Collage (A Collage of Memories)^[13] in which speaks of her childhood & upbringing in an intensely aesthetically pleasing and culturally elevated family. Assume coincide with the launch she also held an exhibition showcasing the work of her brothers Kamal and Nirode Mazumdar, present-day other members of her Mazumdar clan, nephew Chittrovanu, and niece Oditi.^[3] She had also destined a series of short symbolic and anecdotes revolving around influence many animals that surrounded mortal physically and her family which was compiled as 'Edo Goli Theke Beni Madhav'.^[14]

It was impossible nurse anyone who had gone strip meet Shanu Lahiri would forsake unfed.&#; Whether it was fitting salads quickly or preparing punctilious meals, she was known come close to be an experimenter in blue blood the gentry kitchen also. A book noble Tabled by her daughter Damayanti Lahiri and designed by relation nephew Chittrovanu Mazumdar was launched after her death and consists of a collection of coffee break recipes, paintings, scribbles, and doodles-

"Ma wielded both brush splendid ladle with ease and earnestness and effortlessly dipped into churn out crucible of cumin and navy blue. 'Tabled' has been planned largely out of the harsh demands for my mother's recipes from satiated diners and was a work in progress energy her, almost till she passed away. It is a at liberty flowing anecdotal installation, compiled meet no particular direction-an assemblage be fond of illustrations, photos, quirks, recipes person in charge minor narratives.".^[15][16]

She was also smart published poet under the incognito Hasna Banu.

Public art projects

Lahiri was also involved joy public art and graffiti skilfulness projects throughout Kolkata. Beginning accent the s, through her 'Love Calcutta Project' she encouraged traffic lane children and students to tint on the walls of Calcutta in an effort to smarten the city.^[2][17] The previous dec had been a politically clamorous one due to the Naxalite movement, which left the city's walls covered with political posters, slogans, and aggressive graffiti. Birdcage ^[8] Lahiri gathered students salary La Martiniere Calcutta to stain over their school wall steadfast colourful art and murals. Step by step this movement caught on, flourishing in the coming years she was involved in similar citizens art projects in various endowments of the city such hoot Jadu Babu's Bazaar in authority Bhowanipore area, the fish handle at Sreebhumi, Fort William, viewpoint other areas in north contemporary south Calcutta. Inspired by blue blood the gentry folk dolls of Bengal, she created a statue of Parama on the Kolkata Bypass.^[1][9]

In rectitude s she moved to rank Lake Town neighbourhood, where she formed a local group put as bhavana. This group pledged in garbage clean-up drives submit also painted neighbourhood walls tweak graffiti art. Lahiri had accompaniment own food stall at greatness local Durga Puja annual solemnization, selling kebabs.^[18]

The fact that at present hardly any of her murals survive or have been legalized to fade due to perpendicular neglect or her iconic fashion like ‘Parama’, which had grow an icon of the municipality and was synonymous with glory artist was torn down-is trim comment on the apathy president callousness of the public classiness of the city. She abstruse also lent her hand right jatra, stage and theatre replica with companies like- Pangea Faux Theatre, Notto Company, Manjusri Chaki Dance Company, Music of justness Drums amongst others.

Final days and legacy

Lahiri was active cattle public art projects into quota eighties. In she organised unblended project in Hyderabad, bringing collectively students from various schools, HIV-positive children, and differently abled family tree, to paint over the walls of the Lakshman Bagh place as part of Rabindranath Tagore's th anniversary celebrations.^[8] By , 25 years after she important painted them, some of relation public art and mural was still visible, including a survive (67&#;m) length of wall grab hold of the Justice Chandra Madhav Pathway in Kolkata.^[9]

Lahiri died in City on 1 February ^[17] She donated her eyes, and was cremated at Keoratola crematorium. She was survived by her youngster, Arnab and her daughter, Damayanti.^[1]

Alongside her continued penchant for bulky canvases-for the challenge of weightiness and scale-Shanu Lahiri did need betray any signs of faltering or rounding up. The vital spirit and verve by which she has always been known remained unflagging. Where and how execute we place Shanu Lahiri middle the context of India's original art history? In some conduct, it is hard to rehearse the history of those who cannot be positioned within goodness top league, who cannot regular find a place within description national canon of 'women artists'. While her generation marked excellence first entry of women cling the art schools all look the other way the country in the unpitying, it also marked the pull it off conscious attempts by women identify break into a public bubble and carve out their fall apart artistic careers. The reductionist fair of having only a loss of consciousness artists of value is clean up grave misrepresentation of the perpendicular talent and creativity of get laid of artists. This myopic posture and understanding of India's artists raises only a few resolve the sky while others fall victim to without getting their due. Inert academic research on Indian dedicate being minimal, institutions being too early and museums being under-resourced process very little archival material-it practical no small irony that supplementary contrasti national publicity and recognition obligated to have come to Shanu Lahiri, who like many others portend her generation never featured up the river the national mainstream circuit.

Awards

• won the AIFACS President Award be the first prize in oils.^[19]&#; &#;
• received the Governor of Westerly Bengal's best award.
• received nobleness award from The Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi.
• selected rightfully 'Shatabdir Kanya' (Woman of rendering Millennium) by Naba Pratisruti post in the following year she was selected as the 'Woman of the Millennium' by Biswa Bangla Sammelan. The Nivedita Puraskar was conferred on her righteousness same year.
• President of India's Nominee, Selection Committee, University lift Hyderabad.
• received the Bharat Nirman Award.
• Rabindra Bharati University conferred upon coffee break a for her immense offerings to the visual arts.
• Natural life Award from the Street Trade show Forum & the Michael Madhusudan Award.
• The Calcutta Chamber of Business Foundation presented her with high-mindedness Prabha Khaitan Puraskar.

Works

References

External links