Arpana Caur

Radhika Singh talks to Arpana Caur in Delhi about her work inspirations and more.

Can you go back to your earlier days…when did you begin painting?
I think my mother was responsible for my childhood dabbles in art. She is a writer and has won the Sahitya Akademi Award for her novel 'Khana Badhosh' (Homeless). She introduced me to several forms of art, including dancing and playing...

Radhika Singh talks to Arpana Caur in Delhi about her work inspirations and more.

Can you go back to your earlier days…when did you begin painting?
I think my mother was responsible for my childhood dabbles in art. She is a writer and has won the Sahitya Akademi Award for her novel 'Khana Badhosh' (Homeless). She introduced me to several forms of art, including dancing and playing the sitar (a musical instrument); but of course, I chose to paint. I remember I sold my first paining for Rs 1000, and everyone thought it was a fortune! In 1979, I had my first exhibition in London.

Was it tough breaking into the international art arena?
Yes, extremely tough. Indian contemporary art was largely marginalised, like everything else Indian. This was, of course, 20 years ago. Now things have changed, and that's also due to the efforts of Indian art lovers who live abroad.
I was really thrilled when the Victoria & Albert Museum, London acquired my painting from the series, 'In Vrindavan'. I wouldn't say that was one of my best works, but it really made me happy.

Your work has women as the central subject matter. In fact, you are known as a 'feminist painter'. How do react to this?
I agree that women dominate my work. But the women in my paintings are sturdy, women you see in your homes or your neighbourhood. There is no hint of sexuality. Women and nature are both symbiotically tied in a circle. I believe women represent the latent force, which has not been explored properly even today. They can counter the challenges of industralisation and extreme urbanisation. Inherently, they have a power to renew and regenerate.

What have been your inspirations?
Different things at different times. I have been greatly influenced by my mother, who nurtured my talent. She brought me up as a single parent, and she still shelters me, whenever I need her. I have also been influenced by Punjabi literature: that of Krishna Sobti, Amrita Pritam and my own mother's works.
In some of my work, I have tried to capture contemporary Indian society. Like the 'In Vrindavan' series which had paintings of the Vrindavan widows, then the 'World Goes On' series which I did after the anti-Sikh riots in Delhi. I try to see that my work is rooted in contemporary India. But I have also used folk art motifs in some of my work like Warli (folk art form of Maharashtra) motifs of harvest and the Godhana paintings of tribals from Madhubani in Bihar.

What made you adapt folk motifs?
To go back…for almost six years I worked with Madhubani artist Sat Narain Pande, and we had an exhibition that had work that juxtaposed folk and tribal art. I think that was the first time a folk and contemporary artist had worked together. We wanted to represent modern India where two times, two eras and two cultures co-exist.
There is one India, where the industrial and the agrarian coexist, where both Bhagat Singh and Mahatma Gandhi have their relevance, where women are worshipped as devis but are put to the hardest labour in a male-dominated society.
At one time, I have even used the Pahari miniatures in some of my work. Their strange, linear architecture fascinated me, along with their vibrant colours. I too use a lot of vibrant colours.

But aren't most contemporary artists contemptuous of folk art?
See, for me, working with folk artists was also a means of re-forging links with our traditional arts that have got marginalised over the years. Let's not forget that the folk art produced by the peasants formed the backbone of India's resistance to colonial rule.
Even Picasso borrowed heavily from African art, and other artists' criticism of folk art doesn't make any difference to me, really. I not only use folk art but even pay the artists and acknowledge their contribution to my works.

You seem to thrive on metaphors, from using the scissors, which u have used in a wide variety of works, to using an extended hand. What made you use the scissors as a metaphor, for instance?
I needed a metaphor for time. The Greeks believe that scissors have the power to cut Man's fate that is in a state of perpetual suspension. So I thought let me use the scissors. Now if anyone sees a pair of scissors, they refer to it as Arpana's scissors. (laughs)