Dialogue between art and cinema

Monica Arora

As a tribute to 19th century revolutionary photographer Eadweard Muybridge, an art gallery in Delhi presents a multimedia exhibition, Horses in the Air. Eadward has to his credit the rare distinction of photographing a moving horse, wherein he captured the equine locomotion of the majestic animal in all its glory. The trick was to use a series of cameras and each captured the minutest millisecond of the horse’s hooves whether on or off ground resulting in a brilliant series of motion images, which actually can be credited for the genesis of the talkies or the motion picture cinema.

Presented at Vadehra Art Gallery are works by nine prominent artists, each of whom has his or her version on contemporary as well as historical cinema. Using multimedia such as silent motion pictures, watercolours and acrylics on canvas, motion pictures, digital prints and so on, the artists have expressed immense versatility in their rendition of how images and films have undergone a revolution.

Atul Dodiya presents prints on diabond in a set of 40 monochromatic film images juxtaposed with aesthetic drawings dedicated to the Dev Anand- and Nutan-starrer Tere Ghar ke Saamne. The artist is known for being heavily influenced by the quintessential middle class, the man on the streets. Gallerist Arun Vadehra says, “Atul has the uncanny ability to bring together references from art history, politics, popular culture, literature, films and media in a single painting — all coalescing to form complex narratives.”

KM Madhusudhanan showcases History is a Silent Film as well a collection of oils on canvas and charcoal on paper as a tribute to the inimitable Raja Ravi Varma and his usage of mythological references. Born in 1956 in Allapuzha, Kerala, Madhusudhanan deploys both art and cinema to voice concerns pertaining to political and social history.

Nalini Malini uses mixed media on archival paper whilst incorporating references to historical figures such as Gilgamesh, the 3rd century monarch, or the Kashmiri poet Agha Shahid Ali, and most importantly, a camera occupies centrestage in her creations. Karachi-born Nalini Malani lives and works at Bombay and being a child of 1946, experiences of refugees of 1947 form an integral part of her work.

Currently residing in New Delhi, Gigi Scaria was born in Kerala and his art focuses on the narrative of how acute and mindless urbanisation has impacted the populace. Known for his experimentative art, he dabbles in various media. Here, a work by Scaria, is all about migration, uprooting and displacement of people and showcases a horizontal panel of references to nostalgic images. 

Jitish Kallat’s dynamic photographs, some of which even present a 3-dimensional view, are an ode to Mumbai, the city of dreams where millions have tried to be a part or get integrated into the motion picture industry. 

Kallat has an extreme affinity with Mumbai and presents the underbelly in a mélange of colourful paintings, sculptures, prints or photographs, drawings, and even videos.

Shilpa Gupta’s two-looped videos with monitors placed one against the other is also a study of the audience’s reaction to a recurring moving image. NS Harsha’s Depth of Audience is a quirky take on the Japanese Manga form, Indian miniatures and so on. It is a stunning centerpiece that presents the point of view of the audience in a cinematic medium and stresses on the fact that viewers actually drive content in cinema. 

Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky once said, “No other art can compare with cinema in the force, precision and starkness with which it conveys awareness of facts and aesthetic structures existing and changing within time.” These nine artists narrate a compelling dialogue between art and cinema.