Demonstrating versatility for over five decades, Dr Dinanath Pathy is highly regarded for his profound contributions to art as a painter, critic, researcher, art historian and chronicler. His lifelong dedication to art has got recognised many a time, the recent most being the prestigious international Rietberg Award by the Switzerland-based Rietberg Society in 2014. The eminent personality shares his views on some art aspects with Snigdha Nanda.

Congrats for the prestigious international Rietberg Award conferred by the Switzerland-based Rietberg Society. Your dedication has been acknowledged. Please share your experience and association with the Museum Rietberg in Zurich.

The Museum Rietberg is a museum for non-European art. It is more focused to Indian art and particularly there is a section of Odissan art. The best sculpture there is the sculpture from the Konark.  My friend Dr Eberhard Fischer came to Odisha to project Odisha at international level. Somehow we got together as friends and started working together. I showed him aspects that normal people do not see or value.

We come out with a book divided in three parts; the tribal, the folk and the classical art forms. For the first time, we learned from him what we call anonymity, that the folk has a face and a particular name. In Keonjhar, he suggested to document the art and its creator.  Then I realized that every individual artist has a particular style. Inspired by the approach, we decided to explore more and more of Odisha. They also needed my help as most of the palm leaf manuscripts are in Odia language. That’s how we started working for the last 37 years. In the citation they mention, “… you have made several artists known to the world, to your people…” to acknowledge my contribution which is touching.

As former Secretary of lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi and Bhubaneswar and former Principal of BK College of Art and Crafts, what would you speak on the art environment in the StateIJ

Talking of Odisha, you need constant monitoring and a person with a vision about what to be done. We have people with lots of potential. But we don’t inspire people to be thinkers and visionaries. To build an institution, you need people with vision and the tenacity to carry forward and implement certain projects properly.  Art needs to be promoted; so adequate funds should be allocated for annual dance and music festivals. However, neither is there interest from the Government, nor from the artists.

Who needs to take the responsibilityIJ

First, it is we. I should blame the whole community of artists first and then the Government for the failure to find out where the merit lies. We artists are busy making money. Well, I know money is required. But, at the same time, certain people should think of the State, think of art.Artists also need to relate with society. The Khandagiri fair is going on. Artists should be part of it to relate with their 2,500-year-old legacy. That will make their art familiar among the mass.

Is art lost in the material worldIJ Where is the sense of aesthetics in artIJ

Now, the whole idea of aesthetics in art has changed. It changes from time to time, but the basic values do not change. What is authentic, what is not, even on form, lines and colours and impressions-- all the things do not change.  There are two kinds of art these days. One is sponsored by the gallery where galleries invest on artist, buy and sale art without understanding aesthetics. Rich people go by gallery wave and buy without understanding the art just like people selecting saris and after a long search end up with the worst one. Now, people relate aesthetics with money, not with art or artist. They believe money has to be there. They think painting which fetches more money is the best painting which I do not agree with.

Many a time, you have underlined the need of galleries in Odisha. There are so many galleries here now-a-days. Some art magazines are coming out too in Odisha. Are they adding any value to artIJ

I have a recent experience on which I would like to change my idea on this. I was in Soro. When I asked what is modern in literature and art, they took me to two stone carving workshops. I was taken aback with the fabulous kind of work they have turned out there. That is a gallery. There is no patron and they are not trained. But they were doing all kinds of work, from traditional to modern and contemporary.

Earlier, I used to think that probably all kind of art formats are required to be conserved at one place. But now my view has changed. There must be such kind of galleries and workshops everywhere that need to be explored and identified. They told me that Ragunath Mohapatra and Sudarsan Sahu come to buy works from them. I see there is secret kind of deal, but these artists are not getting any recognition.

There has been a constant complaint from artists that Odisha does not have a market for art. What about art environmentIJ Do they mistake this environment for art with market for artIJ

Recently, there was news about Rs8 crore to Rs10 crore sales during Sisir Saras. Gold was not sold there – They were selling handicrafts, something we call art. If they can sell art of that amount, they can sell more in four to five art specific festivals. If your art fails to relate with society, then people won’t buy. Art is not something very peculiar that we will hang it somewhere and talk.

Art must help you grow, open up and enlighten. It must please you in many ways to spend money. So, the whole orientation on art needs to be changed. There is a market. The market we are talking about is the black-marketers’. We do not want that money being channelised in the market. We want hard-earned money to be spent on art; and given this, yes, Odisha has a market for art.