Padma Shri Anjolie Ela Menon doesn’t believe in looking back. Her way-forward attitude, undying passion to paint big and spirit to enjoy life as it comes is inspiring. The world-famous artist was honoured with lifetime Achievement Award last evening. She spoke to Karan Bhardwaj about her inspirations, young ideas in art and her fondness for films and cooking
At 73, India’s leading contemporary artist Anjolie Ela Menon has no plans to slow down or even look back. In latest phase she is painting big murals which involves climbing on high ladders and painting for long hours on a scaffolding. Her recent gift to the Capital was a 25 feet by 9 feet mural titled The Walled City at Indira Gandhi Airport Terminal 3. Educated in lovedale, and briefly at the JJ School of Art, she holds an Honours degree from Delhi University followed by post-graduate studies in Fresco at the Ecole Des Beaux Arts in Paris. She has held 48 solo exhibitions including retrospectives at the Jehangir Art Gallery, lalit Kala Akademi and National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai and represented India at the Sao Paulo Biennale. Her paintings are hung in major museums globally. Three books, a portfolio by lalit Kala Akademi and several films have been made on her. The Asian Art Museum San Francisco held a solo show and accessioned her seminal work titled Yatra. She has also been awarded the Chevalier des Arts by the French Government. last evening, Delhi Government honoured Menon with lifetime Achievement Award. Excerpts from an interview…
How does it feel to receive the lifetime Achievement AwardIJ
I am embarrassed (laughs)… The other person (Abdul Rashid Khan) chosen for the award is 106-year-old and still singing. Compared to him, I am still a bachcha… However, I am grateful to Delhi government for this award as i’m am very much a Delhiite. I graduated from Miranda House, and have been here for 22 years, after my husband (Raja Menon) retired. Now some of my children and grandchildren are here as well.
You were felicitated with Padma Shri a decade ago. Don’t you think it was too lateIJ
Though I got Padma Shri in 2000, I was informed about it 10 years in advance. Somebody from the Ministry rang up one day and asked my particulars for the Padma award. A decade later, they made an announcement. Now I believe that many people actually lobby for Padma awards, I don’t know how this works. Recently, Shiela Dixit had come to inaugurate my mural at Delhi airport. Suddenly she announced that the Delhi government would confer this lifetime Achievement Award on me. I was totally surprised. I have never expected any awards. I try to follow the path of a karmayogi where both praise and criticism should not affect one’s work. The best thing that the government can offer young artists is some space to work rather than giving them awards.
How do you look back at those glorious 55 yearsIJ
I never had time to look back… hurtling from one event to the other. After unveiling my mural at Terminal 3 (Delhi airport), I flew to london for a solo exhibition. The day after tomorrow I am leaving for the South. I usually spend some time of the year there. May be, one day I will be in a wheelchair and I would look at my own journey. For the time being, I am still climbing the ladder and painting.
What are the new inspirationsIJ
I enjoy making large works and murals for public spaces. My T3 work is a 25 feet by 9 feet mural of a city street of old Delhi, called The Walled City. It’s a microcosm of all busy streets in India. Every thing happens on the streets here from business to entertainment to protests and social interaction. It’s a fun and optimistic mural with bright colours. There are cats, dogs and people in perfect harmony. There is a forthcoming exhibition with Vadehra Art Gallery in November. Many artists are happy with digital art but I still want to paint in oils, as I have always done.
You have never followed trends. While the world admired Picasso’s abstraction and cubism, you sought inspiration from the early Christian art of 13th century. What drives youIJ
I don’t follow trends, I set them. I was very much at the forefront of many movements. I introduced the engagement with kitsch and the art of the street. I was the first one to generate computer-enabled art. I started painting real windows, everybody followed. All I know is that I have to paint everyday, and have managed to in spite of leading a nomadic life .I am always open to inspiration. One can be inspired by a mother and child, a visarjan at the Kumbh mela, day-to-day objects or a startling event. Every work of art doesn’t have to be a heroic painting but can find symbols in everyday life.
Your views on Indian art scene todayIJ
Around 10 years ago, there was a boom in the Indian art market. We became popular globally. Then every thing crashed. But things collapsed because the art market faced a slowdown globally.Though Indian art is being appreciated across the world, I recently attended Christie’s and Sotheby’s auctions in london where around 17 works of MF Husain remained unsold. At the moment, there is a loss of interest in art. This has happened because of global recession. When a slowdown happens, people look for safe investments… like buying a house or shares and jewellery; and art becomes the last option. Before the global recession many people collected art as an investment. It was bought by syndicates and kept in warehouses. When the economy faced the slowdown, these funds started to offloaded their paintings. I think there has never been a worst time for art. I am grateful to my collectors that they are not re-selling my works, so you won’t find much of my work at auctions.
What about the futureIJ
There is enormous talent in this country. I go to several art camps just to see what youngsters are doing. There is innovative stuff happening. They are full of ideas. But during this bad period, many people who are not seriously interested in art might choose other professions when the prospects look so dim.
How original are young artistsIJ
Some are… All through the ages we have had good and bad art. There are imitators, pretenders, those who don’t have ideas of their own, but they would go in the inevitable shakeout. There is a group of contemporary artists called the Bombay Boys. They set new standards and went global. Unfortunately, many dealers and galleries hiked up their prices too high and they have now crashed. As the so-called contemporaries crumbled, the dealers and galleries came back to us, the moderns. I do not let these phases affect my art.
How has MF Husain influenced your life and workIJ
My goal is to be able to paint anywhere, which I have learnt from my guru Husain. Though my work never looked like his, I was inspired by his style of working. For completely different reasons, both of us were nomadic. I changed house 30 times due to my husband’s job. Husain taught me how to be mobile. He didn’t care where he was as long as he could paint. The only time I saw that man unhappy was when when he broke his right hand and couldn’t paint.
Share one anecdote with Husain...
He came to see me in 1960 when I was a student in France. He said, “Chalo kuch dikhaao”. I took him to the magnificent Chartres Chathedral. It’s a two-hour long drive from Paris. We were on a highway… suddenly I heard police sirens and I realised he was driving on the wrong side. Police caught us but we pretended not to speak the language. He was a great artist but a terrible driver.
How do you look at the role of the Indian government in promoting artIJ
The government played an instrumental role after Independence when there was no art market. Institutions like the lalit Kala Akademi and the NGMA were established. These institutions flourished in the 50s and 60s. Unfortunately, the lalit Kala fell into wrong hands which spoilt it’s reputation. Simultaneously, the private players in art began to emerge. Today, no major artist is involved with government institutions because they find their own path without government’s patronage.
Any line that an artist should not crossIJ
Freedom of expression has been so important in this country. Our art flourished post-Independence only because of this. Artists have to stand against all these new forms of censorship which are being imposed by private fundamentalist organisations but thankfully not by the government. It is up to the individual practitioner of art to decide to what extent they can go.
Are galleries merely corporatising art and limiting artists to respond to market forces or are they promoting art in a positive wayIJ Do you think overexposure can lead to mediocrityIJ
There has been a period of excess. Many galleries are closing down because of the market. So far the market has been quite a dynamic force in setting trends and promoting certain artists. There has to be some balance between excellence and market forces. Sometimes, you see great art which doesn’t hit the market. I feel young artists have also suffered because there is absolutely zero demand in this country for installation art. Out of 100 installations, only one might find a space find a space. There are only a few venues like the Kiran Nadar Museum which can patronise the so called cutting-edge and offer them a home.
let’s talk about your personality. You are quite fond of cooking.
I absolutely love it. I innovate a lot in the kitchen. I can cook Russian, Thai, French, Italian and Indian cuisine. My grandmother was American. My aunt was settled in France. My father used to cook wonderful Bengali food. My sister-in-law is a Keraliite. My two daughters-in-law are Punjabi. I am a born pseudo secularist. In fact, I am writing a cook book titled My Family’s Secret Recipes. It will be released in about six months.
You are fond of cinema too...
I have been a cinema buff. In 1960, when I was in Paris, my friends Shama Zaidi, Alain and I had joined Cinematech. We were dead poor so we took full advantage of our membership by watching 90 films in one month. Now, I love jingoistic films like Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, Chak De! India and lagaan. We need such cinema to raise our spirits as there is such a paucity of good news!
Has there been any disadvantage of being a womanIJ
Never! There’s always a husband supporting me. Unfortunately, male artists are expected to earn a living and support their families. But that was not the case with me. I got many great breaks probably because we were only a few practicing artists when I started my career. Today there are over eight lakh artists in India and it is really difficult for them to make a mark.
How does your husband Raja Menon influence youIJ
I met him at the age of 12. He was and has always been my first love and best friend. We never interfere in each others work but we travel together for each other’s work, So we spend most of our time together.
Anything you wish to explore nextIJ
I am tired of travelling abroad. In next few years, I want to explore our own country. I want to go to the Sunderbans, Mathura, Rameshwaram and also back to Kashmir.
photo Pankaj Kumar