14/11

As I have shown earlier that art is produced by nature, by animals, and by human beings, put in most case they are not conscious that they have created art. Apparently no bird or animal knows is it is producing music, or creating artistic forms or movement (dance). They have no language — hence no literature or poetry. A child playing with colours may be creating a painting of great merit, yet not know it has done so, many women in our country, through their craft create great work of art. They do not know it. Recently some of them have been discovered and recognized. They have become international figures. The primitive man living in caves who painted on the walls of his dwelling. We also left behind a great heritage of art. We are discovering it. I believe that temples of the Indian pantheon (not all) and for that matter, any pantheon in the world, were built by slaves or hired labour who did a job out of compulsion or livelihood. They were given a training of carrying and they were required to do just that. Carry out the instructions. Similarly, I believe, the miniature painters of India, (where works are now of tremendous value in the International market) were trained to paint in a certain manner by their masters.

The question, whether they were, or are, artists or not has often troubled me. I would like to answer that question in this manner:— If a person is producing great work of art, but does not know, he is doing so, he is a great craftsman, but ifs not an artist. He is not creating, he is crafting. A stone carver who is chiselling away according to the instruction of Henry Moore is a good craftsman, not an artist Henry Moore was.

But then if a person practices of craft, any craft, has the potential to become an artist. Many times he becomes aware that he is creating something, and that he is not merely carrying out the instructions … Then does begin his journey in to the world of art.

Another question has troubled me? Does the person who merely instructs, and does not practice the craft himself, can he is an artist? For example a Guru may be teaching his pupils, how to dance, how to carve, how to paint, how to sing, etc., but may not be able to do so himself. Is he an artist? The answer is Yes and No. Yes, because  when you ponder over it you feel that a person who only trains other persons to be artist is not an artist. The reason is simple — you cannot teach art, you can only teach craft. All that you can as a teacher do is to give a certain viewpoint an opinion about art. That is not all there is to art. Different people at different times will and do respond to the same work differently. For example Shakespeare is much more appreciated today them when he was alive. And we are all too familiar with the example of van Gogh.

[PAGE MISSING]

his awareness of art is great, and he produces art through his students. In other words, his students are his medium, or tools. He has cultivated the craft of urging human material to create art. He can experience it, feel it, be discriminating about it so he is an artist

Then why not? Truly speaking there is no reason. His is a subjective reaction.1

A person who discovers the artist in another person is who an artist.

14/11

Form is a product of function. For example all living begins — human and animal — have to perform some functions, which determine their forms. But form by itself is not art. To give art to a form is the work of an artist. To appreciate art in creative manner is also a work of an artist, and, as I said before, to discover art is also the work of an artist.

In art — so called fine art or pure art — the form does not have to perform any function —function as we understand. The function of art is to be — well — beautiful — expressive — evocate, moving, subtle,

[PAGE MISSING]

But them, art is not only pure art. It function is also rouse the sensibility, to be an agent of change to be a cultivator of senses for appreciating creativity.

An artist is sensitive to the physical, social, cultural, and economic environment. When he creates — in painting, in poetry, majority theatre etc., — that sensibility is reflected in his creations. That is the message that a true artist conveys. The message is to be inner self to the sub-conscious — which change to a person without in being aware that he has changed.

  • 1. DELETED TEXT: “Like they say, there who can, do. Those who cannot, teach.”