ATTENTION ARTISTS

Dear Artist,
I am planning to bring out a special number of our bilingual quarterly art-journal 'Kala-Prayojan' http://kala-prayojan.blogspot.com/
featuring all known, less-known, unknown,upcoming,budding,aspirant Indian/International Artists (Painters/sculptors) (with their old as well as recent paintings). For this purpose, I am sending you the following questionnaire for consideration and response. Should I hope that you would be kind enough to go through it thoroughly. By replying suitably at your earliest convenience and thus helping our research team to publish significant material about you and your paintings, we sincerely hope to spread the message of global friendship through Art.
Regards,
Hemant Shesh
QUESTIONS FOR ARTISTS
1. Where did your schooling in Art take place? or you have picked up painting on your own. How did you incline towards fine arts?
2. As a student of Art, who were your contemporaries, who later became renowned artists?
3. Who were your teachers during your studies ? Did anyone/some ones did inspire your work at the initial stage as a student artist.
4. What were the major difficulties that you faced during becoming an artist and later while establishing yourself as a visual artist-in your country and then abroad.
5. Can you classify certain important significant landmarks in your long art-journey?
6. Who are the major artists, who have inspired you or your work and why?
7. Your paintings are a blend of inspirations gathered from various sources. Which culture has a greater impact on your art and why?
8. Do you wish to be underlined as a creative artist using 'multi-media' for your various forms of expression. What has to be your central concern when you take up multi-media experimention for your works? What is the significance of being experimental while working multi-media?
10. In many series of paintings some artists have blended the images of the East to those of the West, What should have been the thereof and how it bridges the occidental and oriental sensibilities??
11. Are you aware of the contemporary Art in India? What major difference do you feel between the Indian art scene today as compared to the contemporary art world of West?
12. Taking a global view of modern world-art, how do you rate major Indian artists and their art? Who are the Indian artists whose works you are familiar with?
13. Public-Art as an urbanization trend is picking up gradually in developing countries like India. What should be its aesthetic direction and dimensions? How the modern art can works literate common men's vision towards life and art?
14. What is your assessment about the recent boost in art-market of the world? Has this trend negatively influenced artists or the orientation of contemporary art. Are they becoming more and more 'commercial' insted of being professional?
15. How persons other than art-field have inspired your work and who are the chief personalities of philosophical, intellectual, literary and allied fields who have contributed to the shaping of your creative orientation?
16. What in your opinion is the creative correlation between tradition and modernity? Have some of your works given an evidence of such a co-existence?
17. What is the meaning of being an Indian near you, when for the past so many decades you are staying permanently outside India? Do you sometimes miss India and for what reasons? (This Question is addressed to Non Residential Indian Artists living abroad)
18. What is the latest that you are working on and when is your next solo/group show(s) scheduled and where?
19. Have you to say anything special on governmental patronage of fine arts, especially with reference to art institutions established for protection, Promotion and development of art and artists?
20. Have you to say anything or to show anything significant to your senior/ contemporary/budding / upcoming generation of new artists? please append choisest of your 8 recent works for consideration of publication.

Folk-God

THE ART AND GENDER

In her thought provoking article, "Women, Art and Gender: A History "Jeannie Shubitz writes :

An old New Yorker cartoon depicts a group of prehistoric women painting images on the wall of a cave. One of the women suddenly pauses in her work and asks: “Does it strike anyone as weird that none of the great painters have ever been men?” (Heller, 1987) This, of course is a parody of the long-held assumption that all prehistoric art was created by men. Why should we assume this, when we don’t even know why this art was created, much less by whom? It is because for many centuries, we have been taught that all great art was the product of men, and that art created by women was merely an attempt to copy the masters that came before. For many, many hundreds of years, women struggled to gain recognition as artists, and for the greater number of these years, they remained obscured due to the constraints of patriarchal society. Recently, however, in the feminist movement of the seventies, women have found a voice and a face and recognition in the world of the arts followed. Yet women today are finding that they have yet another battle to fight, one that demands that they be looked at as more than merely women artists in the light of feminism. They are individuals who create art in the context of their identities, which include “ethnicity, personality, life stage, religion, class, and politics” (Norwood, 1987 p. 4), as well as gender.
Since antiquity, women have created art and not received recognition for doing so. It is difficult to obtain a proper history of women in art because many records have been manipulated, and a great number of works by women have been credited to their male teachers or relatives, as it was believed that no truly great art could be created by a woman. (Heller, 1987) A large number of artists from antiquity remain unknown, and many are of the opinion that perhaps “anonymous was a woman” (NMWA, 1998, p. 1). We know that women were creating art during this period through discoveries of unaltered records and images of women artists working, yet there are relatively few known female artists of this time. Hypothetically, if not in truth, we may conclude that works were better received with artist unknown, rather than to be attached to the name of a woman. Clearly it was an unacceptable notion that a woman was capable of creating great art.

HAVE THE READERS OF THIS BLOG TO COMMENT?

MY ART WORK

मेरी साइबर कला

These painting are selected by Matin Jone, a critic of central France from a series exhibited in a group exhibition in Dhaka and Jakarta entitled as 'Puratan' in 2007

कला की अनंत दुनिया में रंगों रेखाओं और रूपाकारों से
अज्ञात का पीछा करना
कविता लिखने और न लिख पाने का 'सहकर्म' ही हो शायद
या लेखन का विकल्प
ठीक ठीक में नहीं जानता
शायद इसी से चित्रांकन और साहित्य दोनों ही





H E M A N T S H E S H *

PERMANENT RESIDENCE: JAIPUR 302001 India

e-mail: hemantshesh@gmail.com, hemantshesh@ rediffmail.com /
http:// jagah jaisee jagah.blogspot.com
http:// kala-prayojan.blosspot.com
http://aapkoyahjaankarprasanntaahogee.blogspot.com


A renowned Hindi poet, art-critic, editor, columnist, painter and administrator, Mr. Hemant Shesh, has been working in the supreme civil Service of the state: Rajasthan Administrative Service, since the year 1977. Even before this, when he was a student, he began contributing poems, criticisms, essays, comments, articles and book-reviews to nearly all the important literary magazines, periodicals, journals and newspapers of India, with a service as student editor of “Chetna”, the central School Magazine, as early as 1968.



However, it was in 1976 that he graduated with a master of Arts degree in Sociology from the University of Rajasthan, Jaipur, India, having already published his long poem "Jaari Itihaas Ke Viruddha” through Lok Sampark Prakashan while he was a school-student.
During his studies at College/University level, he was engaged as the official Art-Critic by Daily “Rajasthan Patrika”,and “Itwari Patrika. Jaipur and also Weeklies like “Muktadhara”, “Pratipaksha” (New Delhi). Hundreds of his art-reviews and criticism have been published in prominent newspapers, magazines and periodicals.

While pursuing a writing career, Mr. Shesh held the post of assistant collector & magistrate in Pali and Alwar districts of Rajasthan, during 1977- next became manager of the Rajasthan Small Industries Corporation in Jaipur, and from 1980-81, he was sub-divisional magistrate for Neem-Ka-Thana, Deeg and Jaipur. His work in the Government continued as the deputy director of the social welfare department of Rajasthan and as officer-on-special duty with the department of tourism & Art n’ culture of Jaipur in 1983.

His writing during this early period include a monograph on his own personality and poems entitled 'Beswaad Hawaaen'। The State Academy of letters published it in 1981. Also during this, Mr. Shesh produced the poetry collection Ghar-Baahar in 1982, with contributions also made to anthologies 'Rajasthan Ke Kavi '(1977) 'Great Indian World Poets '(1978) and 'Indian Verse by Young poets '(1980).

In addition, he conceived, designed and edited Samvet, a journal on South Indian culture and rituals (1976) and Prayas a publication on plastic and performing arts (1978-79)। Later he was the founder Editor of 'Kala-Prayojana', a multi-arts bilingual quarterly art magazine of the West Zone Cultural Centre, Government of India (since 1995) while also editing 'Kala Yatra 'for the WZCC, Udaipur (1998)

On a yearly basis, Mr. Shesh spent 1985 through 1990 working as the additional collector & additional district magistrate in tonk / Bharatpur and Pali districts of the state of Rajasthan. He was assigned the responsibility of working as the founder deputy director of the Indira Gandhi Panchayati Raj and Rural Development Institute in 1988. He became the district exise officer for the district of Ganganagar in 1991, and served as the additional registrar for the Board of Revenue in Ajmer in 1992. From 1993-95 he worked as the additional director of the Jawahar Kala Kendra (Jaipur, from 1995-96 he served as registrar of the Kota Open University, in Kota and from 1996-98 he was deputy secretary to His Excellency the Governor of Rajasthan, stationed in Jaipur. During the year 1998, he also worked as the additional director of Rajasthan State Institute of Public Administration cum joint director of State Institute of Rural Development, which provided him the opportunity of writing Post Graduate text books on Indian art and culture and to teach students in the department of tourism of the J.N.V. University, Jodhpur. He is presently the Deputy Secretary to the Government of Rajasthan in Water Resources Planning Department in the Secretariat, Jaipur.




Mr. Shesh ‘s books include the long poem 'Kripayaa Anyathaa Na Len' for Sanghi Prakashan (1999) with additional poetry collections entitled 'Rang Agar Rang Hen '(1995) ''Kasht Ke Liye Kshamaa' (1995), 'Ashudhha Saarang' (1992) 'Neend Men Mohanjodaro' (1988) and 'Vrikshon Ke Swapna' (1988). In 2001, he has published six edited books on aesthetics, dramatics, discourses on art, the meaning of Indianness, Indian art-forms and Values in arts. In addition, he is the author of a collection of poems entitled 'Aap Ko Yah Jaan Kar Prasanntaa Hogee' (2000).






'Jagah Jaise Jagah '( 2007) and 'Bahut Kucjhh Jaisa Kuchh Naheen' (2008) His unpublished manuscripts include threee collections of poetry: 'Iti Jaisaa Shabda', 'Khed-Yog- Pradeep', 'Prapanch Saar Subodhni ' and a book on art-criticism: 'Samkaleen Kala Paridrishya'.

His poems, literary and Art-criticisms, essays, comments, articles , letters and book-reviews, photographs, sketeches, drawings, have been published in Kalpanaa, Samvet (Hyderabad), Pahal, Sparsh (Jabalpur), Bahuvachan, Naya-Prateek, Saptaahik-Hindustan, Hans, Samkaleen Bhartiya Saahitya, Vaamaa, Swaagat, Namskaar, Kaadambini, Pratibha-India, Ravivar, Nandan, Vaicharikee, Jansatta, Anyatha, Aajkal, Gagananchal, Sunday Observer, Muktdhaaraa, Vishayavastu, Abhinaya, Akshar-Bharat, Sahitya-Amrit ,Vaicharikee (Delhi) Nav Bharat Times ( Bombay, Jaipur), Dharmayug, Aakalp, Anu-Abhaa, Sahitya Aakalp, Gadya-Parva, Udbhaavnaa (Bombay), Lahar, Raaviraa (Ajmer), Poorvagrah, Saakshatkar, Abhee (Bhopal), Daily Tribune (Chandigarh), Poet (Madras), Jan-Sanskriti, Raashtriya Sahaaraa, Utkarsh , Atev, Kala-Deergha (Lucknow), Dastaavez , Antar-Bharati (Gorakhpur), Dhartee (Kanpur) Sahitya-Sampark, Kathya-Roop, Pratigyaa, (Allahabad), Sambodhan (kankroli), Bindu, Madhumati Kala-Prayojana (Udaipur), Shiviraa, Chiti, Vaatayan, Teacher Today, Naya-Shikshak (Bikaner), Samkaleen Srajan, Vagarth, Avkaash, Ravivar, Amrit Bazar patrika, Anand Bazar Patrika (Calcutta), Vartman-Sahitya (Ghaziabad), Aaveg (Ratlam, Indore), Tatasth (Pilani), Sameeksha (Patna), Gavaah (Muzaffarnagar), Jansanskriti, Naandi (Varanasi), Kyon (Bhinmal), Antaraal (Laxmangarh),Kriti-Or, Lok-Sampark, Disha, Bhasha-parichaya , Tantra-Kathan, Lok Vikas , Navjyoti, Navchintan, Aayam, Animaa, Sharar, Dishaa, Sampreshan, Rajasthan Patrika, Itwari Patrika, Rastradoot, Kronch, Daily Bhaaskar, Daily Samachaar-Jagat, (Jaipur), Baatcheet (Munger), Nai-Duniya (Indore)] Anchal-Bhaarti (Dewaria), Nishkarsh (Sultanabad), Natak (Ahmedabad)Yatraa (Katni), Bhojpuri-Lok(Aligarh), Sandarsh (Philibhit), Vipaashaa (Simla),Akkshar-Parv (Raipur), Madai (Bilaspur) Kavitaa, Lok Prabhaat (Alwar), etc. etc.

Along with the written word, Mr. Shesh holds a very keen and active interest in Drawing and Painting and photography. He has had six one-man-shows of his oil paintings, poster poems, and mixed media drawings, with additional works exhibited in international, national and other art exhibitions held by the Rajasthan Lalit Kala Academy and other eminent institutions of art. His works are also held in many public and private collections throughout the world, and his photographs have been published in newspapers and magazines throughout India.

He also takes an active interest in writing documentaries and Vedio-films. For instance, a full-length U-Matic documentary entitled “Kalaon Ke Aakash Men Khulee Khidkee” was conceived, scripted and directed for the Jawahar Kala Kendra (Jaipur). Doordarshan Kendra, Jaipur, Bharat Bhawan and some private film makers have made films on the poetry recitation of Mr. Shesh.







A 30 minites documentary was made on the life and works of H.Shesh by Mr. Ashok Aatreya for "Three Chairs" productions (for AWA International, France-India) in 2006.

Mr. Shesh is active in a civic capacity, serving as a Convenor of “Prayaas Kala Sansthan ”since 1978. He is also a member of the Voluntary Blood Bank Organisation in Jaipur, a founder member of both the “Sajag ” Consumers’ Protection Forum and the “Indian Institute of Data Interpretation and Analysis” (I-India).

He was offered the honorary degrees of “Aacharya ” in 2002 and then Mahamahopdhyaya (in 2005) (Honoris Causa Ph. D.) by the Gemini Academy of Haryana for outstanding services in the field of Indian Literature, as well as a diploma of outstanding achievements in literature by the International Biographical Institute, Cambridge (England), with earlier honours including a commendation certificate for meritorious services rendered as the observer in the Ujjain Constituency in the parliamentary elections of 1996, a cash award and merit certificate of the Government of Rajasthan for “Excellent Creative Writing “(1986) and a commendation certificate for ‘Extra Ordinary” services as principal officer in-charge of the “Rajasthan Pavilion” at the India International Fair in 1979 (organised by the Trade Fair Authority of India, Ministry of Commerce, New Delhi).In addition ,the President of India awarded him a Silver Medal and a commendation certificate during the census of 1991

Mr. Hemant Shesh is married to Punam Goswamy and is the father of one daughter, Neha and one son, Nimish. He is a native of Jaipur, India, born to Aacharya Bhalchandra Goswamy “Prakhar” and Jaya Goswamy on 28th December 1952.

He was selected as a "man of the Year" for 1998 by the American Biographical Institute in recognition of his many outstanding accomplishments, and his biographical profile has been included in such noted reference works as Who’s who of Indian Writers, Reference Asia: Who’s Who, Sahityakar-Kosh, International Who’s Who of Intellectuals, International Directory of Distinguished Leadership, Outstanding People of the 20th Century, Leading Intellectuals of the World, 1000 Leaders of World Influence and International Authors and writers etc. etc. apart from many Indian Biograhies!




•TEXT REPRODUCED and PARTIALLY UPDATED FROM THE ANTHOLOGY: “OUTSTANDING PEOPLE OF THE 20TH CENTURY”
published by American Biographical Instt. (USA)





HIS FORTHCOMING BOOKS :

"RAJASTHAN MEIN SAMKALEEN KALA KE PANCH DASHAK"
"KALA-SAMAYA AUR SAMAJ"
"KALA MEIN AADHUNIK HONE KE MAAYNE"



Hemant Shesh's CLOTH PAINTINGS

on view soon!