ABSTRACTION IN REFLECTION BY KISHAN MEENA: TANTRISM IN VISUALS (THE SOUL OF WATER)

 

Sarabjeet Singh ¹

 

¹ Assistant Professor, S. Sobha Singh Department of Fine Arts, Punjabi University, Patiala, India

 

1. INTRODUCTION

Today is the age of technology. The use of modern technology in art is the thinking of the artists. Art and technique both are different, technique refer as science while art represents the idea of the artists. Technologies have changed over time, the equipment of art has changed and become better and Indian artists have adopted and appreciated these Digital techniques. It can also be called the demand of the time. Photography was invented in the nineteenth century through a variety of inventions and techniques. Worlds earliest Photograph was taken by Joseph Niepce Nicephore in 1826. Peres (2007) Which takes Eight hour exposing time. Photography word was first used by John Herschel on 14 March 1839. Larry (1979) Herschel was a scientist and used Photography word in his research papers on the photography techniques and Inventions. Word ‘photography’ was created from the Greek roots Photo and Graph. Photo mean Light and Graph mean Draw which means drawing with light. Neblette (1970) Photography is a combination of techniques and Aesthetics. The art of photography is associated with the desire to create human images. In fact, whatever beautiful object or scene a human being sees, the image of it fades into his mind. Then he wants to see her in front of him. Due to this desire, human being as an artist realize his desire in various means.

Photography made painting simple and easier. Artist who embraces photography as an art form, with uniqueness of his vision, created art with the subtlety and ability of this medium. Photography is not just an eye-catching beauty or power, but it is competent of disclose the perception of the humanity. If we look at photography as an art, not just a picture, then Elements, principles and the six Limbs of artwork together to give beauty to the work of art. Photography works with Different elements like ISO (International Organization of Standardization), aperture and shutter speed. ISO Affects the sensitivity to light, aperture works to reduce and increase the amount of light and it makes a difference in the background and focus. Eder (1945) A good picture can be created by a thorough knowledge of these elements. The experience of controlling the light and the subtle, sharp vision of the artist is important in this. In abstract photography, as in abstract painting, the subtlety of the subject is expressed by breaking down the subject into shapes, colours, lines, textures. Artist discloses his aesthetic perception in abstract photography like painting. Art and religion are inextricably linked. Art is the power by which religion can be presented to man in a visible way. Rawaon (1973) This work was first started by painting. Art has been an integral part of all civilizations and societies around the world. The two main aspects of Indian art are form and meaning or concept and creation, the combination of which makes any piece of art perfect and ironic.

 

2. CONTEMPORAY INDIAN ARTISTS AND TANTRA

Though India has always boasted of a strong modernist tradition, and has always enjoyed the habit of rich exchanges with the most innovative trends of Western abstraction, the emergence of modern art in India did not take place by importing a vision of art that was heterogeneous to its own vision, but through spiritual connivance and the convergence of views, India adapted modernity to suit its own needs: the seeds of all that its modernity developed ever since the '30s and '40s onwards that this refusal of settling between the Western contribution and national resources will be clearly expressed Contrary to other countries for whom access to modernism will be tantamount to renouncing their own roots and identity, India grafted its own problems to the trunk of modern art, developing from the latter a hybrid version which met with its ancestral preoccupations. Wasn't a monochrome Tantra practice already in existence right from the seventeenth century? And doesn't tantric art on the whole, with its topographic minimalism and its subtle geometry present more affinities with the abstraction of the twentieth century than with the figurative European art which was its contemporary? One can read in this cartographic tradition an entire panel of Indian art, which is best exemplified by the mandala, the singular root of a formal modernity which goes far beyond the influence of the West, and which will enable twentieth century Indian artists to feel like fish in water in the arena of modern art, while all the while restricting their access in this fashion to a "Universal" which was then synonymous to "Westernized". The fundamental values of the Western pioneers of abstract art, as expressed by Wassily Kandinsky or Frantisek Kupka, make of the canvas a meeting ground between the interiority of the artist and the immenseness of the cosmos. Interiorizing immenseness: this plan of composition, which puts the mental infiniteness on an equal footing with the infiniteness of the stratospheres, corresponds to an Indian cultural ethos. "The creation of a work of art, Kandinsky wrote, is the creation of the world." Indian abstraction will not strive to express the structures of space, like Piet Mondrian's painting: it will aim at its lyrical explosion. Yet another determining cultural factor will bring India closer to modernist trends, the philosophical fortune of Buddhism and certain Hindu and Jain themes among Western artists. It is the artist's relationship with his own practice which undergoes a change: till then the absolute master of reality, he becomes the intercessor, a point of passage between forces external to him and the plan of composition that he chooses for arousing them and welcoming them.

Speaking on the art of tantra, Indian artists who works on Tatnta with Modernity like Ajit Mukherjee, S.H. Raza, Biren De and Sohan Qadri's work of cannot be overlooked. The New Tantric Art Movement began with an exhibition of Biren De’s paintings. Later other artists like G.R. Santosh and KCS Panikar adopted this movement. Ajit Mookhrjee contributed to the knowledge of tantra, and representations related to tantra practices, especially his historiography. Syed Haider Raza's work evolved from landscape painting to abstract. Until the 1970s, Raza wanted to find a new direction and mystery in his work, which was called 'Plastic Art'. And closely studied Indian culture, the result of which was the "Bindu" by which he came to be known as a painter. Through his work, Raza reflected the Indian perspective and Indian ethnography. Biren De, known for his Tantric paintings. The figure depicts geometric patterns, Tantric symbols such as the mandala and the vagina, representing the male and female powers of the universe.

Art is a powerful way to connect the aesthetic scene in the invisible, the aesthetic in the abstract, and the melodious music in the noise. Art means skill and creativity. Artist, through his creative aesthetic powers probe mediums and methods of art, through which he could disclose their interests and emotions. Artist ascertains the stir in his conscious and semi-conscious mind through art. Art has to do with the artist's mental attitudes and experiences. The word beauty is associated with fine art. Creating something beautifully is called art. The moment-by-moment action of a human being that he does in a neat way is art. Whatever objects and shapes a human being has realized since his existence is art. Shapes are an important part of human life. A human being creates by becoming an artist. when he constructs in any medium is art. A look at the human history reveals how a variety of utensils, toys, various stone, and wooden art peace were made. Medium and methods are different but creativity of people of different cultures is beautiful and captivating. Patterns and decorative Shapes represents aesthetic value of a human life. Patterns Shapes and form are taken from the surroundings which represent the spiritual thinking of the human as well fantasy, worldly and mysterious of the psyche. Abstract art is the result of man's propensity to look with subtlety. When we look at the object or shape with very close the shapes look like abstract. The reality of the abstract world is completely mysterious. abstract art presents form or subject in a mutation manner. while his artistic expedition, artist climbs ladder of experience from the tangible to the abstract. lines, colours, and unresolved shapes appear in abstract, but their meanings are reflected in it. every artist wants to realise according to his medium according to this aesthetic experience. every artist realises aesthetic attitude according to his medium.

 

 

3. ARTIST KISHANMEENA AND HIS ART

One such artist is Kishan Meena was born on March 13, 1962, a native of Jaipur, Rajasthan. He started his artistic journey in 1986 by pursuing art education from Art College, Jaipur. In 1986 he did Master of Arts in Public Administration and in 1988 Master of Arts in Philosophy. During my research, I met him in Jaipur while he was busy with his photography in the field of wildlife. He did a lot of work on the Tantra series with photography. He exhibits this series as group show and one man show at Jaipur in 1993 and also in Sep, 2020. At the same time Meena worked under the title of Umbrella and Beauty of the ugliness through photography in 2020. Today he works as free-lance Artist and wildlife Photographer. I was particularly interested in his Tantra Series because I wanted to see Hindu mythology in the modern age with photography. But most of the talk about his art work can only be done through phone calls. Kishan Meena, meanwhile, said that she studied art at the Art College from 1986 to 1989, during which she recognized the inner artist. It was felt at that time that an artist could do this work more interestingly and well than the act of seeing and depicting an object by an ordinary human being. It separates the artist of reason from the common man. At first, I was interested in painting. But once he got an opportunity to do photography due to the absence of a photographer in a program, during this time he sent a photograph for the State Award which he also received with good luck which marked the beginning of photography. Often Kishan Meena used to spend time photographing near a pond near his house, filling and drying the water of the pond as well as feeling the effects of human activities on it. Mina found the formation of colours, lines, shapes in the water very interesting. One day the idea came up that why not look at them through the camera, look through the camera and see a different world. It was more subtle than the size seen by the eye. These shapes and linear systems seemed to match the Tantra Art. Wanting to know more about Tantra Art, he read about Tantra art and Hindu mythology, saw the work of Artists, and thus began the Tantra series. Tantra, yantra and mantra are important in the art of Tantra, but photography has presented Tantra well by providing a visual look with modernity. In which Tantra and Yantra can be seen and felt which according to Meena is the process of creating colours and lines like abstract art. Tantra art is a way to understand the secrets of life. The abstract shapes look attractive to the human mind and create a desire to know the myths and mysteries. Meena edited the photo and created a mirror image through which a new type of artwork came out. Meena said that there is nothing abstract in photography, all objects exist in the real world, only through the process of seeing and showing things, things seem abstract. To be able to see with the eye of the artist what cannot be seen with the naked eye is abstraction. Art is like the cycle of life, which is the journey from birth to death, the union of the soul with God. The artist has presented it in a modern way with Tantra art through Photography. Looking at these pictures, the mysterious invisible world of the soul and God seems to have a visual form. The colours in these images are natural, connecting the viewer to the organic world.

According to the laws of nature, a new birth can be given by the union of two bodies or souls. In order to produce something new, a union is necessary in which the body does not remain two but one, through which the qualities of the two bodies pass into one body over time. Tantra is about moving energy through body. This union is like the earth and the sky that are far apart but complementary to each other. This union of the soul is the union of God with which the two become one. In the photo, the artist has created two shapes from one shape through a mirror. There is a difference of form in them which is not external but internal. But the union seems to be one. The centre line of this photo is a yantra and the power-point. The picture takes the viewer into a world where secrets are revealed through meditation. Art is an area where artists and spectators meet at one point, as if they were all the same in the universe. During meditation of Yantra, the Bindu is the centre point where the union with Braham takes place. The point holds the two axes, the beginning, and the end. Between these axes is the world and everything within it. During the creative process, the point develops into a triangle with the help of straight lines. Figure 1

Figure 1

  

Figure 1 Source Collected Through Personal Interview Artist Kishan Meena, Jaipur

 

In Tantric art, you should look at it in a comprehensive and in-depth way at how it can inform a lot of aspects of our life journey, which would then take us from darkness to light. Coming into the light is like a new birth. Living in the womb for 9 months is like the cycle of 9 planets in which the universe is contained. That which is the world of darkness as it is born, the world of light takes the body out of the darkness and leads it to knowledge. In the womb the body begins with a part and after birth the physical and spiritual development continues. The photo looks like an embryo. Two aspects are presented through the mirror: darkness and light. Seems to be moving towards the light from the background. The viewer's eye moves in this picture as if looking for a point in the universe. Everything else is in the dark which will be solved by the Tantra. Figure 2

Figure 2

Figure 2 Source Collected Through Personal Interview Artist Kishan Meena

 

With the mantra of Tantra, the inner development of the soul takes place. To chant the mantra, one has to sit in Smadhi like a Yogi in a special posture. There seems to be a yogi sitting like this in this photograph. The respiratory system is often mentioned in the Vedic scriptures through which the bodily activities and the senses are brought under control. In the photo, the body shapes made of moss in the pond look like human bodies. Who is engrossed in trying to solve the mystery by uniting with nature? Identifying the shapes in the pond is a long process as the shapes are formed and disappear in the water. Taking pictures with the camera before they run out is a matter of great agility and precision. Figure 3

Figure 3

Figure 3 Source Collected Through Personal Interview Artist Kishan Meena, Jaipur

 

According to the artist, this photograph has two layers, one visible and one invisible. It creates a mystery. Many shapes and stories seem to revolve around the eyes. The shapes in it are abstract which give the impression of different shapes. Balance is created by taking a view from one side and showing the other through a mirror. Such a powerful shape in the Tantra has an effect on the human mind. Which helps to remove its fear by associating it with some invisible power. The shapes, lines, and colours in it take the viewer into a mysterious world that looks like a creature. This world seems to be the secret of Atma-Parmatma (Soul and God). From which the human being tries to come out through the meditation of art like a monk priest or an artist. Figure 4

Figure 4

Figure 4 Source Collected Through Personal Interview Artist Kishan Meena, Jaipur

 

A secret that cannot be seen with the naked eye after birth and death and the union of the soul with God. But there is such a power in the imagination of the artist that he shapes this mysterious world. In which there is both darkness and light. Man moves from darkness to light. He acquires knowledge. The artist has been searching for the creation of this mysterious world all his life. This discovery is similar to finding particles in the universe. In the photo, the artist has created a world in which there is nothing real. Everything seems abstract. The observer lives either in darkness or in light. But he who acquires knowledge understands this secret and merges in this formless one. The artist gets this world alive. It is like a door through which all secrets are revealed. Figure 5

Figure 5

Figure 5 Source Collected Through Personal Interview Artist Kishan Meena, Jaipur

 

4. CONCLUSION

Understanding life in the world of religion and art has been an important issue. The artist presents the secret of birth and death to the people through his art so that it can be understood. One tries to know this truth by meditating with closed eyes and one sees it with open eyes. On the basis of Tantra Art, it can be understood with mantras and yantras. Artist represented tantra art in his photography as journey of truth. Elements in the photograph describe the depth of the art, abstraction, the mystery, and the artist's thinking. Like the rest of the Indian artists, Meena understands and presents the abstraction of Tantra art in which the attractiveness and brilliance of the colours that make the photo attractive is amazing. The beholder dives into its depths. tantra develops the system of thoughts and practice. Which can make a see the universe. Only the one who can see the universe can see himself. Tantra art is the means of communication between the human being and the universe. This communication is also with the nature of man and woman which creates positive energy. Tantra (technique) is to combine yantra (physical diagram or posture) with mantra (sound). Abstraction Mean sense organs. These organs can keep your outer journey and move inside with sound. In Meena's art, this communication and power can be visually felt through colour, line, and mystery. The essence of these objects enables Kishan Meena to be considered an unknown Tantric artist.

 

 

 

CONFLICT OF INTERESTS

None. 

 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

None.

 

REFERENCES

Eder, J. M. (1945). History of Photography. Dover Publications, Inc. 180 Varick Street, New York, 258.

Larry, S. (1979). Sir John Herschel's 1839 Royal Society Paper on Photography. History of Photography, 3(1), 47-60. https://doi.org/10.1080/03087298.1979.10441071.

Neblette, C. B. (1970). Fundamentals of Photography. Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, New York, 1.

Peres, M. R. (2007). Focal Encyclopaedia of Photography : Digital Images, Theory and Application, History and Science (4th Ed), Focal Pres, 27.

Rawaon, P. (1973). The Art of Tantra. Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, 9.