The Indian art scenario has evolved over the years – but the modern art form is still being criticized by society.
By Riya Sethi
Bengaluru, March 28, 2019: India has been a country where the various forms of art have emerged over the years. Many of the foreign art forms have been adopted by Indian artists. However, some of these art forms are being criticized by society, and are not considered as art.
Forms like pop-art and body art such as tattoos have gained attention and praises in many places of the world. However, such art forms have not found a place in the heart of most Indians.
Recently, an art exhibition was organized in Bengaluru by the name “Nude with Mangalsutra” (a Mangalsutra is religious necklace used by a married woman that is tied by the groom) was cancelled as many protesters found the name of the exhibition offensive, hurting religious sentiments.
A complaint was lodged against the artist and the organizers who stated that it has violated the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition Act of 1986. The artist Sujith Kumar GS Mandya took the issue to Twitter and wrote a post, apologizing.
Ritika Gupta, a Bengaluru-based artist, “People in our country are not much aware of modern art, they don’t even know about this concept. Without knowing the sentiment or the meaning behind it, people start criticizing it. People are free to do whatever they want to do and we cannot restrict someone’s work just because we found something wrong with it.”
Saransh Dixit, another Bengaluru-based artist said that societal norms are making it hard for modern artists to evolve.
“Modern art is having a hard time growing in this society as people still do not appreciate it. They criticize it to an unhealthy extent, and no matter how good the art piece is, people tend to get offended very easily.”
Picture credits: Devansh Dixit
