The Cholamandal Canon

In the 1950s and 60s, while India was finding her feet after a hard-won independence, the region formerly known as the Madras Presidency was defining its own independence through a unique artistic expression. The Madras Modernist Art Movement, as it came to be known, was birthed at the Madras School of Arts and Crafts (now known as the Government College of Fine Arts, Chennai) and propagated further at the Cholamandal Artists’ Village, a one-of-a-kind artist commune. The effort was led by a few heavyweights attached to the art college who aimed to promote an artistic language steeped in local tradition yet informed by modernist art movements the world over.

Madras Modern: Regionalism and Identity currently on at DAG, Delhi, pays homage to this movement. “This is a ground-breaking exhibition as it takes a broad look at all aspects that shaped the Madras Art Movement and the
Cholamandal Artists’ Village, and the vision that guided this movement that is considered by most art scholars as the last platform for Indian modernism before it gave way to the contemporary,” explains Kishore Singh, Senior Vice President, DAG.

The Madras School of Arts and Crafts was the first institution of its kind when it opened in 1850. At the time, Madras was regarded more for its crafts than arts, especially wood and metalwork. Hence, the school’s visual arts department fell short in comparison to the one set up in Calcutta soon after. It was instead considered a place to train artisans and process their designs to be sent overseas for exhibitions and sales.

Things began to change in the 1930s, when DP Roy Chowdhury, a renowned artist trained in the Bengal style, took over as principal. He revitalised the visual arts department by implementing significant changes in the curriculum. However, the Madras Modern Art movement truly gained traction when Roy Chowdhury’s student and successor KCS Paniker became principal in 1958.

As a talented painter, Paniker’s impressionistic experiments in the early 1950s were well received the world over. However, despite the appreciation of his technique, international critics observed the stark absence of an ‘Indian’ identity in his work. Hence, when he was appointed principal, he
transformed his practice to create abstract art steeped in local mythology, symbolism, and text. His methodology also shaped the technical and creative explorations of other artists that came to collectively define this movement.

“Madras Modern offers an extensive examination of this distinctive modernity that has left its mark on the 20th-century Indian art scene. It encapsulates the essence of a unique modernity that continues to resonate within the artistic expressions of South India’s distinguished creators,” explains Singh.

The artists associated with this movement hailed from Tamil Nadu and its neighbouring states— Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra. Some even came from other parts of the country. Yet, the works included in the ongoing exhibition are limited to those artists with long-term associations with the art school or the artists’ village.

This core group of artists includes DP Roy Chowdhury, KCS Paniker, J Sultan Ali, L Munuswamy, S Dhanapal, RB Bhaskaran, P Gopinath, PV Janakiram, and S Nandagopal, among others.

At its heart, the movement was a search for authenticity steeped in this region’s cultural heritage. The movement found firm ground under Paniker’s guidance, whose main concern was to let the identity of the Indian artists shine through their work. In his search for something that was quintessentially Indian yet distinct from the numerous other modernist movements emerging around the country, he took as his reference points, the local environment, the history, mythology, architecture and design of the region.

Ornately decorated temple doors with inlaid metal sheets and exquisite relief work were some of the striking elements of design that seemed to influence him. Others included the intricacies of the written word, especially as seen in almanacs of horoscopes and astrology charts. In their original form, these religious tools were beautifully decorated, often being coded with colours and images. Singh asserts that these became the pivot around which the Madras Art Movement was born.

Paniker’s biggest contribution to the movement was his famous Words and Symbols series, to which other artists responded very favourably. Text became the mainstay of the work, which also included elements of the kolams and mandalas that decorated local homes. His vision, strengthened through the Cholamandal Artists’ Village, was to bring the artist community together to ideate, encouraging them to step away from their studios and individual works. In the process, he also provided a means for their livelihood, which had been a problem earlier as Madras didn’t have much patronage of the arts. He created a space for the artists to band together instead of flying the nest to find work in other, more lucrative industries like advertising and journalism. It remains one of the few artist communities that has endured successfully to this day.

Interestingly, Cholamandal was located next to Kalakshetra, the dance school, Guindy Snake Park, and near Mahabalipuram with its unmatched sculptural heritage. All of these provided much artistic fodder to its residents, with snakes especially becoming frequent motifs introduced into the art.

Singh expands, “What is central to the art practice related to the Modern Madras movement, whether made by figurative or abstract artists, is the line. It becomes the focal point of their artwork and often, the line meets text which could be both legible or illegible. Its legibility is immaterial because the artists didn’t want it to be read as text specifically. It was about holding the wisdom and knowledge within words and symbols. This practice set the movement apart from other modernist movements from around the country, as most of the others were moving toward a more contemporary language.”

Though there are nearly 30 artists included in the exhibition, the founders of the Madras Modern Art Movement fittingly have the greatest representation. DP Roy Chowdhury’s works, made in the largely realistic style of the Calcutta school, include both paintings and sculptures. Of the latter, When Winter Comes, showing a bent old man shivering under the weight of a blanket and his personal problems, and After Bath, depicting a semi-clad female overcome with shyness after bathing, are both excellent examples of his expertise in fashioning human figures. However, life in Madras also influenced the artist, especially in his choice of mediums. The Sentinel, which shows an owl on a gritty gold backdrop was made by mixing sand with oil.

Paniker’s large repertoire of works is well-represented too. His display begins with three early impressionistic works, clearly influenced by European styles. There is also a large and impressive untitled piece from his Words and Symbols series where his conscious effort to find a distinctively Indian voice becomes evident. It contains text-like scribbles which despite being illegible, seem aligned with characters from Malayalam. There are also kolam designs and other folk-art representations on display. Even the central figure in black wearing a red snake-like mask can be interpreted in several ways.

Another noteworthy element of the Madras Modern Art Movement was its unique sculptural practice. Unlike most sculptures which tend to have plenty of volume, these ones were angular, flat and elongated. The focus was largely on their frontal facades which Singh believes was probably inspired by the ornate temple doors of that region. The angularity is also a nod to the importance of the ‘line’ in this artistic movement.

Examples of these include the sculptures of S Dhanapal, a student of Paniker’s who set up the sculpture department at the school. In Village Deity one sees a totemic figure decorated in signs and symbols. There is also an unusual piece where Christ is shown with the cross, surrounded by worshippers. It’s a testament to the multicultural nature of Madras.

Another striking sculpture is Bird by S Nandagopal. This spectacular piece made with multiple metals, eschews volume but proliferates horizontally to mimic Garuda, the airborne mount of Vishnu. Designed with delicate
precision, this piece is reminiscent of tribal jewellery.

J Sultan Ali, originally from Gujarat, is another student and prominent exponent of the school. His work was influenced by the writings of British anthropologist and ethnologist Verrier Elwin on India’s tribal societies. Local mythologies, tribal jewellery, text, and elements of an arid landscape are permanent features in his work.

With the passage of time, artistic voices changed and so did their styles. Yet a commitment to the basic principles of the Madras Modern Art Movement stayed true. This can be seen in L Munuswamy’s Animals in Composition. Best known for his abstracts, he still let the lines of his animal figures be clearly visible within their avant-garde setting.

K Ramanujam, a talented artist who committed suicide at a young age, also explored the abstract form in a variety of ways. His works are infused with a sense of chaos even while being astutely precise in their execution. A large work made in batik by Ramanujam, graces the reception of DAG as a welcome piece to the exhibition.

Some of the later artists, creating work in 1990s and 2000s, began experimenting with pop colours and international expressionism while sticking with the design themes popularised by Paniker. Examples include KV Haridasan’s Brahmasutra, P Gopinath’s Biomorphic Images, and C Douglas’s Absence.

Ashish Anand, CEO and managing director of DAG, summarises, “In the attention that was paid to the dominant art centres elsewhere in India, Madras remained a sideshow even though its contribution has been no less significant than the Bengal School or the Progressives. In drawing our attention to regional imagery as part of its modern-speak, its contribution to our collective national heritage has been overwhelming. Its artists deserve a greater national presence, and I am sure this exhibition will bring them the attention they so richly deserve.”

(Madras Modern: Regionalism and Identity is on display at DAG, Delhi, till July 6)

About The Author

Noor Anand Chawla

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