27 th January 2019 was special in itself ,I ran to observe Mithila Cosmos - Songs of Innocence & Experience, an exhibition of
paintings by S.C Suman inaugurated by H.E. Mr. Roland Schafer, the
German Ambassador to Nepal on 23rd January 2019 at Siddhartha Art
Gallery.As many as 29 artworks of Suman showcased in the show titled ‘Mithila Cosmos: Songs of Innocence and Experience’.The moment was pleasant to see and analyze the paintings .Mithila art, its several motifs and its paintings are decoded there.Suman works in the tradition of Mithila or Madhubani painting, born out
of the rich history of the Maithili speaking regions of Nepal and India.
The art form’s signature style is exemplified by the spellbinding
intricacies of geometric patterns, leaving little space untouched. The
paintings are organic, using twigs, brushes and fingers with natural
dyes.The bright colours, repetitive patterns,
exaggerated side profiles, florals, stylised birds and animals, and a
frolicking Krishna at play spying on bathing gopinis do not elide into
people’s preconceived notions of “fine” drawing. While the art of the
Mithila Cosmos has the
capacity to transcend its origins, utilising all of its formal
constrictions in creating playful, truly lovely works that can make the
heart soar.Much has been written about the art form – the fact that it was first
practiced only by women, that no part of the canvas is left blank, that
the paintings depict nature, Gods and demi-Gods, that they are
ritualistic in nature and still form an important part of festivals and
ceremonies like marriages; is common knowledge.
As history has it, in 1934, the state of Bihar suffered from a massive
earthquake. A British officer, Willain Archer, was inspecting the damage
caused by the quake in Madhubani district when he chanced upon the
paintings on the interior walls of the dilapidated homes. He took some
of the earliest known photos of the works in black and white. Later in
1949 he published an article on the paintings in the Indian art journal,
Marg, which brought the paintings into the public eye. Later, Archer
was to become the South Asia Curator at London’s Victoria and Albert
Museum. It took another natural disaster, a severe drought in the 1960s,
that inspired the transition of the paintings from the walls of the
homes onto paper, wheen the All India Handicrafts Board encouraged the
women to create these paintings for sale.
The paintings presented titled ‘Mithila Cosmos: Songs of Innocence and Experience’.Kirtipur ,Pashupatinath,Guhyeswari ,Vishnumati,Swyambhu,Dashavatar ,Banyan Tree,Devi Swaraswati with motifs ,colors and symbols.The paintings are traditionally based on mythological, folk themes and
pastoral symbols. The central themes of most paintings are love, valor,
devotion and fertility, though the approach may vary. So it is common
to find scenes of courtship and marriages and symbols of fertility and
prosperity like fish, parrot, elephant, turtle, sun, moon, bamboo tree,
lotus, etc. in prominence.
The divine beings are positioned centrally in
the frame while their consorts and floral motifs form the background. A variety
of inventive patterns are made with hatching and stippling. Even now
during birth and marriage ceremonies paintings are made on walls with
different symbols like bamboo (lineage,) lotus, and fish as seen in paintings . The designs
announce the occasion of the celebration and solicit good fortune and
divine blessings.
His painting Kalpavriksha relates Hindu Mythology and use of elephant as part of nature give the paintings more meanings.Suman painted birds perched on a tree ,elephants as beasts ,men and women celebrating chhat .Even Krishna and Durga are included in visual narratives which denote that Mithila Cosmos is deeply rooted in rituals that pay obeisance to nature.Songs of Innocence And Experience is a continuation of exploration of nature and the environment , themes of death and life ,philosophy of Karma .I just loved the ideas presented in paintings.
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