Indian Art and Letters

Author(s): India Society
Publisher: India Society

Page 35

Modern Art in Western India They have chosen certain European methods of training artists, but they have not tried by force to Europeanize the work of those who think along different lines.
In this way Captain Gladstone Solomon has given great strength and a feeling of certainty to his students, without spoiling their desire to achieve that which it is traditional for them to wish to express.
I think, for instance, that the sense of space in their decorative design, and the sense of rhythm in their pictures generally, are distinctly Indian. If one bears in mind that this is the work of students, of unfinished artists, one will doubly appreciate in it those things which are greatest in Indian art -namely, the gift of dealing effectively with spaces and line The sense of decorative spaces and the flowing rhythm with which they treat subjects, whether static or dynamic, is extremely effective. It seems to me that a great deal is being done by the Bombay School of Art that is helpful and useful.
What interests me most about this forthcoming Exhibition of Modern Indian Art is that we shall there see, not so much the work of students, as that of the men who are considered in their respective parts of India, by those who take an interest in art, to be at the head of their profession. I was discussing with Captain Gladstone Solomon this evening the rules which had guided the selection so far as the exhibits are concerned that have been sent from Western India, and he pointed out that they were very anxious to show only mature work and the best work.
If that is done by all the Rrgional Committees, and if we hang the exhibits in a telling manner, I think you will get for the first time in this country an opportunity of seeing what good work is being done in the different parts of India.
Captain Gladstone Solomon has referred to the practical side of art. I have been engaged on that for the last two years in connection with a thing called by the very awkward name of “Art in Industry." It is an unpleasant name, but a good thing. It is the answer to the question whether, given the right artist and the right opportunity, we cannot bring beauty into all the objects which we see about us or which we handle and use. I think that is a very important matter in India too, and one in the furtherance of which the Bombay School of Art has taken a prominent part by fostering the artistic crafts.
Lord Lloyd was speaking about the patronage of art. It should be possible to secure a certain amount of patronage in this country for Indian painting and sculpture if it follows the vigorous lines which we have seen. But, inevitably, it is in India among Indians that it must in the main be found.
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