Turning meat machines into spiritual beings

Everyone wants to understand art. Why not try to understand the song of a bird? People who try to explain pictures are usually barking up the wrong tree. - Pablo Picasso

To some people art is very important. To others it is nothing. To most of us, it is nice, but it fades beside the everyday problems of living, housing, food, health, children and what not. Whatever that may be, art will be there whether you care for it or not. However, why do some people like art and others simply ignore it?

Everything boils down to who you are or what you think you are. You may be a meat machine or a spiritual being. For a meat machine, anything that is not concerned with physical survival and mundane pleasures is secondary. On the other hand, for a spiritual being, art is an integral part of life. Even to others who fall between meat machines and spiritual beings, art may mean something they cannot do without. They know that art makes them happier and fuller human beings than others who scoff at it. They also know that only unhappy people commit crimes including suicide. After all, art seems to prolong our happiness and life-span.

If you look at it objectively, art is not a luxury, but a vital ingredient in life. Imagine, just for a second, a world without art. A cynic might say, "So what?" But art stimulates your brain cells and make you laugh or transport you to a happy state. In a way, everything is art. Someone has designed your trousers, shirts, skirts, saris and shoes. All that is art. Even your cup, pen, mobile phone and everything you use have been created by someone who has an eye for beauty. So, art is anything that is pleasing to your eyes.

Kala Pola

Art lovers attend painting exhibitions. Even if they are unable to buy some of the paintings, they visit the exhibition to savour the beauty of art. Sri Lankans are fortunate to attend an annual art exhibition called 'Kala Pola' which is usually held on the sidewalks of Nelum Pokuna Mawatha (former Ananda Coomaraswamy Mawatha) in the latter part of January. Although it is a one-day exhibition and sale, it attracts art lovers from different parts of the country. Unlike at an exhibition of paintings of one artist, Kala Pola showcases the talents of hundreds of painters, cartoonists and sculptors.

The event facilitated by the George Keyt Foundation and John Keells Holdings Plc deserve a bouquet. The colourful stalls dotted along either side of Nelum Pokuna Mawatha displayed a variety of artworks. There were traditional artists displaying their wares beautifully. The sculptors showcased the statues of the Buddha, Jesus Christ and Hindu gods. Some enterprising artists had tried their hands at making various other structures using scrap metal while others had used wood and cement for their creations.

The multi-hued abstract paintings drew the attention of everybody. The swirling shapes, colourful patterns and sometime mind-boggling creations dominated the scene. Unlike traditional art, abstract paintings are open to different interpretations. Abstract art requires the viewer to have an open mind to enter the painting and see what is there for him. An abstract artist gives us the freedom to explore the artwork and assign our own meaning to it. This is a wonderful experience, isn't it?

Reaction

A man viewing an abstract painting was heard saying to himself, "My six-year-old son could do this kind of art!" Such a reaction could be expected from the uninitiated. However, it is wrong to believe that abstract painters cannot draw human figures or beautiful flowers. Far from it. They have chosen not to do such paintings. They express their creativity through a visual experience. Apart from traditional paintings, abstract art and sculptures, Sunday Observer cartoonist J. K. G. Punchihewa's stall had a different appeal to the visitors. He displayed a wide array of colourful funny cartoons with apt captions. Most of the foreign and local art lovers who flocked to the stall had a hearty laugh before buying some of the paintings. Some of those who came to his stall appeared to be regular customers who used to collect his hilarious cartoons.

Of course there were critics who did not value the importance of art. Critics who try to comment on art are doing a great disservice because art cannot be explained adequately in words. This is because art appeals to non-verbal segments of our existence. The best way to understand art is to treat it as an experience. Enjoying a piece of art is similar to listening to your favourite song. While listening to the song, you do not try to analyse it. If you try to do so, you will not enjoy the song. It is so with art. Let art influence and inspire you. It is a spiritual experience.

Michael Angelo

There is an amusing story of Michael Angelo's way with art critics. One of his admirers told him that he thought the nose of one of Michael Angelo's sculptures, popularly known as 'David', was too large. The artist ran up the ladder with his hammer, chisel and a concealed handful of marble dust. He pretended to change the shape of the nose, letting the marble dust fall. Then he turned to his admirer to know his comments. The latter said, "You have given life to the statue.'

Kala Pola has been held for the past 19 years. Its perennial attraction to artists and art lovers will further the cause of art - the transformation of meat machines into spiritual beings!