![]() ![]() ![]() I must now get to my studio to make some works in clay that will go in my next ‘high temperature glaze-firing’.All rights reserved. But would she, as the creator, view this event with similar emotion, I wonder. taken away by an act of God, becoming one with nature? This was probably never the intended outcome of Kusama. When spectatorship is lost, we can only rely on documentation. And ironically, the video footage of the large, polka dotted pumpkin, swirling with every wave hitting it, became a spectacle to witness. But for me, it metaphorically reminds of the impermanence of everything through this work of ‘visual art’ that turned into a ‘performance’. It is also a loss of a precious art work. There is no doubt that this event must be taken with all seriousness to bring about corrective-action in this direction. Increased frequency of typhoons and rising sea-levels causing the Kusama work to get destroyed is accentuating the issue of global warming and climate change. Immersion of deities in India Image: Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons This departure is celebrated – the creator is not sad about their work getting destroyed. It culminates into the idol of god and goddess being immersed into the sea, as though bidding farewell, but with a promise that they will return next year. The festival itself is celebrated with much fanfare and an all-immersive devotion. They are heavily ornate and intricately detailed, created over several months. Ganpati and Durga idols are made each year. Kusama’s work taking to the sea is ironically akin to the Indian deity being submerged in water. It is a symbolic cue that tomorrow will be renewed and to remain detached to all worldly possessions. It enthusiastically celebrates the impermanence and is a reminder to live in the present. The act of making it, however, has spiritual and cultural significance that goes far beyond decoration. A daily ritual, the ‘work’ lasts a few hours, with wind displacing the powder, people walking over it, and ants and birds feeding on the edible material. It uses powdered limestone, ochre, or even rice-flour and petals. Rangoli or alpana, as it is called, originated in Indian sub-continent. But why must all art ever made have this load of long-life, when our own existence on Earth is temporal?Īlpana decoration Image: Courtesy of istockphotos Significant works with historical importance have a certain academic value and should definitely be preserved in museum environment. This, in my mind is a fascinating ideology, especially at a time when disproportionate importance is given to ‘archival paper/canvas and archival ink/pigments’, to project a long, happy and healthy life of the art work! It is natural to desire for the life of the work to surpass that of its creator and owner, especially when art is seen as an asset class. There are practices that focus on making intriguing works, painstakingly crafted, and yet, left for destruction, by design. Such works do not exist over a long period of time. Now, the idea of ephemeral art itself is not new. 01 min watch Yayoi Kusama’s work washed into the sea Video: Ruttrutt, Courtesy of Wikimedia CommonsĪ recent event of Yayoi Kusama’s pumpkin sculpture getting washed away into the sea by a storm in Japan made me wonder – what if, visual art also consumes time and ceases to exist? ![]()
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