[Reader-list] Husain Exhibition Attacked in Delhi

S. Jabbar sonia.jabbar at gmail.com
Tue Aug 26 12:48:53 IST 2008 

Maybe it comes as a surprise to you, but I find nothing offensive in nudity.
My mother is 75 years old and I find her beautiful. If a sensitive artist,
appreciative of the beauty of an ageing body with all that is considered to
be flawed by a culture that glorifies youth and pornography were to paint
her and she were to acquiesce, I would have no problem at all.

BTW, a decade ago I had worked on a photography project with the artist
Sheba Chhachhi where we had explored these very questions in what I
considered to be stunningly beautiful black & white prints.


On 8/26/08 9:07 AM, "Prabhakar Singh" <prabhakardelhi at yahoo.com> wrote:

> If some artist in the name of art paints your mother nude and displays it in
> art galleries and exhibitions to public how would you feel and how wold you
> react? Will you write the same languge which you have written here and take
> the same action as suggested by you to others? Will you appreciate the
> beautiful work of art in the same manner? After all every freedom has its
> sensible limits.
> Prabhakar
> 
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: rohan saha <rohansaha at gmail.com>
> To: S. Jabbar <sonia.jabbar at gmail.com>
> Cc: Sarai <reader-list at sarai.net>
> Sent: Tuesday, 26 August, 2008 12:54:16 AM
> Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Husain Exhibition Attacked in Delhi
> 
> Dear All,
> 
> I am new to this list and was added recently.
> 
> I had a couple of observations about the ongoing debate.
> 
> As regards the definition of "art"; it is an extremely subjective definition
> and will vary from person to person. But one's is free to express what he
> wants whether it qualifies as art or not and just because a painter puts
> forth one offensive painting does not mean that every painting prepared by
> him should be branded as offensive.
> 
> Also, I understand the outrage directed against an artist for the manner in
> which he has depicted a religious deity or a religious symbol but I can't
> comprehend how that outrage sanctions hooliganism  and vandalism. There are
> legal channels which can be employed to prosecute a person whose expression
> / "art" outrages the sentiments of a community. Every country has them, as
> does India under Chapter XV of the Penal Code.
> 
> I do understand that a country such as Pakistan, China, Saudi Arabia etc
> would tend to punish such actions more severely, maybe even with death,
> therefore I tend to be thankful that I'm in India and *not *one of those
> countries.
> 
> Finally, would the same controversy have occurred if these paintings were
> rendered a Hindu artist? By a Menon or Maity or Sen rather than a Husain?
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Rohan
> 
> 
> On Mon, Aug 25, 2008 at 9:37 PM, S. Jabbar <sonia.jabbar at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>> What, dear Aditya are you referring to and pronouncing on now?  Is this too
>> to be labeled under Muslim art and anti-Muslim art, one to denounced and
>> the
>> other to be defended? What a terrible bore!
>> 
>> 
>> On 8/25/08 9:15 PM, "Aditya Raj Kaul" <kauladityaraj at gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>>> Art - It cannot be called a work of Art for sure.
>> 
>> Wonder why the Danish
>>> cartoonist abused, maligned and mis-represented. Even
>> his was a work of pure
>>> art. Amd, wasn't that his job too...
>> 
>> Its quite unfortunate to see some
>>> ultra-liberals (chappal & Jholla fame)
>> defending such mindless imagination.
>>> There isn't any justification for it.
>> 
>> Had something of this scale been done
>>> in some other country such as
>> Pakistan, Saudia Arabia, China etc.; the person
>>> would't have been alive by
>> now.
>> 
>> Aditya Raj Kaul
>> 
>> 
>> On 8/25/08, S. Jabbar
>>> <sonia.jabbar at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> 
>>> You are welcome to critique the works of
>>> the artist and what you perceive
>>> to
>>> be the motives that drive her/his
>>> art.
>>> 
>>> But why is it that you feel the need to defend the right to destroy
>>> that
>>> art?
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> On 8/25/08 8:44 PM, "Prabhakar Singh"
>>> <prabhakardelhi at yahoo.com> wrote:
>>> 
>>>> The work of art is for the consumption
>>> of people but it should not
>>> consume the
>>>> consumer itself.The artist
>>> should know it very well.He should not try to
>>> play
>>>> with their faith just
>>> for his/her cheap fun.An artist who is not
>>> sensitive to
>>>> emotions and
>>> faith of the people at large is not an artist at all.Art is
>>> not
>>>> an end
>>> in itself.It is for the people and for the good of the society.
>>>> 
>>> Prabhakar
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> ----- Original Message ----
>>>> From: S. Jabbar
>>> <sonia.jabbar at gmail.com>
>>>> To: Prabhakar Singh <prabhakardelhi at yahoo.com>;
>>> Shuddhabrata Sengupta
>>>> <shuddha at sarai.net>; Sarai <reader-list at sarai.net>
>>> 
>>>> Sent: Monday, 25 August, 2008 8:25:17 PM
>>>> Subject: Re: [Reader-list]
>>> Husain Exhibition Attacked in Delhi
>>>> 
>>>> People have become rather
>>> emotional and touchy of late.  Everyone seems
>>> to
>>>> have become
>>> hypersensitive and quick to take offense-- of course it helps
>>> if
>>>> there
>>> are TV cameras to record one's display of piety.
>>>> 
>>>> Is one's faith so
>>> fragile that a drawing or a piece of poetry or writing
>>> and
>>>> can shake it?
>>> Evidently so and mores the pity.  Why tear down works of
>>> art
>>>> when it is
>>> faith that is crumbling?  My prescription is twenty years of
>>>> solitary
>>> meditation in a cave in the Himalayas.
>>>> 
>>>> Do you know the story of Swami
>>> Vivekanand who stood in front of the
>>> goddess
>>>> at Khir Bhavani? Look it
>>> up.  It's instructive.  And humbling.
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> On 8/25/08 7:52 PM,
>>> "Prabhakar Singh" <prabhakardelhi at yahoo.com> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>>> Artists should be
>>> careful about the cultural or religious sensitivities
>>> of
>>>>> the
>>>>> 
>>> people.Art can flourish even without delving on such sensitive and
>>> touchy
>>> 
>>>>> issues which may have emotional importance for some
>>>>> people.
>>>> 
>>> Prabhakar
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> ----- Original Message ----
>>>> From:
>>> Shuddhabrata Sengupta
>>>>> <shuddha at sarai.net>
>>>> To: sarai list
>>> <reader-list at sarai.net>
>>>> Sent: Monday, 25
>>>>> August, 2008 6:30:19 PM
>>>> 
>>> Subject: [Reader-list] Husain Exhibition Attacked in
>>>>> Delhi
>>>> 
>>>> Dear
>>> all,
>>>> 
>>>> Once again, with depressing, monotonous and disgusting
>>>>> 
>>>> 
>>> predictability, a group of hooligans affiliated to the Hindutva
>>>> (Hindu
>>> 
>>>>> Fundamentalist) agenda who call themselves the 'Shri Ram Sena'
>>>> have
>>> attacked
>>>>> and ransacked a small exhibition in Delhi of images by
>>>> and
>>> about the
>>>>> nonegarian painter M. F. Husain, The exhibition was
>>>> held on
>>> the premises of
>>>>> the office of the Safdar Hashmi Memorial
>>>> Trust
>>> (SAHMAT) in Delhi, to protest
>>>>> against the decision by the
>>>> orgnaizers
>>> of an Art Summit in Delhi to exclude
>>>>> work by Husain citing
>>>> reasons of
>>> security. This incident demonstrates, yet
>>>>> again, how
>>>> inimical the
>>> forces of Hindutva are to an open society and to
>>>>> the
>>>> freedom of
>>> expression.
>>>> 
>>>> See -
>>>>> 
>>> http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Husain-photo-
>>>>> 
>>>> 
>>> exhibition-vandalised-yet-again/352835/ for a report in the Indian
>>>> 
>>> Express
>>>>> that carries details of the incident.
>>>> 
>>>> This list has
>>> discussed such attacks on
>>>>> freedom of expression before,
>>>> and just as
>>> we have had forthright criticism
>>>>> of Muslim
>>>> fundamentalists attacking
>>> Taslima Nasrin, and the CPI (M) led
>>>>> West
>>>> Bengal government making it
>>> impossible for her to stay in Kolkata, so
>>>>> 
>>>> too, we must take into
>>> account this latest assault on cultural
>>>> liberty.  I
>>>>> appeal to all to
>>> condemn this attack on the freedom of
>>>>> 
>>>> expression.
>>>> 
>>>> regards
>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> Shuddha
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
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