CHENNAI: Your freedom ends where mine begins the echo that reverberates around in these volatile times. The echoes may fade with the passing years, but never cease to whisper. Perhaps the reason why famous authors are even stabbed decades after their words were imprisoned. Whoever said ‘Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me’ has got it all mixed up, for words have brought down empires and proved fatal for the wordsmith.
It is no better for those of us who wield the brush. The calm blue ocean of art has unleashed tsunamis and faced the fury of parochialism through centuries. Artists have had their share of head-on collisions with unreasonable protestors thirsting for blood. Their creations have often been mute victims of these riots. Hard to believe, isn’t it?
Egon Schiele, the Austrian painter, was one such artist whose paintings of twisted human forms, at times exuding raw sexuality made him famous or rather infamous back then. Defying conventions, Egon had even dropped out after three years of art education, frustrated with conservative methods of teaching. To go against stereotypical notions of beauty and present exaggerated physical features bordering on ugliness was unacceptable to the prevailing society then.
His art was considered offensive and crude. The residents soon drove him out of the small town where he had settled. He was eventually arrested in 1912 and most of his drawings, considered inappropriate, were seized. The judge even went ahead and burnt one of his drawings. Such was the backlash, resulting in Egon spending almost a month in prison. His mentor, Gustav Klimt, whose glittering paintings that celebrated golden hues, also had his artworks embroiled in controversy.
His famous painting titled The Kiss, depicting a couple embracing each other with the spectacular opulence of gold enveloping them, is today considered his masterpiece. But it wasn’t so when it was exhibited in Vienna in 1908. It went against all boundaries of propriety that existed in the early 20th century and created a scandal.
We may claim to be a world of free thinkers but nothing really has changed. One of the most celebrated Indian artists, MF Hussain, was targeted for hurting the sentiments of people through his art in 2006. Lauded as the Picasso of India, the renowned artist was sadly hounded in the twilight years of his life. He was booked by the police, a case made out against him, his house was attacked and his artworks vandalised, until he left the country in self exile, never to return until his death in 2011.
The universe has never been kind to those who went against the grain. Art that tiptoed into forbidden areas, scratched at taboos or stood face to face in battle with traditional beliefs, has never had it easy. They have been banned, destroyed and the artists publicly humiliated. Ironically, most of this exiled art is today hailed as some of the greatest creations ever. They have left indelible marks on art history, clearing the way for newer, bolder forms of expression. Great art will always find its way out of the darkest dungeons!