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There's hunger in the world of art - a hunger for ideas, a hunger for markets, a hunger for value - but we have to ask ourselves: Are we doing enough in India to stoke that appetite, or are we simply succumbing to a drought? The ambitious idea, the enthralling provocation, the big show, have we given up on it all?
Around the world, markets may be drying up, but enthusiasm is at least high. In Basel and in Venice, artists are taking risks. In Sao Paula, a "personal guide" is so motivated, she writes to invite me there "so you can understand better how strong the contemporary art scene is around here". Alas, both passion and art seem to be missing in the subcontinent.
While funding for most art events is getting tougher, and auditors are a threat in overseeing creative functions, preparations for forthcoming Indian shows remains at best mediocre. Somewhere among those emerging artists are the next big contemporaries, but they seem notable for their absence rather than their presence. With artists such as the Dodiyas and their peers already having become stalwarts, one is tempted to ask: Is the India story over?
Bollywood - or Indian cinema - is coming up with crisp, new formats and content. Fashion is getting edgier, and everyone's betting on volumes and prices rather than what's outre. Chefs and Masterchefs are rewriting the story of Indian restauranting. Writing in English has overcome the pedantic to put a new spin to numbers so even first edition print runs are getting an opening of a hundred thousand copies thanks to glitzy marketing. Who had thought that possible a few years ago?
And yet, Indian art continues to languish for want of the next big idea. Neither artist, nor promoter, nor collector is thinking sufficiently out of the box, a moribund status quo that is depressing when, all around, nations are extending the buzz around art. Markets might be as lacklustre elsewhere, but the attempt to stay relevant is aimed at building a future. Whether it is West Asia with its hefty commissions of art, and museums, or art fairs transiting between concerns arising around content that is localised, or globalised, or both, a soul-searching churn is throwing up unpalatable realities - but also, at least, the possibility of solutions.
It's easy to understand why interest in India is so easily stifled. The state offers almost no support, and the private sector suffers from a lack of patronage on one hand with just a handful of meaningful collectors, and an insufficiency of deep pockets, hence funds, on the other. Art in the garret might have a romantic ring to it, but it isn't a possibility given current art practices that require expensive mediums ranging from videos to installations. Marketing is now an essential part of selling art, yet self-centred interests betray what ought to be common concerns for most.
What's distressing is the fickleness of the muse which, in these testing times, has turned capricious. The more one sees by way of new art in India, the greater the sense of hopelessness. Declining international interest in what's contemporary in India may have as much to do with its inability to transcend the longevity gap as much as a lack of platforms to lend it a voice and give it familiarity at international fora. While the Brazilians, the Russians, even the Chinese are emerging as strong contenders to claim a larger slice of the global art pie, sadly, India isn't part of that story.
Kishore Singh is a Delhi-based writer and art critic. These views are personal and do not reflect those of the organisation with which he is associated
