Shanu lahiri biography of barack

The works perhaps, nourished by bacteria, non humans or the flow of nature. What must the artist be thinking of! Often through her palate, she allows the viewer a glimpse into her world of distinctive style and imagery — sweeping brushlines, powerful contours, doodles, striking economies of line and tone — all of which blend compellingly with the more real and immediate concerns of co-existence and interconnectedness.

Coactivity between humans and non-humans, between non-humans and non-humans, recur in her artistic spaces. Effortlessly the back of a crocodile serves as the terra firma for a rock and roll band just as naturally the monkey, the bird and the woman seem to display a few snatched moments of camaraderie. Shanu Mazumdar en. Kolkata en.

Public art and graffiti art in Kolkata en. Through her art, Shanu Lahiri addressed the contemporary realities of society. Following the formation of the "Calcutta Group" in , a tendency to get organised in groups emerged among artists in different pockets of India. In the "Progressive Painters Association" was formed under the guidance of K.

So without doubt the "Calcutta Group" was the pioneer of these efforts its forming artists' collectives which paved the way for others to follow. However, women were often excluded from these men's clubs. In , Calcutta and to an extent, the country witnessed the mobilization of the first group of women artists: "The Group" as they called themselves, consisted of five members - Karuna Shaha , Shanu Lahiri, Meera Mukherjee , Santosh Rohatgi and Shyamasree Basu.

Such an organization of women easily became the target of much implicit scorn and condescension in contemporary art circles. The artists, however remained resolute, most clear-cut and unequivocal about the necessity for such a forum of women artists. Women had for long been obscured in their profession, echoing what Virginia Woolf once stated- "For most of history, anonymous was a woman.

Such wider exposure was crucial for the artists. Despite holding exhibitions at regular intervals, with hardly any sales was disappointing. This is where a different approach to marketing and promotional activity would have helped, enabling a greater degree of engagement with more modern and avant-garde art trends. She often said that when she read a poem by Tagore she saw images, but on viewing his paintings she never felt a lyrical feeling.

This shortcoming experienced by her led her to write on the art of Rabindranath Tagore, which culminated into the book 'Rabindra Chitra Chetana'-which offers a critical insight into the art and visual vocabulary of Tagore. To coincide with the launch she also held an exhibition showcasing the work of her brothers Kamal and Nirode Mazumdar, and other members of her Mazumdar clan, nephew Chittrovanu, and niece Oditi.

It was impossible for anyone who had gone to meet Shanu Lahiri would leave unfed. Whether it was fixing salads quickly or preparing elaborate meals, she was known to be an experimenter in the kitchen also. A book titled Tabled by her daughter Damayanti Lahiri and designed by her nephew Chittrovanu Mazumdar was launched after her death and consists of a collection of her recipes, paintings, scribbles, and doodles-.

It is a free flowing anecdotal installation, compiled in no particular direction-an assemblage of illustrations, photos, quirks, recipes and minor narratives. We selected a public wall and started painting on it. We didn't erase the political jargons but turned the wall into our canvas. People were curious at first and then appreciative".

Lahiri was also involved in public art and graffiti art projects throughout Kolkata. Beginning in the s, through her 'Love Calcutta Project' she encouraged street children and students to paint on the walls of Kolkata in an effort to beautify the city. In [ 8 ] Lahiri gathered students of La Martiniere Calcutta to paint over their school wall with colourful art and murals.

Gradually this movement caught on, and in the coming years she was involved in similar public art projects in various parts of the city such as Jadu Babu's Bazaar in the Bhowanipore area, the fish market at Sreebhumi, Fort William , and other areas in north and south Calcutta. Inspired by the folk dolls of Bengal, she created a statue of Parama on the Kolkata Bypass.

In the s she moved to the Lake Town neighbourhood, where she formed a local group known as bhavana. This group engaged in garbage clean-up drives and also painted neighbourhood walls with graffiti art. Lahiri had her own food stall at the local Durga Puja annual fete, selling kebabs.

Shanu lahiri biography of barack

Lahiri was active in public art projects into her eighties. Shanu Lahiri is no more. A great and rare soul has left Kolkata and the earth. I remember she was so generous with her time, and always curious about the next generation. I was in Kolkata preparing for a solo show at Experimenter gallery. Her daughter Damayanti Dodo invited me to her house, via our mutual friend Annu.

Shanu-di kept asking what forms I use. Photography, film, together, separate, mounted, projected? She wondered about these new forms of work making where brush never touched paper.