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Saptarishis - An Encounter
with Steel
The first seven notes of flutes and lutes, Reveal the
music in harmony without fail
(Cilappadikaram 5:35-37)
India is singular.
India is plural.
India is cosmopolitan.
Yet India is also traditional, and it is this tension
between the global and the local that makes her so very special. It is, in fact,
this very cultural diversity of India that creates an unchallenged excitement in
artistic production.
Myths, allegories, metaphors, are part of a continuing
tradition and are very much embedded even in the contemporary thought processes
of the artists. And it is this link with the evolved ancient past of the land
which makes contemporary Indian art the ‘new’ flavour internationally.
Seven has always had a special space in the sacred geography of India. The
seven mind born sons of Brahma (one of the holy Indian trinity) or the
saptarishi guided the divine consciousness of
the land. While the seven great Indian sages were unique in their individual
capacities, they were simultaneously a part of the holistic ‘saptarishi’
force that synthesized and integrated their separateness without denying their
individual identities, which in turn, were equally relevant and valid.
Interestingly, the number ‘Seven’ has a special significance in almost all
sacred literatures and cosmologies in the world, with a special reference to the
Vedic, Greek and Judaic traditions. Around the world ancient scriptures perceive
it as the primordial symbol of manifestation, the sacred numerical
representation of life, and according to E. W. Bullinger, the embodiment of
“spiritual perfection.”
In Greek mythology we come across this number abundantly, be it in the
seven attendants of Mars, or the seven sons and seven
daughters of Niobe, or Phoebus’ seven-stringed lyre or the seven-rayed
sun. Similarly, in ancient Indian we find our scriptures replete with examples
of this sacred number. Seen in this context, the saptarishis, are not
exclusive in being representatives of this ancient symbology. They are, in fact,
in exalted company - the Sapta Loka- (the seven worlds), the
Sapta Dvipa (the seven holy islands), the Sapta Samudra (the
seven holy seas), the Sapta Parvatta (the seven holy
mountains), the Sapta Arania (the seven deserts), the Sapta
Vriksha (the seven sacred trees), the Sapta Pura (the seven
holy cities), and even the 7 levels of human consciousness (physical, vital,
mental, intellectual, super-mental, spiritual and Divine).
Always intrigued and engaged with Indian mythology and its
direct co relation to indigenous wisdom I entered the domain of artistic
production through the notions of the sacred seven in the year 2007. What could
be a better encounter with Stainless Steel than through the purity of the medium
and the purity of the spirit of seven ascetics.
For me my seven sculptors who I invited to experiment with
a material they had not explored completely in its entirety became a wondrous
experiment and the Saptarishis were re born.
Stainless Steel is aesthetically pleasing because it has a natural luster. A
wide variety of finishes including satin, matt, and mirror polish, pearl, mosaic
or linen texture, are available. The colour and texture chosen play a vital role
in a work’s aesthetic appearance. Stainless Steel reflects light and colour from
its immediate environment and thus blends with its surroundings in a harmonious
manner.
Celebrating India’s encounter with the old and new, between the sacred and
the profane, between tradition and modernity is the creative output of the seven
contemporary saptarishis. They responded with a singular enthusiasm using
Steel as a pigment in their respective languages. This time the encounter was
explored through purity and fusion.
NN Rimzon, Pankaj Panwar, Valsan Koorma Kolleri, Karl Antao, Vivek Vilasini,
Sumedh Rajendran, Shiv Verma responded to the medium and created special works
stretching their personal vocabulary and creativity with this contemporary
material - Stainless Steel.
Never before across geographies has there been a
partnership between industry and art in the domain of Stainless Steel.
Thus this engagement with steel becomes a point of flight
to an ongoing adventure with stainless Steel..
Dr.
Alka Pande
Curator
Autumn
2007
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