'Every artist should remain connected from own root'

Artist Sanju Das in her home studio

"She feels every artist should remain connected from his/her root. After marriage, She have been mostly living in the city but her soul still resides in village for the place where she  had spent most of her childhood and youth. It’s like her first love – hard to forget." 

Artist Sanju Das in conversation with Ashok Jha..

You are the first artist to bring modern art on the canvas of Mithila Painting. How do you feel?

I feel happy about it. Yes, I have tried to infuse the motifs of Mithila paintings into modern style of painting. The inspiration for this came to me from seeing the paintings of Ganga Devi who is the first artist to bring modern subject to the realm of Mithila painting.

How contemporary is your artworks?

In the beginning, I was a folk artist and then I learnt modern art. Today I am trying to make my artworks contemporary. I try to infuse contemporary problems and thoughts into my artworks. For example, I have done paintings on women education and development, on migration and also on pollution.

How many series you have worked on so far? Presently what series/theme you are working on?

I have not done painting keeping in mind the series but certainly there are some subjects on which I have done more work. So far, faces, village, mother-child, modern women and subjects like these have been the main themes of my paintings. And now, I want to work on series such as female figure and its thoughts process.

Why your canvas is dominated by female figures like feminist artists?

I am myself a woman and so it’s easy for me to have better understandings of their sentiments. I have felt that from village to city, be it our family or our society, everywhere women’s contribution is belittled compared to men. My art steps forward to complement it. I love to paint female figure, especially the toiling females. While painting them, I feel as if I am recording the history of their labour into the line I draw. 

Despite living in city for last 20 years, village still finds its way on your canvas.

I feel every artist should remain connected from his/her root. After marriage, I have been mostly living in the city but my soul still resides in village for the place where I have spent most of my childhood and youth. It’s like my first love – hard to forget. Its land, its river, its birds its animals – I have really forgotten nothing. I do not like the artificial people of city – they do not interest me. May be my love for the nature is a reason for this.

You and your husband, you both are artists. You stay together and paint together but despite that, your works are different. Do not you influence each other?

We do influence each other – the effect of working together gets reflected both in work and on thought as well as on techniques. But it is not visible because my works are more influenced by folk arts and his style is more realistic.

How much important is the signature style for an artist?

Signature style is the first attempt of an artist. If you look at the history of art, the post modern art has greatly influenced the contemporary art. Only after this, artists freed themselves from the trap of styles and started giving primacy to thoughts. What I think is even today, signature style is necessary for Indian art market.

These days artist are working in new mediums but you are still working in traditional medium. Why?

I too feel like making sculptures, doing illustrations and participate in performing arts. But this is true that I have not been able to muster enough courage for all these. Though, I like the mixed media.

How much important it is for artists to understand the market?

I do not have much experience in this regard but certainly I have heard this from my artist friends that such and such artists have understood the market well like Artists like Picasso, Paul Gauguin, Damien Hirst, Anish Kapoor, Hussain and others. But there are some artists about whom I have heard, they never gave a damn to the market, like Van Gogh. All artists know that behind signature style, bright colors and series painting, market is the most motivating factor.

Who is your ideal or your teacher in the field of arts?

I am a self-trained artist and that is why I consider all artists as my teacher. Have learnt one thing or other from them all especially from my husband. As far as ideal is concerned, Frieda Kahlo and Arpita Singh have been my ideal. Whatever success I have got today, is because of my persistency. To remain unshaken even when the conditions are adverse makes you succeed in life.