Ganesh Pyne: The Dark Surrealist
Ganesh Pyne, a luminary of the Indian art scene, stands as a visionary whose work transcends the confines of traditional artistic expression. Born on June 11, 1937, in Kolkata, West Bengal, Ganesh Pyne is known for his dark imagery and exploration of death. Pyne was unusually interested and particularly drawn towards the skeletal remains of humans and animals. The visual impact and psychological resonance of skeletal remains eventually became the subject of his canvas, with death being the epicentre of his paintings. His approach, style and subject matter was greatly a result of the scars of trauma that Pyne was profoundly affected at a tender age during the Calcutta riots of 1946.
Pyne is described as an artist of shadows or darkness. Some even call him the death painter, and according to articles and biographies written of him its said that, he was a calm and composed man outside, his art was rebellious, venting his anger and dismay in the form of skull, cadavers, creepy faces in the backdrop of dark and blue shades. His rare addiction of representing hardships and He even depicted less noticed mythological characters like amba, ekalavya and others whose life was reflective of miseries and curse.some see his art as a visual journey to the horrors perceived and experienced by him and his characters. Ganesh Pynes paintings started with watercolour but eventually moved to gouache and later to tempera as his medium. Ganesh pyne’s canvas often resonates the uncomfortable yet inevitable side of living beings, ‘death’.
Being a contemporary artist of Bengal school, his very Indian yet dark artworks revolve around the legends and lore of Bengal. Having been born and brought up in Kolkata’s decaying buildings and listening to stories narrated by his grandmother about Bengali folklores and reading through Bengali children’s magazines, his imagination received wings that was hard to contain. However, it was Kolkata riots during pre-independence time in 1946 that left a lasting impression on his 9 years old brain, when he encountered countless dead bodies piled one over the other. This incident moulded his artistic fancy destine towards shady imagery and eerie fantasy.
Enrolling at the Government College of Art & Craft in Kolkata in 1959, Pyne found himself drawn to the mystical allure of the Bengal School of Art, particularly the visionary works of Abanindranath Tagore. The major breakthrough in the life of the artist came in 1970s, when he had moved to water colours, in a tumultuous period of anger and despair in Bengal that found expression in his art. It was during this period that a Mumbai magazine, The Illustrated Weekly of India published an article where the leading contemporary artist, M.F. Hussain, when asked to rank who the best painter in India was, named 37-year-old Pyne, over the leading artists and big names of Indian art including Francis Souza, Tyeb Mehta and Syed Raza, this episode immediately brought him into the limelight. Pyne was very active during his early years of artistic fameand participated in various national and international art events. He participated in Paris Biennale in 1969 and contemporary Indian Painting in West Germany in 1970.However, by the time, the India art boom arrived in the 1980s, he started largely keeping to himself, fazed by the commercialism
Pyne’s early works, suffused with the innocence of childhood memories, soon gave way to a darker, more introspective style as he grappled with the complexities of human existence. Ganesh Pyne is now considered as a great name in Indian art but his earlier career was dominated by economic crisis. Although he worked as a book illustrator and sketch artist for animated movies at Mandar Mullick’s studio as well as joined society of contemporary artists, but he could not manage to make enough money to purchase painting material yet he kept drawing with pen and ink.
His painting style and subject matter differed from his contemporaries,influenced by Frans Hals, Rembrandt’s handling of chiaroscuro and Paul Klee’s simplicity and cubism he developed his own style of “poetic surrealism”. His paintings became windows into the depths of the human psyche, inviting viewers to confront their own fears, anxieties, and desires. Sometimes his canvases became battlegrounds where light and shadow wage an eternal war, with each stroke of his brush a meditation on the transient nature of life and the inevitability of death.
Pyne’s legacy as a painter of the human condition endures, his canvases serving as portals into the deepest recesses of the human soul. Though he passed away on March 12, 2013, his spirit lives on through his timeless art, inspiring generations to embrace the shadows and confront the mysteries of existence with courage and compassion.Despite his reclusive nature, Pyne’s paintings spoke volumes, resonating with audiences around the world and earning him a place among the pantheon of great artists. His refusal to compromise his artistic integrity in the face of commercial pressures only served to enhance his reputation as a true visionary. In the annals of Indian art history, Ganesh Pyne stands as a towering figure, a beacon of inspiration for all who dare to explore the boundless depths of the human psyche through the transformative power of art.
ROLE OF ART IN HEALING
Art has been used as a means of communication, self-expression, diagnosis, and conflict resolution for ages. Many cultures and religions around the world have included the use of carved idols and charms, as well as sacred paintings and symbols in the healing process. This process of healing was acknowledged in 1942 as “Art Therapy” by British artist Adrian Hill, who discovered the healthful benefits of painting and drawing while recovering from tuberculosis. Margaret Naumburg, an educator and therapist, was also practising art as a distinct form of psychotherapy at the same time. She was actually one of the first people to experience psychoanalysis in the U.S., and she believed in the importance of uncovering the unconscious and was very much influenced by Freud. Art therapy is also known as expressive therapy, because the art is used as a means of communication and lets people explore and express their emotions and thoughts which they hesitate to share directly. Art Therapy provides individuals facing physical, emotional, and cognitive challenges with new pathways of understanding and self-expression. This unique therapy uses the power of the arts to get people to open up and engage with their therapy in new ways, which may enhance healing of mental as well as spiritual difficulties. Through integrative methods, art therapy engages the mind, body, and spirit in ways that are distinct from verbal articulation.
Art therapy uses basic human tendencies and patterns to create an outlet of supressed emotions. Kinesthetics, sensory, perceptual, and symbolic opportunities invite alternative modes of receptive and expressive communication, which can be very helpful to open up emotions that have been pushed back. The therapy forces to notice them and work on them. Due to its versatility, art therapy is perfect for people of every age group and one doesn’t need to be very creative or artistic to take up this therapy. The goal of art therapy is to utilize the creative process to help people explore self-expression and, in doing so, find new ways to gain personal insight and develop new skills. Visual and symbolic expression gives voice to experience and empowers individual, communal, and societal transformation.
