Video archives to document art
Recently there has been a spate of short films and interactive video recording of artists, especially younger artists who are making a mark in the art world. One such series was done by Kathryn Myers, Professor of Art at an American University who initiated what has become an extensive and on-going series of videotaped interviews with over sixty artists from various regions of India including Arpita Singh, Ravi Aggarwal and Waswo.
Another series by Nitin Mehta creates an exclusive video archive of in depth interviews with artists such as Jaganath Panda and Chintan Upadhyay. The interviews try to document an artist’s journey, artworks, influences on life and the like.
Being a one on one interaction with a particular artist these video archives are more in nature of documents of personal affirmation and private histories of artists rather than documentaries on them. The latter is a more holistic overview of external factors, environment along with personal journeys that shaped the creative destiny of an artist. Documentaries or docudramas and feature films on artists are works of art in themselves that may also echo the ideological leanings of the maker and artists in focus.
One may compare the video interview oeuvre with catalogue articles that fixes the spotlight more on the individual and his or her art form and style along with the intentionality behind this, either through a critical analysis or an interview with the artist or both. A video interview perhaps is more intimate with the artist seeming approachable and the artistic process less mysterious, with an added advantage that it may be uploaded onto the net via You Tube or other applications.
Though it may seem merely good publicity for both the archived/interviewer/ filmmaker and the artist both, video archiving of both the artists and their works is a very significant step in documenting Indian contemporary art which could eventually lead to better trade and professional practices.
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