KOLKATA INTERNATIONAL PERFORMANCE ART FESTIVAL: MUNDANE PERFORMER

WHEN I WAS TRAVELLING, I CAME ACROSS A GROUP WHICH CALLS THEM PERFORMANCE ARTISTS. WHO ARE THESE PERFORMANCE ARTISTS?? WHAT IS PERFORMANCE ART??

Mundane Artist: Srinia Chowdhury explores Kipaf16

That day… DAY 1

I SAW: a MUNDANE PERFORMER Tapati lying on the tracks of the train at Majherhaat station.

I UNDERSTOOD: nothing.

MY QUESTION: doesn’t she have a home?

As I moved ahead I SAW: a group of MUNDANE PERFORMERS beside the tracks. Lazing and grazing. Someone started tying them with threads. A beautiful man called ‘Bula Da’ started singing while others joined in.

I UNDERSTOOD: nothing.

MY QUESTION: Are they drunk?

DAY 2

Next day again I met the same group...

I SAW: A mundane Performer Anupam who became a monster in solidarity with Rohit vemula. Dressed in a Ghagra and Takia he had lost his identity. Smeared in ash he walked around with a mirror as a metaphor to the society who is literally the killer.

I UNDERSTOOD: The solidarity.

MY QUESTION: why are they protesting inside a closed space?

I SAW: A mundane Performer Sarojini Lewis served her emotions and experiences straight out of her poetry journal on leaf plates.

I UNDERSTOOD: People weren’t so attentive until she spoke a few lines of her journal.

MY QUESTION: Is it always necessary for a performer to be loud and attention seeking?

I SAW: A not so mundane performance by Inder Salim. He was giving away Hindusthan Ratna to the dead Rohit and he promised to send it via the brahmical plant tulsi.

I UNDERSTOOD: Performance is a metaphorical depiction to the ongoing conditions of the society just like any other art.

MY QUESTION: None! He made himself clear!

I SAW: Mundane performer Atish Saha soul cleansing and scrubbing.

I UNDERSTOOD: Introspection is important

MY QUESTION: What is the difference between performance art and play?

I SAW: 2 mundane performers as SAC Travel company executive branding and selling a mundane product.

I UNDERSTOOD: the satirical metaphor.

MY QUESTION: Can such satires be understood by non artist or common man? The beautiful satire must reach out to the public to protect them against the branding mosters! Way to go Alex and Vidhisha (said my heart)

I SAW: A Mundane performer Sumana pin a saree and make a tube like tunnel and passing herself through the tunnel.

I UNDERSTOOD: The journey of a woman. The change a woman goes through in a lifetime is much more than a man.

MY QUESTION: Journey is inevitable but to break the shackles and create your identity does one need to be very persistent? Like Sumana finally broke the tunnel and came out!!

I SAW: mundane Performer Rohit’s surreal way to lend his solidarity to Rohen Dumbre and a gentle protest to our current government. From taping himself to burning papers and taking an ash bath he did it all.

I UNDERSTOOD: He successfully caught people’s attention and had audience participatition.

MY QUESTION: Doing unusual actions generate curiousity. So is performance an attention seeker?

I SAW: mundane performer Ali clicking selfies with gods on the streets and shops. He dressed feminine and hung a shiva’s photo across his neck like a necklace depicting himself as an Ardhanarishwar.

I UNDERSTOOD: he occupied a certain space on the roads of Kolkata and generated much crowd curiousity. Most people refused get selfies clicked with him because people are do not want a real Ardhanirshwar, they only want that in the mundane idols.

MY QUESTION: Was the agenda of this art understood by the common man?

I SAW: a gorgeous mundane performer Amruta in a park draped in polythene bags across her body and stood silently on a hill of rocks.

I UNDERSTOOD: She was condemning the unfriendly plastics ruining the environment. But later found out she had a different concept.

MY QUESTION: What were the audience in the park thinking?

I SAW: mundane performer Hariyo and Sakina make a human hug chain like a spiral with mundane unknown people.

I UNDERSTOOD: that an interactive performance makes the society little closer to one’s art.

MY QUESTION: Should all the performances involve society participation because ultimately most of the performance art it seems is a moral message for the society and for the society enlightenment.

I SAW: mundane performer Asim make a huge circle chain of newspapers and stood in between the circle and burnt the papers. Later he loses his identity by smearing ink over his face while still standing in the circle.

I UNDERSTOOD: such unusual actions in public generate great audience. Maybe it is a great way to express our message to the society.

MY QUESTION: should we start using this art to spread social messages seriously?

I SAW: mundane performer James rattling against the fences in Hedua park.

I UNDERSTOOD: Just like most of us he is also suffocated with so many barriers over mundane things.

MY QUESTION: Should we all start rattling fences to protest? Is I time we wake up from our slumber?

I SAW: Mundane performer Ferial breaking eggs with her head. From inside the eggs came out blood. It was her way to show the human conflicts being rooted right from the embryo.

I UNDERSTOOD: Performance art has the capability of creating highly metaphorical work such that the residue post the performance looks like a neat painting.

MY QUESTION: why have I been blind towards this form of art for so long?

Spectating so much of art in one day was over whelming. I went home and slept like a baby

DAY 2

Next day I co incidentally met a performance artist yet again who in turn took me to a whole lot of more performances.

I SAW: Mundane performer Chithra asking question who am I?

I UNDERSTOOD: she has a story of identity crisis.

MY QUESTION: couldn’t this issue be raised in any other medium? Why performance?

I SAW: Mundane performer Amjad writing loads of messages of protest against religion on the floor at different places.

I UNDERSTOOD: Writing messages at different places generated audience curiosity. Maybe Playing with audience psychology is one of the main objectives of performance art.

MY QUESTION: mmmmmmmmmmmmmm…………

I SAW: mundane performers Sam and Ellie creating a very strong visual across the given space.

I UNDERSTOOD: performance art sometimes needs to create an awe factor to gain audience.

MY QUESTION: mmmmmmmmmm…… wao!! What just happened?

I SAW: mundane performer Monica silently performing through the day. She sat counting rices.

I UNDERSTAND: Durational Performances are an attempt to being persistent.

MY QUESTION: Did people notice her performance at all?

I SAW: mundane performers Ushnish, Shoumik and Shibayan giving AWAZ to people.

I UNDERSTOOD: they involved audience by tieing them with threads and connecting the threads with random people. That was the best way to gather people and send across their message that shackles cud be broken only if you attempt to.

MY QUESTION: mmmmmmmmm……

I SAW: SPONTENIOUS MUNDANE PERFORMERS using the residue of the earlier performance and creating a new performance of protests of different sorts.

I UNDERSTAND: Performance exists everywhere. One has to have the fire to find and present it.

MY QUESTION: Is performance art that simple to access between all forms of art?

I SAW: mundane performer Devesh mourning for Rohit Vemula. Smearing ink to depict the loss of the identity and cutting his finger to write his name in blood was all a protest

I UNDERSTOOD: performance artists are pushing parameters to use their body as a medium for their art.

MY QUESTION: Is it time we make way for performance seriously? Are the fine artists and visual artists listening?

I SAW: mundane performer Madhvi and Romain starting a durational performance. Sadly I didn’t see it ending as ………….

I SAW: another mundane performer Palash silently dressed in white robe and blowing ballons while his face was covered with inverted pins that he had pasted. He looked almost like a painting of Gustav Klimt.

I UNDERSTOOD: Sometimes the essence of the performances lie in the props they wear and carry. Props are very important element in performance art.

MY QUESTION: What was the agenda of that performance BTW?

I SAW: mundane performer Jewel depicting death in protest against Rohit Vemula suicide. His suffocating himself with thread and painting himself silver generated much audience but it was when he climbed the platform wall and raised his hands with a feather suddenly loads of crows started flying. It looked like a beautiful painting and was very metamorphic.

I UNDERSTOOD: The beauty of this art lies in context with time and space and people.

MY QUESTION: mmmmmmmmmm………

These performers decided on changing spaces and moved in the local train of Kolkata. I now more interested in performance art followed.

Suddenly there were so many performances in the train. The local train of Kolkata was occupied!!

I SAW: Ali’s depiction of suppression in a performance, Chimuk’s knife balancing performance, Amjad’s “amader choto nodi sukiye gache’’ which is a metaphor of the displaced people who lived near river banks and their pathos.

I SAW: on the Majherhaat platform mundane performer Sagar donating peace via the symbolical shola flowers.

I UNDERSTOOD: There is much to explore

MY QUESTION: Is this art but?

Across the platform I SAW: mundane performer Dimple with L.E.D lights on hair trying to tell untold stories of common man.

I UNDERSTOOD: That sometimes it’s about the visual experience created by a performance artist.

MY QUESTION: mmmmmmmmm…….

I SAW… many more mundane performers Sreedhar, Bhuvanesh, Prasad, Toontoon, Priyanka doing bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla …

ok I was spaced out… I SAW but didn’t UNDERSTAND except maybe Toontoon’s performance which condemned the duality and hypocrisy of the society towards a girl child………..

and this time I HAVE NO QUESTIONS…..

DAY 3

Next morning, I was addicted to this performance art so I went once again to get some more visual treat.

Just when I reached I SAW: a mundane performer Santhosh. His face was half covered with jute in a way he could not talk. But he wrote on a blank copy. Most people who didn't notice him for 1^st few hours were forced to notice him as he was sitting there for duration of 6 hours. Audience started participated and communicating to him via his notebook.

I UNDERSTOOD: sometimes durational performances are important to make the presence felt.

MY QUESTION: Persistence is the key to performance art?

I SAW: mundane performer Pramod performing the last rites for the Rohit Vemula

I UNDERSTOOD: Art has the power to convey messages. Performance art is a very tangible medium.

MY QUESTION: Art could represented so mundanely?

I SAW: mundane performer Bisaji was making his performance inside a very dark claustrophobic room. As I entered he asked me ‘Can I trust you?’ He asked me a couple of times. When I said yes he finally lit a candle and told me a little secret. I blew off the candle and left as sign to hold his secret. I went again after 1 hour to see the progress and this time I knew his secret. So we made a better conversation. It was interesting

I UNDERSTOOD: Interactive performance is capable of delivering messages.

I SAW: mundane performers Pinto and Khandakar trying to break barriers of religion differences and telling love has no religion.

I SAW: mundane performer Adriana rubbishing the hush hush mensturation as a taboo. The visual of the performance was surreal yet beautiful. It was a treat to my eyes.

I UNDERSTOOD: Performance art is serious business!!

I SAW: mundane performer Ali breaking all stereotypes to depict his choices and desires with the freedom. Because every individual has a right to choose. A rather bold performance which made many uneasy including me!

I finally UNDERSTOOD: performance art has the capability to evoke people.

Meanwhile I SAW Rahul and Anirban allegorically excavating blood from the ice and ground. He used the residue of the last performance to make a brand new performance.

I SAW: Mundane performer Chobi with an inspiring performance where she assures that each human has the capacity to overcome their hurdles.

I SAW: mundane performer Arpita Sinha making a performance of the taboo of non-virginity being an issue.

I SAW: Janet playing the sound of demolition through her speakers and walking on the ghats of Ganges. The performance took another direction when the sound became harmonius with the sound of the waves of the river.

I SAW: mundane performers Chobi and Subho performing to protest against the everlasting hindu muslim clash.

I SAW: mundane performer Subho mocking the hypocrisy of the society where man is forced with choice of food. How religions force people to make food choices.

I SAW: mundane performer Manoranjan performing the story of common man being inside the net of the society and its commitments.

I SAW: mundane performer James performing to show the trapped self.

I SAW: mundane performer Vinay mocking the rituals to unknown.

I SAW: Rohen yet again making a performance and chanting ‘’we are collecting ash not cash’’. For and sensisble man the performance can make you guilty!!

I SAW: Mundane performer Sumana Chopping roses in a butcher shop. The performance was a beautiful visual and pulled loads of public attention and curiosity as there was an awe factor attached.

I SAW: mundane performer Toontoon dressed in silver foil from head to toe and wearing black glasses and walking on the crowded streets of north Kolkata. The performance was extremely eye catching and public went crazy over this unusual dressing . This monster was running loose on the streets. All parameters of normal art rules were pushed through in this particular performance.