The art in acting

Chopra—considered to be one of India’s best performance artists — plans to present two very different concepts at the shows. Though the schedule for is marked with his Drum Solo and Yog Raj Chitrakar performance,Chopra hesitates to reveals much. “Talking dilutes the idea,” says the 35-year-old artist. After some prodding,he discloses that this show will be the opposite of Yog Raj Chitrakar,which he had conceptualised nearly three years back. He has explored and reinvented the character many times ever since as part of Yog Raj Chitrakar: Memory Drawing. Chitrakar is a turn of the century Victorian draughtsman or landscape painter,who goes on expeditions as an explorer making chronicles of the world we live in. Chopra reveals,“The character is loosely based on my grandfather,Yog Raj Chopra,a landscape painter.”

In the coming week,however,he wants to break free from Chitrakar,albeit only for a while. And also break the silence—all Memory Drawing performances so far have been soundless. “My Yog Raj Chitrakar performances have been silent and lyrical. This time,it’s loud and booming,” he says. The departure from his usual style,hopes the artist,will help him understand the craft better. For those who want to understand his work better,there will be photographs and video installations of his performances at both the venues.

Chopra’s art has its roots in his theatre days in college. After graduating in commerce,he spent two years as a backpacker—undecided about his career. He travelled cheap and lived on the sales of

his landscape paintings. Once this phase was over,he decided to study art in Baroda. Later,he and his girlfriend (now wife) moved to the US for higher studies. It’s here that he was exposed to performance art. “The whole world of performance art opened up for me while there. I also tried some performance pieces. Since I was involved in theatre earlier,understanding the dynamics was easier,” he says.

Today,performance art is considered as mainstream as painting or sculpture. The only distinction being “it’s more about body than object”. Performance art,which rose to prominence in the 1960s,is a live art that has now become the meeting point of theatre,painting,sculpture,photography and more,depending on the concept an artist has in mind. Though it has often attempted to shock the audience,Chopra says,“I’m more interested in the spectacle of theatre.” That’s the reason why he is so fascinated with the characterisation of a character. For example,Yog Raj Chitrakar: Memory Drawing VI creates the neo-classical period of Brussels. “I try to find the essence of a city before creating a character and its world,” he says.

Though performance art remains his “job”,he plans to revisit his first love— theatre. “We are aiming to do an English play in 2012,” he says.