Watch the Word

Words are complex and cunning, constantly permitting their connotations and connections to undergo change. They allow poets and writers to s...

Words are complex and cunning, constantly permitting their connotations and connections to undergo change. They allow poets and writers to swing and twist them around, giving them a new meaning and a further vibrancy.

But people in general too try to use words to their advantage and convenience. It, of course, depends on their talent with words as to how well or badly they do it. My thoughts go to some expressions used to define art or art practices where certain nuances alter the sense of a word.

One of them is ‘d’apres’. ‘Apres’ is the French for ‘after’. D’apres implies the strong visual impact of a particular painting or sculpture over a specific work of another artist which that artist acknowledges. Since the influence-bearing work of art is based upon and created after the original was made, it is referred to as ‘d’apres’. A Ramachandran’s ‘Anatomy Lesson’ is d’apres Rembrandt’s ‘Anatomy Lesson’. Ramachandran acknowledges the similarity and demonstrates the difference.

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The problem arises when sellers of art pull out the work of a totally unconnected artist and try to sell it as a work d’apres some saleable artist.

Again, when a painter belongs to a specific ‘school’, what is implicit is that that artist is either influenced by a contemporary important artist or else bears the impact of a certain manner of painting followed by a set of artists. Art dealers can push a painting into a ‘school’ not even remotely linked and try to sell it this way. All genuine cases of d’apres and ‘school’ have great credibility which the others do not have.

‘Old’, ‘new’, ‘authentic’, ‘fake’, are other problem areas. The belief is that anything that is old is authentic and everything new is not because it is not old and is therefore a fake.

Every work of art that looks old need not be old, but only something that has been dressed up to look so. Sometimes, the effects can be dramatic. New works on paper can be carefully scraped in places to simulate termite holes. Water stains can also be made to occur on works on paper. Canvases can be carefully crushed before being painted or singed to create tears and holes. All are meant to convey the feeling of time and natural deterioration when that is not really the case. Reverses of canvases are also darkened artificially to suggest grime and dirt, whereas works on cloth are made to exude a nasty smell suggestive of things being pulled out of forgotten places.

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Pichwais, Tanjores, Thangkas and miniature paintings belong to traditions that are still alive. Their practitioners are divided between the continuity of their craft and their urge to make money. They continue the tradition with paintings that follow the norms. Such paintings are new but not fake. But when the painters make new ones look old then they are certainly making fakes. The same principle applies to bronzes and other sculptures.

Forgery is not a new phenomenon. What is probably new is the way it is now so prevalent in India. There are nuances in the way words are used to add value to a work of art. Listen to the hidden meaning and be careful when you buy.