R. Siva Kumar Explained

R. Siva Kumar
Birth Date:1956 12, df=yes
Birth Place:Kerala, India
Occupation:Art historian, art critic and curator; principal of Kala Bhavana
Nationality:n
Notable Works:Rabindra Chitravali (2011), (2012)
Education:Kendriya Vidyalaya Pattom
Visva-Bharati University
Alma Mater:Kendriya Vidyalaya Pattom
Visva-Bharati University
Other Names:Raman Siva Kumar
Movement:Bengal school of art
Contextual Modernism
Spouse:Mini Sivakumar
Children:Siddharth Sivakumar (Son)

Raman Siva Kumar (born 3 December 1956), known as R. Siva Kumar, is an Indian contemporary art historian, art critic, and curator. His major research has been in the area of early Indian modernism with special focus on the Santiniketan School. He has written several important books, lectured widely on modern Indian art and contributed articles to prestigious international projects such as the Art Journal,[1] Grove Art Online or The Dictionary of Art, Oxford University Press.[2] [3] [4] [5]

He was awarded the Kesari puraskaram for art writing by the Lalit Kala Akademi, Kerala in 2010.[6] He has also curated major exhibitions like, and and retrospectives of important Indian artists, such as Rabindranath Tagore, Benode Behari Mukherjee(co-curated with Ghulam Mohammed Sheikh), K. G. Subramanyan.He also has co-curated an exhibition titled "Tryst with Destiny" for the Singapore Art Museum to mark the 50 years of Indian Independence and served as a curatorial adviser for Rhythms of India: The Art of Nandalal Bose curated by Sonia Rhie Quintanilla for the San Diego Museum of Art.

Early life and education

R. Siva Kumar was born in Kerala. After completing his early education in Pune and Kerala he moved to Santiniketan, where he joined Kala Bhavan and completed his MFA in history of art.

Career

Since 1981, Professor Siva Kumar, who is often considered to be "the most erudite and self-effacing art historian"[7] of his time, has been teaching art history at Kala Bhavana, where he has held several offices, including that of the Principal.[8] His writings on Abanindranath Tagore and the Santiniketan artists have contributed a new perspective on them by shifting the critical focus from nationalist revivalism to a context sensitive modernism. Among his curated exhibitions commissioned to mark the fifty years of Indian independence, Benodebehari: A Centenary Retrospective (co-curated with Ghulam Mohammed Sheikh) and commissioned to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Tagore are considered landmark exhibitions. The reputed Indian Magazine, Frontline reported, "The best show was the one (celebrating 50 years of Indian Independence) curated by R. Siva Kumar of Santiniketan, 'The Making of a Contextual Modernism', exhibiting about a hundred works each of Nandalal Bose, Rabindranath Tagore, Ram Kinker Baij and Benode Behari Mukherjee".[9] While was shown at ten major museums of the world including the Museum of Asian Art, Berlin; Asia Society, New York; National Museum of Korea, Seoul; Victoria and Albert Museum, London; The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago; Petit Palais, Paris; National Gallery of Modern Art, Rome; National Visual Arts Gallery, Kuala Lumpur; McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Ontario; and National Gallery of Modern Art, Delhi.

In a review of Rabindra Chitravali in The Statesman, German scholar Martin Kämpchen (de) writes, "It collects excellently faithful reproductions of Rabindranath's paintings in large format. The editor, Kala Bhavan's art historian, Prof R . Siva Kumar, has spent his entire working life researching the Bengal School of Art, especially the Santiniketan crop of painters. This is the crowning achievement in this hard-working and self-effacing scholar's career."[10]

For the Royal Asiatic Society, Cambridge Journals, W. Andrew Robinson wrote, "The unparalleled quality of the volumes' reproductions, made from new scans of the original workskept in Santiniketan, in New Delhi and elsewhere, and printed by India's leading art printer, PragatiOffset, based in Hyderabad, is thrillingly good. Rabindra Chitravali: Paintings of Rabindranath Tagore issurely one of the finest art books to have been produced in India.[11]

Closely associated with the critical traditions of the Santiniketan his writings on Abanindranath and the Santiniketan artists have been recognised as making an important contribution to the reassessment and critical reception of these artists. Reviewing his book Paintings of Abanindranath Tagore Tapati Guha Takurta wrote: ‘With this magnum opus on Abanindranath Tagore, Siva Kumar can be seen to have traversed full circle within this particular lineage of art practice and art writing in Bengal. An art historical journey that began with and has continuously returned to the work of K. G. Subramanyan, has tracked its course backwards in time to mark out its significant inheritance, not just of the Santiniketan masters (Nandalal Bose, Rabindranath Tagore, Benode Behari Mukherjee and Ramkinkar Baij), but also in the little-known oeuvre of the later Abanindranath.'[12]

In 2013 he was awarded by the Paschimbanga Bangla Akademi for his book Ram Kinkar Baij – A Retrospective.

R. Siva Kumar also received a special award from the University of Dhaka for his contribution to the Indian art scene.[13] [14]

Contextual Modernism

In Siva Kumar introduced the term Contextual Modernism which later emerged as a postcolonial critical tool in the understanding of Indian art, specifically the works of Nandalal Bose, Rabindranath Tagore, Ram Kinker Baij and Benode Behari Mukherjee.[15]

Several terms including Paul Gilroy’s counter culture of modernity and Tani Barlow's Colonial modernity have been used to describe the kind of alternative modernity that emerged in non-European contexts. Professor Gall argues that ‘Contextual Modernism’ is a more suited term because “the colonial in colonial modernity does not accommodate the refusal of many in colonized situations to internalize inferiority. Santiniketan’s artist teachers’ refusal of subordination incorporated a counter vision of modernity, which sought to correct the racial and cultural essentialism that drove and characterized imperial Western modernity and modernism. Those European modernities, projected through a triumphant British colonial power, provoked nationalist responses, equally problematic when they incorporated similar essentialisms.”[16]

Role in preventing Tagore fakes

R. Siva Kumar, being an authority on Tagore's paintings, curator of his largest Exhibition and the author/editor of the most comprehensive reference work on Rabindranath's paintings has played an important role in preventing Tagore-fakes.

In 2011 the Government College of Art and Craft in Kolkata, under principal Dipali Bhattacharya, had organised an exhibition of 23 Tagore paintings. And later 20 were found to be fake. Siva Kumar, who had already seen digital images of the paintings and, convinced that they were all fakes, had warned the college principal, Dipali Bhattacharya, against holding the exhibition. But Bhattacharya went ahead with the claim that the paintings were "genuine".[17]

“There’s a great market for Tagore's paintings and his works are of a rare kind. I had seen the reproductions and I knew they were fake. It's unfortunate because it completely destroys the oeuvre of the artist. But the problem of fakes is larger than what is made out of it." R. Siva kumar had revealed to the Indian Express.[18] According to Siva Kumar the fakes were "by an academically trained artist — not old Santiniketan. Elements have been taken from different prints and then collaged together...This (Tagore-faking) needs to be nipped in the bud. The other day, I came upon a notice about an exhibition of Nandalal (Bose) and Abanindranath (Tagore), the medium being acrylic and canvas. Acrylic paints were not invented then. They are totally uninformed. The art world should wake up if it wants credibility. Institutions should be more careful. They have a certain responsibility to their heritage and legacy. The academic part of it should be more professional."[19]

In 2014, Siva Kumar called for the formation of an investigation unit to track theft, copies and forgery of art. Times of India quoted him,"A national-level investigation agency should set up a team of specialists who follow only such cases so that they can see pattern or notice the involvement of same people or part of the same network. One can then consider putting an embargo on galleries and collectors whose names figure in such reports." He also urged that supportive legal measures should also be drafted. Explaining the rise in fakes originating from Bengal, he pointed to the revival of interest in art of early 20th century. "Bengal masters figured prominently in art history. Their works were few in circulation. Hence, when demand went up, it spawned fakes."[20]

Ramkinkar Baij

Ramkinkar Baij: A Retrospective, 1906-1980 is a book by R. Siva Kumar[21] that was brought out on the occasion of a massive retrospective exhibition of Ramkinkar Baij at the National Gallery of Modern Art.

The exhibition was curated by K.S. Radhakrishnan[22] and the book was brought out in collaboration with the Delhi Art Gallery. The book presents entire body of Ramkinkar's sketches, watercolours, etchings, oils and sculptures, together with many invaluable period photographs. This is considered to be the authoritative volume on the “prolific master”.[23]

Drawing distinction between Benode Behari Mukherjee and Ramkinkar Baij, Siva Kumar notes, "If his friend and colleague Binodebihari painted the starker side of Santiniketan landscape, and saw himself as a lonely palm tree in the middle of the barren and parched Khoai, Ramkinkar saw himself as the Palash in full bloom: No leaves, bare branches, fully ablaze".[24]

In 2013 R. Siva Kumar was granted an award by the Paschimbanga Bangla Akademi for this book.

Memberships and associations

Awards and recognitions

Curated exhibitions

Major publications

Selected articles

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. 777856. Modern Indian Art: A Brief Overview. R. Siva. Kumar. 1 January 1999. Art Journal. 58. 3. 14–21. 10.2307/777856.
  2. Web site: Smithsonian Learning Lab: Discover, Create, Share.
  3. Web site: Erasing Borders:Passport to Contemporary Indian Art Feb–June 2008 . Iaac.us . 9 January 2014 . 6 March 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160306003928/http://www.iaac.us/erasing_borders2008/marg.htm . dead .
  4. Web site: The Curatorial Imperative Mohd Ahmad Sabih, Researcher for India | Asia Art Archive . Aaa.org.hk . 9 January 2014 . 9 January 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140109063005/http://www.aaa.org.hk/Diaaalogue/Details/928 . dead .
  5. News: Friday Review Thiruvananthapuram / Interview : Insightful views . https://web.archive.org/web/20140109063500/http://www.hindu.com/fr/2009/01/23/stories/2009012350830400.htm . dead . 9 January 2014 . 23 January 2009 . 9 January 2014 . . Chennai, India.
  6. News: Lalithakala Akademi awards . Chennai, India . The Hindu . 15 July 2022 . 23 May 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140523011218/http://hindu.com/thehindu/thscrip/print.pl?file=2010020752120300.htm&date=2010%2F02%2F07%2F&prd=th& . dead .
  7. Web site: What you see when you see: Freedom through the eyes of artists. Bangalore Mirror. 19 January 2024.
  8. News: ADVENTURES IN ARCADIA- Experiments with the life of the mind. Ananya Vajpeyi . https://archive.today/20130411215312/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1130303/jsp/opinion/story_16620913.jsp%23.UUH2_hdTCHg . dead . 11 April 2013 . The Telegraph. 3 March 2013 . 14 March 2013 . Calcutta, India.
  9. Web site: Finding an expression of its own. www.frontlineonnet.com . https://web.archive.org/web/20071017195415/http://www.frontlineonnet.com/fl1418/14180690.htm . 17 October 2007.
  10. Web site: Three Crown Jewels I. The Entire Pictorial Oeuvre Of Tagore. The Statesman (Calcutta) (Reproduced on www.martin-kaempchen.de). 4 September 2011.
  11. Web site: Archived copy . 25 November 2012 . 17 December 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131217224721/http://andrew-robinson.org/uploads/REVIEW_OF_PAINTINGS_OF_TAGORE.pdf . dead .
  12. Bengal Art: New Perspectives, Pratiksha, Kolkata 2010,, p .29
  13. Web site: eProthomAlo . eProthomAlo . 13 January 2013 . 9 January 2014.
  14. Web site: banglanews24.com news and entertainment 24x7. 17 January 2013. 9 January 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140109064431/http://www.banglanews24.com/detailsnews.php?nssl=cbf67e2c6401cba2bf3d5483cae4c9d7&nttl=165458. dead.
  15. Web site: Finding an expression of its own.
  16. http://www.huichawaii.org/assets/gall,-david---overcoming-polarized-modernities.pdf Overcoming Polarized Modernities: Counter-Modern Art Education: Santiniketan, The Legacy of a Poet's School
  17. Web site: We Are Blind to Beauty – OPEN Magazine. 9 December 2012 .
  18. Web site: Latest News Today: Breaking News and Top Headlines from India, Entertainment, Business, Politics and Sports. The Indian Express. 19 January 2024.
  19. Web site: The Telegraph – Calcutta (Kolkata) – Metro – Fakes in the time of Tagore frenzy: finger of fraud at art college show. https://archive.today/20140513184628/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110302/jsp/calcutta/story_13655903.jsp. dead. 13 May 2014.
  20. News: Call for expert panel to scan masters' art – Times of India. The Times of India. 29 June 2014 .
  21. Web site: Archived copy . 18 January 2022 . 3 March 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160303235520/http://www.aaa.org.hk/Collection/Details/48693 . dead .
  22. Web site: Swami Shri Haridas to visit Sikkim | iSikkim. isikkim.com. 19 January 2024.
  23. Web site: Holding on . 18 January 2022 . 4 March 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304095210/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1120323/jsp/opinion/story_15278556.jsp#.VJDGSSvF-So . dead .
  24. Web site: RAMKINKAR BAIJ: AN UNDEFINED GENIUS? | Muktodhara . 18 January 2022 . 3 April 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150403212758/http://muktodhara.org/?p=2169 . dead .
  25. Web site: R. Siva Kumar . Visva-bharati.ac.in . 3 December 1956 . 9 January 2014 . 3 March 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160303233624/http://www.visva-bharati.ac.in/Faculty/faculties/kala_bhavana/history%20of%20art/r_siva_kumar.htm . dead .
  26. Web site: Santiniketan – The Making of a Contextual Modernism by R Siva Kumar . Indiaclub.com . 9 January 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140109063154/http://www.indiaclub.com/shop/SearchResults.asp?ProdStock=1457 . 9 January 2014 . dmy-all .
  27. Web site: Osians-The Auction House . Osians.com . 9 January 2014.
  28. Web site: K.G. Subramanyan : a retrospective / . Dkagencies.com . 9 January 2014.
  29. Web site: National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi . Ngmaindia.gov.in . 9 January 2014.
  30. Web site: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Generaldirektion . Staatliche Museen zu Berlin: Kalender . Smb.museum . 9 January 2014 . https://archive.today/20121216001957/http://www.smb.museum/smb/kalender/details.php?objID=31839&n=0&datum=02.09.2011 . 16 December 2012 . dead . dmy-all .
  31. Web site: Current Exhibitions Upcoming Exhibitions Past Exhibitions . Rabindranath Tagore: The Last Harvest | New York . 9 September 2011 . Asia Society . 9 January 2014.
  32. Web site: Permanent Exhibitions | Exhibitions & Events | 국립중앙박물관 . Museum.go.kr . 9 January 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130508110825/http://www.museum.go.kr/program/show/showDetailEng.jsp?menuID=002002002&searchSelect=A.SHOWKOR&showCategory1Con=SC1&showCategory2Con=SC1_1&pageSize=10&langCodeCon=LC2&showID=5371 . 8 May 2013 . dead . dmy-all .
  33. Web site: Rabindranath Tagore: Poet and Painter – Victoria and Albert Museum . 6 March 2012 . Vam.ac.uk . 9 January 2014.
  34. http://www.artic.edu/sites/default/files/press_pdf/Tagore.pdf Tagore
  35. Web site: Le Petit Palais – Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941) . petitpalais.paris.fr . 11 March 2012 . 9 January 2014.
  36. Web site: Welcome to High Commission of India, Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia). www.indianhighcommission.com.my . https://web.archive.org/web/20130114000212/http://www.indianhighcommission.com.my/tagore.php . 14 January 2013.
  37. Web site: McMichael Canadian Art Collection > The Last Harvest: Paintings by Rabindranath Tagore . Mcmichael.com . 15 July 2012 . 9 January 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131213163139/http://mcmichael.com/exhibitions/tagore/info.cfm . 13 December 2013.
  38. http://www.ngmaindia.gov.in/pdf/The-Last-Harvest-e-INVITE.pdf The Last Harvest
  39. Web site: Mumbai gallery to exhibit Tagore's 'The Last Harvest' - Times of India . https://archive.today/20130616150812/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-04-18/people/38646057_1_rabindranath-tagore-paintings-exhibition . 16 June 2013 . dead.
  40. News: Ashoke Nag . A. Ramachandran to exhibit his works in Lalithkala Academy Kochi – Economic Times . Intida Times . 8 August 2013 . 9 January 2014.
  41. Book: The Santiniketan Murals – Jayanta Chakrabarti, R. Siva Kumar, Arun Kumar Nag – Google Books . 1995-01-01. 9 January 2014. 9788170461166 . Chakrabarti . Jayanta . Siva Kumar . R. . Nag . Arun Kumar . Visva-Bharati . Seagull Books published .
  42. Web site: Finding an expression of its own . 4 February 2016 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20071017195415/http://frontlineonnet.com/fl1418/14180690.htm . 17 October 2007 .
  43. Book: K.G. Subramanyan, a retrospective (Book, 2003) . [WorldCat.org] . 53896839.
  44. Web site: Ramachandran: A Retrospective (Volume I & II) Ella DATTA | Asia Art Archive . Aaa.org.hk . 5 June 2012 . 9 January 2014 . 9 January 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140109062938/http://www.aaa.org.hk/Collection/Details/29741 . dead .
  45. Web site: Ramachandran, A Retrospective| Book| Store |SWB | Scholars without Borders, an online academic bookstore in India . SWB . 9 January 2014 . 9 January 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140109070143/http://www.swb.co.in/store/book/ramachandran-retrospective . dead .
  46. Web site: Welcome to nginx! . www.buybooksindia.com . 3 February 2022 . https://archive.today/20130118184057/http://www.buybooksindia.com/getProductDetail.action?id=145045 . 18 January 2013 . dead.
  47. Book: My Pictures: A Collection of Paintings. Rabindranath. Tagore. R. Siva. Kumar. 1 January 2005. Viva Books, in association with, Visva-Bharati Pub. Department, Kolkata. 9788130901596. Google Books.
  48. Web site: R Siva Kumar: new books, used books, rare books by R. Siva Kumar @ . Bookfinder.com . 9 January 2014.
  49. Web site: Contemporary india art | india art gallery | online Indian art gallery delhi | contemporary art india | online gallery art india . Gallery espace . 9 January 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140518095302/http://galleryespace.com/publications/07_khoi.htm . 18 May 2014 . dmy-all .
  50. Web site: Benodebehari Mukherjee (1904–1980) : Centenary Retrospective / curated by Gulammohammed Sheikh and R. Siva Kumar. – Version details – Trove . Trove.nla.gov.au . 9 January 2014.
  51. Book: Benodebehari Mukherjee (1904–1980): Centenary Retrospective – Gulam Mohammed Sheikh, Binode Behari Mukherjee, R. Siva Kumar – Google Books . April 2010. 9 January 2014. 9788187737247 . Mukherjee . Binode Behari . Siva Kumar . R. . Vadehra Art Gallery .
  52. Web site: K.G.Subramanyan . Guildindia.com . 9 January 2014.
  53. Book: K.G. Subramanyan : the painted platters (Book, 2009) . [WorldCat.org] . 502454989.
  54. Book: 9788189323097 . Paintings of Abanindranath Tagore . Pratikshan . 1 January 2009 .
  55. Web site: Pratikshan :: Books in Books on Art . Pratikshanbooks.com . 9 January 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140302123621/http://www.pratikshanbooks.com/booksonart/index.html . 2 March 2014 . dmy-all .
  56. Book: Sensibility Objectified: The Sculptures of Sarbari Roy Choudhury – Sarbari Roy Choudhury, R. Siva Kumar – Google Books . 9 January 2014. 9788189995270 . 2009 . Choudhury . Sarbari Roy . Akar Prakar .
  57. Book: Sensibility Objectified: The Sculptures of Sarbari Roy Choudhury: Amazon.co.uk: R. Siva Kumar: Books . Amazon.co.uk . .
  58. Web site: Recent Publications – Recent Publications – Sensibility Objectified: The Sculptures of Sarbari Roy Choudhury . Lalitkala.gov.in . 13 April 2011 . 9 January 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140327205453/http://lalitkala.gov.in/book/book/1-lka/5--sensibility-objectified-the-sculptures-of-sarbari-roy-choudhury.html . 27 March 2014 . dmy-all .
  59. Web site: K.G.Subramanyan . Guildindia.com . 9 January 2014.
  60. Web site: K.G. Subramanyan: Drawings | Asia Art Archive . Aaa.org.hk . 5 June 2012 . 9 January 2014 . 9 January 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140109063039/http://www.aaa.org.hk/Collection/Details/42688 . dead .
  61. Web site: Commemoration of 150th Birth Anniversary of, Shri Rabindranath Tagore . Rabindranathtagore-150.gov.in . 9 January 2014 . 7 August 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130807010615/http://rabindranathtagore-150.gov.in/chitravali.html . dead .
  62. Book: The Last Harvest | Mapin Publishing . Mapinpub.in . 26 December 2013 . 9 January 2014.
  63. Book: Siva Kumar . 9788189995614 . The Last Harvest: Paintings of Rabindranath Tagore . 2011 . Mapin Publishing Gp Pty Ltd .