MF Husain no more

[vapasi1]

http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/artist-and-legend-mf-husain-dies-in-london-111118

The painter died of heart attack in London.

[RRS]

The future Gajagaminis the likes of Madhuris, Amrita Raos , Anushka Sharmas must be sad that they can't be muse of MFH in the future ; )
96 mein bhi Anushka gives inspiration is a good indicator that old man lived a good life.

Anyone good in analyzing abstract paintings here to comment whether he was good or a media hyped artist? I can understand only the Raja Ravivarma kind so cannot comment if MFH loss leaves a void : )

[boca]

Anyone good in analyzing abstract paintings here to comment whether he was good or a media hyped artist? I can understand only the Raja Ravivarma kind so cannot comment if MFH loss leaves a void : )

I was someone who who could never get to appreciate abstract and figurative painting. Never bothered till something prompted me to start reading (and later plan to follow up with learning to draw) a classic by Dr. Betty Edwards called "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain".

We are ingrained to narrow our visual perception for efficiency. Over a period of time, it works out well from a practical perspective. However, the richness of life is not just in what our brains are trained to process within the narrow constraint of our ingrained visual perception that is thickly intertwined with language. We end up not seeing things that our brain can't relate to some word or other. Considering that our knowledge of language in itself is restricted to our vocabulary set, we end up with a very restrictive visual perception. We miss out a lot. For a kid who sees a broccoli, without knowing the concepts of fractals, it is just another funny looking vegetable that also doesn't taste good. :)

I highly recommend the above book for everyone. It is an easy read and the exercises are fun. One wouldn't end up becoming an ace painter, but will start understanding and appreciating many things in life that one just missed to visually process. One can take the approach from that book to augment their problem solving skills.

[M V]

I was someone who who could never get to appreciate abstract and figurative painting. Never bothered till something prompted me to start reading (and later plan to follow up with learning to draw) a classic by Dr. Betty Edwards called "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain".

We are ingrained to narrow our visual perception for efficiency. Over a period of time, it works out well from a practical perspective. However, the richness of life is not just in what our brains are trained to process within the narrow constraint of our ingrained visual perception that is thickly intertwined with language. We end up not seeing things that our brain can't relate to some word or other. Considering that our knowledge of language in itself is restricted to our vocabulary set, we end up with a very restrictive visual perception. We miss out a lot. For a kid who sees a broccoli, without knowing the concepts of fractals, it is just another funny looking vegetable that also doesn't taste good. :)

I highly recommend the above book for everyone. It is an easy read and the exercises are fun. One wouldn't end up becoming an ace painter, but will start understanding and appreciating many things in life that one just missed to visually process. One can take the approach from that book to augment their problem solving skills.

So, any opinion on Hussain Sahib's art work? Was he a good artist or media hyped?

[R2I-2010]

I was going to keep my mouth (keyboard rather) shut as I dont know much about abstract painting. I am sure as a artist, his demise must be some sort of loss to the art lovers but as a personality prone to create controversies, I say good riddance.,

[farfromhome]

The future Gajagaminis the likes of Madhuris, Amrita Raos , Anushka Sharmas must be sad that they can't be muse of MFH in the future ; )
96 mein bhi Anushka gives inspiration is a good indicator that old man lived a good life.

Anyone good in analyzing abstract paintings here to comment whether he was good or a media hyped artist? I can understand only the Raja Ravivarma kind so cannot comment if MFH loss leaves a void : )

So called "Secular" painters will be always hyped by the media. Did he ever try painting the Qatari Nationals nude or was it limited only to Hindu godess?. Mohan Singh (sorry, I can't call him Man) issues a statement within minutes condoling his death but takes 3 days to surface after the Ram Lila incident and doesn't care for the person(Rajbala) who was injured because of his govt's ineptness.

Ok, sorry for the rant. RIP - MFH.

[moneyIsNot_funny]

I dont particularly care about him. The fact that he's willing to paint a Hindu goddess nude and is conveniently unable to do (or try) anything similar about Muslim god/men/women/objects tells me enough about the man - especially when the followers of his religion create worldwide "issues" over a mere caricature.

[boca]

So, any opinion on Hussain Sahib's art work? Was he a good artist or media hyped?

The little bit that I have come across, I am impressed with his work. His work was more cubist, than mere perspective that is traditional. That style allowed him to visually convey the richness of the different facets. It also allowed him to creatively mix different ethnic colors that traditional perspective painting wouldn't allow.


"Art is never chaste. It ought to be forbidden to ignorant innocents, never allowed into contact with those not sufficiently prepared. Yes, art is dangerous. Where it is chaste, it is not art." ? Pablo Picasso

[M V]

I dont particularly care about him. The fact that he's willing to paint a Hindu goddess nude and is conveniently unable to do (or try) anything similar about Muslim god/men/women/objects tells me enough about the man - especially when the followers of his religion create worldwide "issues" over a mere caricature.

True. Art and freedom of expression is all fine and even necessary, but what is the need for a person of his stature to check out the limits of the freedom. Not in a country where lives are routinely lost in communal riots. And he was cribbing that he got death threats and had to live outside India in the past few years!

He might have been a great artist, but he was not a responsible artist. If he wanted to paint those nude paintings (of the gods and goddesses), he could have done so and hung them in his house, and not publicize such work.

[boca]

If he wanted to paint those nude paintings, he could have done so and hung them in his house, and not publicize such work.

Is your objection to nude paintings or to the paintings of hindu gods in nude?