Page 14 - Anjolie Ela Menon - Inner Vision

The use of wooden frames came by quite throughout her career. This had begun with
accidentally, with her looking to a friend and training with live models during her brief stint at
visionary O.P. Jain for help when she had run out the J.J. School of Art to work with male models
of frames for paintings. The founder of the artist posed nude in the style of Greek statues at Beaux
village Sanskrit then scoured his backyard to find a Arts, Paris. With this, she was able to build an
wooden window, which they nailed onto the incredibly strong base to play off of as she
canvas. Unhappy with the initial result, Menon transformed nudes into her style. Visiting sculptor
priced the painting at INR 17,000 to discourage Giselbertus’ Eve was also a turning point for the
buyers from purchasing it. But she was surprised artist in the nudes that she created in the future,
to hear that it had sold despite that. She then with her early nudes sharing the innocence
asked O.P. Jain to find more such window frames juxtaposed with the sexuality that could be seen in
at scrap dealers. Thus, the window frame would his awe-inspiring sculptures.
also become associated with the artist.
Speaking of her female nudes to The Hindu’s
The late 70s saw her nudes transform into ones of BusinessLine in 2018 she said, “I was born of
women, barely clad, exposing certain parts of their Bengali-American parentage and my extended
bodies, and seemed to be more assured and more family has Muslims, Parsis and Druids. I have
her own. Here one can also see her fascination always stayed true to my multicultural lineage no
with how clothing drapes, something that we will matter which political party is in power. My female
see throughout her oeuvre. nudes counter the misogynistic gaze of male
painters like FN Souza — a friend whom I often
During this time, she would also create several argued with — and this prevailing wave of hate
nude paintings featuring blooming flowers and crimes towards women.”
animals like snakes and goats. This was followed
by a period of painting nudes seated on benches Menon, with her husband, then moved to Germany
surrounded by either cats or crows, an example with yet another posting, leaving behind their sons
being ‘Nude with Cat’ from the year 1978. Nudes in India so they could study further. The loneliness
with a single breast exposed, reminiscent of the of living away from family, combined with the
Madonna, would also become a mainstay in discovery of a medical essay, led to her creating
Menon’s body of work. ‘Madonna of Merriweather’, the famed ‘open-heart’ series. The works created
executed in 1976, is one such example. during this time featured the stark German
landscape in the backdrop with human figures
Her technique too was taking on a life of its own that bared their hearts, symbolising her need for
with her discovering Rembrandt’s works created human relationships in the country. She would
with thin glazes of oxides in Paris. Another create a large body of work in this series in the
technique she started employing was to use future, featuring fetuses in the womb, including
various found objects like slippers, tablemats and ‘Man With Heart Of Gold’, executed in 2005.
newspapers to ‘print’ onto her works, creating Another monumental series originated during the
texture and detailing. This was also a time she late 1980s upon her return to her husband’s
received even more appreciation from the art familial home in Kerala. Her new compositions
circuit with exhibitions held in Delhi, Mumbai and featured a subdued palette of browns and blacks
New York. juxtaposed against bright contrasting details, with
the subjects being South Indian. This was
The 80s saw the nude subjects of her works take a prompted by the discovery of albums and photo
turn as they were stripped of the innocence that negatives of South Indian royal women who,
the subjects of the earlier years shared. Arising dressed in their finery, were placed before fake
from her visits to Foras Road, a red light area in Victorian backdrops. This is also when she started
Mumbai, while out scouring for objects to work creating her Namboodiri priest series, positioning
with, she came upon the many sex workers that them against these same backdrops. Her travels
would stand at windows for potential customers. through Tamil Nadu and Kerala, where she
This would result in a series of impactful works. immersed herself in rich tradition and classical
music deeply influenced these works.
Anjolie Menon is now known for the distinctive
female nudes that have been a focal point for her Her first retrospective was held in 1988 as part of
The Times of India’s 150th-anniversary imagery to be the basis of her artworks, Menon has
celebrations at Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai. It gone beyond her apprehension of working with
was attended by J.RD. Tata, one of Anjolie’s technology to create something quite unique. With
important patrons, among others. In the following the use of computers, collages, and photography,
year, she participated in the São Paulo Biennale. she develops images of her own body of work that
she then paints over with oils, creating an entirely
Not to be held down by one art style, Menon would new artwork. Recurring motifs show up repeatedly
transform her works quite radically in the 90s. in the same works, and images are often laid on
Going from sombre-hued introspective works to top of each other, sometimes creating filters of
giving a kitschy, new life to objects like chairs and colours through which one can view the backdrop.
cupboards with her artwork. From her many Despite the intervention of machines, these works
foraging trips through Mohammed Ali Road during still retain the Renaissance-esque feel that Menon
her stay in Mumbai and other travels, found is known for - the Mutations-Pentimento series
objects became a long-running fascination for the from 1996 being a fine example of the same. A
artist. Further, on a stay in Chennai with gallery pentimento refers to a work that shows a visible
owner Sharan Apparao, Menon started painting an presence of earlier paintings that have been
old unused chair. This would then lead to the hunt painted over in singular or multiple layers of paint.
for other such objects in junkyards in the city,
ending with 37 such pieces, painted over a year Talking to The Times of India about the current art
and finally exhibited in Mumbai. This exhibition world, she said, “Practitioners of art in the present
titled ‘Follies in Fantastikal Furniture’ held at era are very lucky - never before have so many
Jehangir Art Gallery would be both criticised and barriers been demolished, leaving artists to draw
lovingly received, seeing her use pop art style source material from both the past and the visual
movie posters as inspiration to paint South Indian matrix of our own times. Folk, urban and rural
movie stars on furniture. This was a new, influences, the new digital technology and
innovative and more cheerful style of work than multi-dimensional work all give us a huge canvas
before. The exhibition would also feature a mound to explore. Personally, I remain a painter but
of colourful, patterned blankets that were used to endorse and admire all the bold new trends that
protect the chairs during their travel to the city. are sweeping through India.”
These would take a life of their own, becoming an
installation in themselves. This innovative shift In the late 90s, kitsch is another genre of art that
from melancholic works to a more fun take on art Menon delved into, starting with her found objects
is not only flippant in ways but also visually and then creating awe-inspiring paintings. Kitsch
appealing. Many artists would go on to try to itself is a heavily argued term, with some
repeat the success of this exhibition with their associating it with the fantastical, while others
individual takes on found object art, appropriating state that it represents a lack of taste. For the
Menon’s works in some form or another. But by artist, not to be held down by clichés and
giving these discarded objects a new, more vibrant convention, this genre seemed to be the perfect
life like in the case of the nudes painted onto a outlet and she began exploring it around the
veena case and the iconic Kamal Hasan and Big B 2000s. First came a series of small collages
chairs, Menon found a true middle ground bringing together painted landscapes juxtaposed
between function and art. with collages of religious calendar art. This
exhibition in 1998 in Paris would then lead to ‘Gods
She is known to have said about her experiments and Others’ in 2000, held at Gallery Admit One in
with the lighter side of art, "Our work is so earnest, New York. The exhibition featured large-scale
so dukhi (sorrowful) and I am called the queen of paintings inspired by Hindu mythology, circus
dukhi art. But we should move towards the funky posters, and Bollywood movie posters. Bringing
and the satirical." her signature aesthetic and motifs to the paintings
and combining it with popular art, she created a
With this, her experimentation would lead her to never-before-seen amalgamation. Witnessed in a
test out new media works. ‘Mutations’ was an painting of Kali and Durga holding aloft bandit
exhibition of some such works held at Wallace Veerappan’s severed head, Menon’s exploration of
Gallery in Manhattan. Most likely one of the first the genre elevated street art, making audiences
major Indian artists to use computer-assisted question what defines ‘high art’ and ‘low art’. Many
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