“The rightful place for an artist, his real world, is a pot of black ink. I believe it contains all the magic, all the forms, everything that human beings can imagine and render…” says Mithila artist Santosh Kumar Das. In this poetic memoir of his growth into art, he pays a poignant tribute to the muses that transformed him into an artist — the greatest of them being his mother, along with the other women of the household who practised this originally female tradition of art. - Tara Books
When I read this it resonated so much with my own feelings that, naturally, I wanted the book, but I also went on a journey of discovery via Google to discover more about Santosh Kumar Das. The rewards were rich. His drawings and paintings combine his own philosophy, Hindu mythology, ‘those signals inside my own heart’, contemporary politics in India, and down-to-earth anecdotes from his everyday life. Santosh Kumar Das has accordingly created a body of work of amazing intensity, layered with these intricately executed elements.
Image Syracuse University Art Galleries Exhibition: Mithila Painting: The Evolution of an Art Form, Jan 30 - Mar 16 2014
The book Black: An Artist’s Tribute is hand silkscreen-printed, available here at Tara Books for a very modest £27.00; and you can watch the YouTube video here on Kathryn Myers channel.
Thank you for reading,
A big cheery wave and best wishes to you all!
Heather
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