Shifting the Paradigm: Amalgamation of Ecology and Art in Assam

I

The desire to give a visual form to personal feelings, communal implication, economic circumstances, spiritual dogmas, aesthetic principles and established agendas instigated thousands of years ago. Ever since, humans have been creating art, developing numerous devices to manifest their cultures’ identity and of their surrounding environment. These impulses are conveyed throughout the history of art in various manifestations.

In this article, in the first segment, I’ll discuss some important art movements and practices which challenged the dominant paradigms of its times and contextualize its relation to the unification of art and ecology. The examples of this amalgamation are included in the second segment from a specific region of north-east India, Assam. These art movements made their way as a response to one another, the prevalent outlooks, belief systems, institutions, culture, and politics. A brief look at these endeavours will give better insights in understanding today’s ecological practices and how it has its connection with the different disciplines of Art. Let us find out how the definition of Art has emerged and evolved over the centuries.

In the history of art, in the late 19^th century, the art movement which accomplished in creating an upheaval to the prevalent notions was Impressionism. The artists moved out of the doors of their studio and provided a technical starting point for the Post-Impressionists, who in turn, freed the Western Painting from traditional techniques and the approaches to the subject matter and significantly led to the definition of Form.

Constructivism which flourished in early 20^th century, took an entirely new approach to make objects abolishing the traditional artistic concern with composition, and replaced it with ‘construction.’ ‘Form’ now emerges out in the domain of the public. It merged painting, sculpture, architecture into one integrated construction. From here, we discover the conception of ‘collaboration’ being amalgamated into the creative practice and the notion of space is being explored and expanded. Then comes the movement in the mid-20^th century, which prizes ideas over the formal or visual components of artworks. Conceptual art is an amalgam of various tendencies rather than a tightly cohesive movement and took myriad forms. For conceptual artists, the articulation of an artistic idea serves as a work of art. It is rooted in Dada, an artistic and literary movement of early 20^th century, for it was Marcel Duchamp who first asserted that the mental activity (“intellectual expression”) of the artist was of greater significance than the object created. It can be understood as part of a greater shift away from emphasizing the object-based work of art to purposely expressing cultural values of society at large. We find one of the paramount advancement in the art fraternity at this juncture- the authority of artwork is now shifted towards the viewer or the audience.

The Bauhaus, one of the most influential modernist art school of the 20th century, has led to the rethinking of the “fine arts” as the “visual arts”, and to a reconceptualization of the artistic process as more akin to research science. The stress on experiment and problem-solving which characterized the Bauhaus’s approach to teaching has proved to be enormously influential on contemporary art education.  The concept that there is no hierarchy of culture and that art may borrow from any source has been one of the most influential characteristics of Pop art which came into prominence in the mid-20^th century. Simultaneously, Feminist artists sought to create a dialogue between the viewer and the artwork through the inclusion of women's perspective. Art was not merely an object for aesthetic admiration, but could also incite the viewer to question the social and political landscape, and through this questioning, possibly affect the world and bring change toward equality. By expressing themselves through non-traditional means, women sought to expand the definition of art and to incorporate a wider variety of artistic perspectives. This movement proved a great inspiration for contemporary art practices and in the elaboration of what ‘Art’ is.

In the 20th century, alongside rising global concerns surrounding the state of the environment's health, and our impact as humans upon it, many artists started creating works in collaboration with the physical world to draw attention to ecological issues. This emanated the Earth art, also referred to as Land Art or Earthworks, largely an American movement that uses the natural landscape to create site-specific structures, art forms, and sculptures. The movement was an outgrowth of Conceptualism and Minimalism. In addition to the monumentality and simplicity of Minimalist objects, the artists were drawn to the humble everyday materials of Arte Povera [1]and the participatory “social sculptures” of Joseph Beuys that stressed performance and creativity in any environment. The favored materials for Earthworks were those that could be extracted directly from nature. Locales were commonly chosen for particular reasons. Robert Smithson, for example, picked damaged sites for his works in order to suggest renewal and rebirth. The rejection of traditional gallery and museum spaces defined Earth art practice and introduced the notion of Public Art and Activism.  Evolving from Land Art, Environmental art gained more grasp since the 1990s when artists began to think about their surroundings not just in terms of lived or built space, but as a cohesive system in which humans have a central part to play. Environmental artists seek to investigate our human relationship with the environment by embedding their artistic practice within it. They emphasize the birth of the idea and the process of creation, without insisting that the work needs to be seen by many people, or indeed by anyone at all. Environmental art, also known as ecological art, encompasses several different forms and practices that engage with, and represent the environment.

In 1991, artist Suzanne Lacy[2] coined the term- ‘New Genre Public Art’, which is in her words is “visual art that uses both traditional and non-traditional media to communicate and interact within a broad and diversified audience about issues directly relevant to their life”. Alongside, in the mid-1990s, French art critic Nicolas Bourriaud[3] observed and highlighted a mode or tendency in fine art practice and stated it as Relational Aesthetics. He recognized a growing number of contemporary artists used performative and interactive techniques that rely on the responses of others. He saw artists as facilitators rather than makers and regarded art as information exchanged between the artist and the viewers. The artist, in this sense, gives audiences access to power and the means to change the world.

The term Social practice/Socially engaged art, which was previously attached to social theory, now takes abode in Art. It is an art medium focusing on engagement through human interaction and social discourse. Socially engaged art aims to create social and/or political change through collaboration with individuals, communities, and institutions in the creation of participatory art. Leaving behind the traditions of object making, many artists have adopted a performative and process-based approach. Now comes a distinct genre within contemporary art practice in which forms of dialogue and social exchange play- Dialogical Art[4]. Artists use the public’s participation to get across a point and get a direct interpretation from viewers. Art historian, Grant Kester[5], in his key text ‘Conversation pieces: Community and Communication in Modern Art’ discusses the movement of a number of contemporary artists towards dialogue-based socially-engaged art.

The interrelation and interaction between artwork and viewers have been modified with the practice of Relational and Dialogical aesthetic. With these practices Art has taken discursive elements as well as social relations as its subject and material, leaving behind the art object aesthetic.

The above discussion enables to understand the portrayals of art and artistic practices which developed through the decades, how ‘viewing’ art from a distance in museums and galleries emerged as an interactive/participatory juncture in the public domain. It indicates how the form-based/object-based art practice broke up and moved towards a deeper mode of engagement with social space. The development of the notion of ‘space’ and ‘site’ emerged and public art and activism evolved from the viewership of the audience to a participatory movement, where everybody is a participant and a viewer.

It allows recognizing ecological interdisciplinary art practices happening in India which aims to create environmental awareness, sustainability, preservation of biodiversity and much more. Eco-artists/ practitioners’ work nurtures collaboration and engagement between humans and the land and for achieving this, various tools and techniques are incorporated and are highly process-based and research-oriented. This article throws light on some of the art practices through an interdisciplinary approach towards social engagement which incorporates Nature as a medium in the region of Assam, India.  The purpose here is to promote biodiversity and ecological sustainability.

II

“Every human being is an artist, a freedom being, called to participate in transforming and reshaping the conditions, thinking and structures that shape and inform our lives.” ― Joseph Beuys

Assam serves as a doorway to the secrets of the seven sisters of Northeast India sharing a boundary with each of them. This state has its deepest roots to the mighty Brahmaputra River which overpowers the landscape and has shaped both culture and the environment. The region is renowned all over the world for its tea plantations and also as a delicate interconnected hotspot of cultures, wildlife, and biodiversity.

Let’s start with an interesting example where the engagement with the people forms the medium of the work, aiming to create a social change and conservation of a threatened species of bird found in Assam. Purnima Devi Barman, a wildlife biologist and conservationist from Guwahati, has been involved in the conservation of Greater Adjutant Storks which holds ‘endangered’ status and called ‘Hargila’ in Assamese. She motivated groups of women and youths in rural areas near Guwahati as she knew it was crucial to work with local communities to save the imperiled bird. Purnima began engaging with the locals to increase awareness about the need to protect nesting trees. Stepping out of her comfort zone, she addressed public gatherings. Women have been a crucial component of her programs. She mobilized the Hargila Army, an all-female team of conservationists dedicated to protecting the greater adjutant stork.

Knowing the local pulse, she began weaving the hargila into regional traditions. Purnima incorporated stork characters in Durga puja processions and introduced the bird into folk songs. She supplied yarns and looms to help the women weave gamochas (traditional cotton towels) with hargila motifs. The conservationist’s attempts to embed the bird into the local culture have succeeded with the hargila finding its way into local handloom products and even sarees as a popular motif.

The women involved in the act are offered sustainable livelihood, training and education opportunities through this program. The project is giving marginalized women a voice, helping them change local perceptions. Now, these women of the village work as the protector of Greater Adjutant Stork, taking all the necessary care.

Mrs. Barman also experimented with the artificial bamboo platform and it succeeded as the hargilas began using it to build their nest. Her plans include trying to get government support to install more such artificial platforms, help meet the medical expenses of elderly residents who protect nests, and expand her hargila army. The individuals who collaborate in this artistic creation may not define themselves as artists but are considered practitioners of an art-making process that produces social and environmental change and becomes the medium or material of the work. It is a process-based work and the participatory element plays a significant role in socially engaged practice. Mrs. Barman spent years developing this relationship with the women and the bird and has worked tirelessly to save the species. This has resulted in a phenomenal increase in the number of stork nests which were just 30 when her journey started as a conservationist in 2008.

Bihu is one of the most important cultural festivals of Assam. It celebrates the change in seasons and mainly caters to the agrarian culture and society of the state. The festival beautifully portrays various customs and rituals, dance, performances, and other cultural activities. But here, I want you to look it through a different perspective. Several rituals and customs that are followed at the time of Bihu are linked to the landscape and ecology of the region. The local community members come together to express their affection towards Nature through the use of visual arts and crafts, music, dance, and other customs and rituals. Every item is locally produced, every act is done in favor of the environment. In addition to the collaborative community artistic process and interactions, no harm is done to the environment, thus celebrating and promoting ecological sustainability. The community-rooted collaborative festival is processed and enacted together by the group of people and establishes a collective identity which promotes the ecology of the region. This example of community-based activity seeks to explore the ecological basis of Bihu and attempts to recognize how it has assumed its form through an interaction of culture and ecology.

Social sculpture is a theory developed by the artist Joseph Beuys[6] in the 1970s based on the concept that everything is art, that every aspect of life could be approached creatively and, as a result, everyone has the potential to be an artist. Beuys created the term “social sculpture” to embody his understanding of art’s potential to transform society. As a work of art, a social sculpture includes human activity that strives to structure and shape society or the environment. The central idea of a social sculptor is an artist who creates structures in society using language, thoughts, actions, and objects. Beuys believed everybody was an artist. He once said “every sphere of human activity, even peeling a potato can be a work of art as long as it is a conscious act,” the idea being that every decision you make should be thought out and attempt to make or contribute to a work of art which in the end is society.

When I complement this theory to environmental art, the act of Mr. Jadav Payeng crosses my mind, widely known as the Forest Man of India. As mentioned previously, environmental art/ecological art emphasizes on the birth of the idea and the process of creation, without insisting that the work needs to be seen by many people, or indeed by anyone at all. He has directly engaged with the natural environment with the conscious intention to revive the ecology of the damaged site near Jorhat, Assam. His act has been recognized after a long time and he himself had no intention to get fame but eventually got highlighted for his determined effort in redeeming the biodiversity of the place. He did this out of his wilfulness and ethic to restore the environment. He utilized resources that were available at the location on which he aimed to build a forest, honoring the specificity of the site. The Forest man’s intention was to work in harmony with the natural environment rather than disrupt it. This means, akin to an environmental artist, he deeply considered the impact that we, as individuals, have on nature and does not sacrifice its health or wellbeing in order to create work.

Moreover, by working in collaboration with organic landscapes, Environmental artists fall subject to the uncontrollable cycles of the seasons with their processes of flowering, erosion, decay, and rejuvenation, and this was the analogous process Mr. Payeng went through. These artists often use natural materials as the very basis of their artwork. Likewise, in choosing to situate their work in specific places, Environment art often seeks to both transform the way that the site is viewed, while also revealing what was already there.

Would he call himself an Artist? The probable answer is no. But he definitely calls himself an Environmental Activist or an Eco-practitioner. This changes the way we think about the site of artistic production; as opposed to using the artist’s studio as the sole location. Environmental artists/practitioners engage the natural world in a much more active and immediate way either by working in new ways outside or by bringing natural materials into new settings.

Eco-practitioners’ actions are environmentally impactful and advantageous, they recognize humankind’s moral duties to respond to the man-made ecological crises of the present-day by enacting environmental reform. Their work nurtures collaboration between humans and the land, which fosters a sense of ownership and responsibility within people to restore their own landscapes.

The Contemporary Environmental Art practice is a discursive ecological and relational field of practice and learning – one which situates its own interdisciplinary practice. The evolution of art from one era to the next substantiated that artists who broke conventions created new forms of art and knowledge. Ecologically charged practices and discourse have expanded in scope to address the broader systemic interconnections between ecological crises, global climate change, sustainability, and other crucial socio-political matters of concern.

In this perilous time of increasing ecological uncertainty, many environmental practitioners and artists are engaged with being interlocutors in the communication, exchange, and resolution of ecological challenges that have the prospective for the calculable benefit to non-humans and/or the earth’s ecosystem.

*****

[1] Arte povera was a radical Italian art movement from the late 1960s to 1970s whose artists explored a range of unconventional processes and non-traditional ‘everyday’ materials

[2] Suzanne Lacy (born 1945) is an American artist, educator, and writer, professor at the USC Roski School of Art and Design. She has worked in a variety of media, including installation, video, performance, public art, photography, and art books, in which she focuses on social themes and urban issues.

[3] Nicolas Bourriaud (born 1965) is a French curator and art critic, who has curated a great number of exhibitions and biennials all over the world. Bourriaud is best known among English speakers for his publications Relational Aesthetics (1998/English version 2002), Postproduction (2001), and The Exform (2015/ English version 2016).

[4] Dialogical artworks are conversational exchanges between people of different communities. They are socially engaged often closely aligned with the political. Interaction and aesthetic experiences of art can communicate to a range of people.

[5] Grant Kester is a professor of art history in the Visual Arts department at the University of California, San Diego and founding editor of FIELD: A Journal of Socially Engaged Art Criticism

[6] Joseph Beuys (1921 – 1986) was a German Fluxus, happening, and performance artist as well as a painter, sculptor, medallist, installation artist, graphic artist, art theorist, and pedagogue.

Figure 1 Purnima Devi Burman with her Hargila Army. Source: Purnima Devi Barman’s social media page.

Figure 2 Hargila motifs in Handlooms. Source: Purnima Devi Barman’s social media page.

Figure 3 Bihu Festival Celebration. Source: https://www.time8.in/new-rongali-bihu-perks-up-assams-spirit/

Figure 4 Mr. Jadav Payeng planting a tree sapling near Jorhat. Source: https://lifeandsoulmagazine.com/2017/06/23/jadav-payeng-one-man-makes-a-difference-by-planting-a-forest-in-india/