About art

It was a smoky room filled with indistinct chatter, occasionally broken by the notes of shrieky laughter and the characteristic clang of contention. Dark and dimly lit, it glared in its opulence, mirroring the energy of its occupants.

The Whys walked in with a gait peculiar to the aristocracy, as, a not-so-famous second cousin of Who, got up to greet them with shiny eyes, a wide smile and sweaty hands. Quietly moving towards their preferred seating- a pine velvet sofa in the corner having just enough light to read, they were about to get their evenings started, when a group from the other side rose up to clink their glasses bringing everyone's attention to them...

What is art?

Is it a frivolous luxury entitled to the elite?

A conversation starter for the intellectuals?

A status symbol for the wannabe elite?

Easy money for the seasoned charlatan? 

Or a sense of purpose for the disoriented?

And what does that, what is considered as art, mean?

Obscure monochromatic patterns that a computer algorithm could do a better job at generating?

Abstract dashes of colour that clearly is the result of a 5 year old walking haywire on a canvas piled up with cans of paint?

Obsessively detailed portrait of a seemingly 100 year old nobody, that makes you question isn't that what photographs were invented for?

Or that classic black line on a red background that makes you lose your shit altogether

 cuz heck you could do that too if that is art! You would do 10s of those if someone even paid half that money to ya.. seriously .. wha,,,

And lastly but most importantly, whose an artist?

That kid back in school who got straight As in Art classes while you miserably struggled and frankly didn't give an ounce of damn about..

Or better still, that lean overlooked kid who scribbled all sorts of clever gaalis with correspondingly apt pictograms on all of the back benches..?

How about that lad who just smoked pot and feels like its a wonderful world..?

At the outset it certainly does not look like the dawn of the golden age of arts. Living in a time where everyone 'loves solving challenging problems', having a different perspective on the matter is practically impossible. My personal favourite though has always been, 'toh uthao jhola aur ban jao artist?'! 

Caustic anecdotes apart, we cannot deny that it is the truth, can we? Art never fed the masses or helped build nations, it is the prerogative of the rich and the borderline lunatics. And how do we progress when we can't even quantify what art is, what makes it good or bad and most importantly what good does it do?

I will leave you with the questions this time. But before attempting to answer, let's talk and say hello, familiarise ourselves to all, in this room full of questions.

See you on the other side,
XOXO

- T