FEATURES PREVIEW

THREES COMPANY

What is an artists view of storytelling and its mediums? Huzan Tata talks to
creative minds who explore the spectrum of telling tales
NOT ALL ART IS ABOUT STORYTELLING.
GENERALLY, NON-LITERAL FORMS OF ART
ARE MORE ABOUT A TANGIBLE, SENSORY
PERCEPTION. STORIES ARE ESSENTIALLY
ABOUT THE IMAGINATION.
-SHARMISTHA RAY

WHILECONVEYINGCONCEPTS
HOWMUCHOFAROLEDO
ALLEGORIESORMETAPHORS
PLAYINANYFORMOFART?
Geetu: I tend to use them a lot.
Sometimes the process of creating
becomes a metaphor in the
production of an abstract work.
Sharmistha: Not all art is about
storytelling. Generally, non-literal
forms of art are more about a tangible,
sensory perception. Stories are
essentially about the imagination.
Joi: They are what links art to the
worlds of literature, philosophy,
religion, history, existentialism, science
and more. They open it up to a whole
different audience.

WASNTWHATYOUTHOUGHTIT
WOULDBE?
Geetu: It is always a wonderful
surprise. The way to be happy
is to know yourself. What beer
way to achieve that than through
your passion. For me, it is music.
The songs I write are about what
I have experienced. They help me
understand myself beer. When
listeners hear them, they bring their
own stories to the table and emote or
respond in their own ways.
Sharmistha: In my case and for artistes
who work more intuitively, the process
determines the outcome. I love the
joy of discovering something I hadnt
imagined. Sometimes I work contrary
to my nature, just to shake things up.
My latest work, an oil painting, draws
upon allegorical modes of storytelling
and is far more premeditated than
my abstract paintings.
Joi: If it has taken me to a world I had
not experienced before, I like it. Who
are we to know where the trail leads
to? Mostly they lead us to spaces we
wouldnt have imagined otherwise.

WHATASANARTISTEGOES

ONINYOURMINDWHENYOUR
FINALPRODUCTPROBABLY

DOYOUTHINKAWORKOFART
MUSICLITERATUREVISUALART
ANDPERFORMANCEALWAYS

if the story is badly told, or two, if the

audience is incapable of grasping the
story. The former is a maer of artistry,
the laer, a maer of education.
Joi: The war is actually to dive deep
into the concept and emerge with its
DNA. If the piece of art replicates the
DNA of the concept, one is safe
from distortion.

Geetu Hinduja

In the latest edition of Bellevue

Salons, an endeavour by artist
Sharmistha Ray to engage with
Mumbais culturati, she invites
musicians Joi Barua and Geetu
Hinduja to each create a song
reflecting on the themes of gender,
self-discovery and the possibility of
perfection. Ray unveils a painting,
weaving in a new narrative style using
myths and icons from Indian culture,
for the event. In an interaction with
Verve, the trio speaks about their tryst
with art, storytelling, and the process
of working in creative fields.
ISTHEREANYPARTICULAR

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MEDIUMINWHICHASTORYIS
TOLDBEST?
Geetu Hinduja: Not at all. A story
can be told in so many different ways.
All the performing and visual arts tell
stories; it could be a simple reading or
a complex opera.
Sharmistha Ray: No form is superior
to another; rather its the balance of
content and form that maers, so the
possibilities of telling a story are
quite infinite.
Joi Barua: A story could be told in
any medium that is honest to the
original plot, be it painting, writing or
music. The idea is to make the medium
embrace the story and let it nest.

Sharmistha Ray

DOYOUTHINKTHEREISALOSS
OFTHESTORYYOUIMAGINED
WHENTHEAUDIENCEPERCEIVES
ITDIFFERENTLY?
Geetu: In every telling of a story
or response to a painting, every
individual brings his or her own history
and experience to the viewing or
experiencing of the work, which in
turn makes the story that much more
powerful as it resonates with the
viewer or listener.
Sharmistha: There is no such thing as
loss, as a well-told story will engender
multiple interpretations. Thats the fun
of it. There are two situations I can
think of, in which loss may occur: one,
VERVEwww.vervemagazine.in JULY


JULY
www.vervemagazine.in VERVE

Joi Barua

HASTOTELLASTORY?
Geetu: A story arises from some
kind of a response to a situation, life
experience, observation and even
imagination or fantasy. You may
choose to respond by singing, painting
or making video art. The lifestyle one
adopts or the choices one makes
everything tells a story.
Sharmistha: In the visual arts, I am
much more open to practices that may
not use storytelling as the primary
device. I love conceptual, minimal or
abstract art, as well as new media
and installation art. These kinds of
practices draw primarily on formal
devices, rather than storytelling, to
build on concepts. In film, literature
and theatre, I appreciate works that
draw on storytelling devices. I dont
mind challenging material, but I want
to be entertained. Music is the only
other art form in which storytelling
isnt fundamental to its form like
Jazz, EDM and classical music.
Joi: Mostly, they do tell stories. I feel
good if I can change a mood, give
someone a moment or a reason to get
away from themselves for a while, and
be transported to another world.
That is what I ultimately try to do with
my music. 

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