Portrait of a maddening life

This year marks the birth centenary of painter, sculptor and poet Amarnath Sehgal who addressed social issues and depicted political events in his work.

In this maddening life, of cruel bitter strife, I walk along, I walk along … (Amarnath Sehgal)

“As an artist, Amarnath Sehgal’s philosophy was humanism,” observes well-known writer and documentary filmmaker, Rajiv Mehrotra. “He tended to connect his individual expressions to collective experiences. His major works were created in response to tragic events in history, towards which he experienced deep anguish… His unique passion and playfulness for sculpting won him much acclaim during his life. He maintained a profound sense of duty to his craft, allowing his ideas, beliefs and experiences to guide his mark-making, diplomatic gestures and even his activism.”

Amarnath Sehgal (1922-2007), who was born in Cambellpur (Attock) in Pakistan, studied Science at Government College, Lahore and followed it up with a course in industrial chemistry in Benares. After a stint as an engineer in Lahore, he took up studying art before fleeing with his family to India following the Partition in 1947. Two years later, he undertook a turbulent 47-day sea voyage to reach New York. “When I left my hearth and home after the Partition, I was fully traumatized with anguish and suffering in the heart.”

Helped by Victor D Amico, director at the Museum of Modern Art and Prof Robert Iglehart, Chairman of the Art Education department at New York University, Sehgal obtained a scholarship that enabled him to get a Master’s degree in Art Education. To make ends meet, he reportedly took on odd jobs like painting dolls and working as a waiter. Sehgal’s solo show in New Rochelle in 1950 was followed by another exhibition at Newton gallery in New York. How the young artist who had a bright and successful career ahead in the US succumbed to the pull of returning to his homeland in 1953; how his stint as an art teacher at the Modern School, New Delhi preceded his appointment by UNESCO for studying and surveying folk arts in the country; how the globe-trotting artist who won appreciation for his artwork, as well as peace projects, worked till the very last before passing away in 2007 in New Delhi — all these and many other facets of Sehgal’s vibrant life story are detailed in a handsome pictorial publication brought out recently by an organisation bearing his name.

Released in the year of his birth centenary by his sons Rajan and Raman Sehgal, the book is an attempt to shore up the artistic legacy of their father.

Pathos and progress

Distraught faces, shrieking mouths, and screaming heads became leitmotifs for many of Sehgal’s sculptures and paintings. They represented human suffering borne out of violent conflicts and manmade catastrophes. “Art is always made under stress. There is immense pathos and suffering in society, and even if you want to withdraw yourself from it, you cannot... Every artwork has its own elements that should remain as they are, in the context of time. As an artist, if I create, I must receive my inspiration from my environment; so naturally, these themes come forth in my work. … Sculpture has to live with the times. I cannot create a work that is not in context with the times. That is how I live with the environment. I live with the people.”

In addition to his work based on the human tragedy, Sehgal also sought to portray principles of love, harmony and poetic justice, along with tales of progress and human potential. According to Ashok Khosla, well-known environmentalist and Sehgal’s close friend, “Sehgal’s keen eye also picked up on the nuances of nature, the sound of music, the implication of news-making events, and even the development of a national consciousness — and his hands translated these into creations endowed with imagination and aspiration.”

Sehgal experimented with many forms, structures, and mediums to convey the themes close to his heart. “Each medium has its own dictates and you have to abide by them. Whatever medium you work with speaks (for itself) and tells you how also to deal with your inner feelings. I might be changing the medium but it is always the mind that works…”

Laurels and legal battles

Many of Sehgal’s large sculptural pieces inspired by historical events and personalities were installed in public spaces in important cities of the country and outside. Among the several awards and accolades which came his way included the UN Peace Medal (1985). He was also posthumously awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India in 2008. The Indian Government was one of his biggest patrons as could be seen by the number of commissioned sculptures and installations.

One of his most ambitious public works — a 480 x 1680-inch mural installed in 1962 in the entrance lobby of Vigyan Bhavan was pulled down in 1979 and the dismembered pieces were abandoned with little care at a government store room. Sehgal ran from pillar to post to get the mural reinstated, but the officialdom was unresponsive.

Fed up with the inaction of the government, Sehgal took the matter to court arguing that the mural had acquired the status of a national treasure, representing an essential part of Indian art heritage; and the destruction of such a mural, which was done without his permission, consent or authorization, was a violation of his rights. In 2005, the Delhi High Court delivered a landmark judgement upholding the sculptor’s moral rights under the Indian Copyright Act. It directed the government to return the mural pieces to Sehgal and also pay damages of Rs 5 lakh to compensate for the loss of his reputation.

The decree was not fulfilled, and Sehgal again had to take legal recourse. Finally, after a long and emotional battle, the matter was settled with Sehgal waiving the claim of damages against the government in exchange for the return of the remaining pieces of the dismembered mural.