Goa's Michelangelo By Vivek Menezes vmin...@gmail.com
The Goan monsoon arrives heaven-sent, a blessing from the divine. This year there's more reason for gratitude -- the rains have brought the return of Dr. Jose Pereira to his homeland, carrying a stunningly beautiful new suite of artworks. 'Epiphanies of the Hindu Gods' is on view at the XCHR in Porvorim from July 24. It is another singular contribution to our culture from a man who has given us his all for so many decades. Jose Pereira's life confounds every stereotype and pigeonhole. He is conservative Catholic, but also world-renowned Sanskrit scholar and Indologist. He's written dozens of books on theology, history, architecture, language and music, but also steadily carved out a place for himself alongside our most significant iconographers. This is the artist responsible for the only contemporary example of fresco buono in India, a magnificent tableau painted on fresh plaster a la Michelangelo, on a groined vault of the chapel at Borda. It is simply a masterpiece. ---------------------------------------------------------- Dr Pereira, while working on his frescoes at Borda, earlier this decade. Photos: FN [http://www.flickr.com/photos/fn-goa/4817359575/] [http://www.flickr.com/photos/fn-goa/4817982590/] ---------------------------------------------------------- But it is these 'Epiphanies of the Hindu Gods' that permanently underline Dr. Pereira's worth as an artist. The beautiful pastels have been painted by a man on the cusp of his nineth decade, despite ongoing health problems caused by Parkinson's disease. We would have understood if our tireless polymath now sat back to appreciate the plaudits he's earned in his prodigious, peerless scholarly career -- but Dr. Pereira is not like that. He's unstoppable, and his genius cannot be shackled. And so we come to reckon with these lush, epiphanic pastels, painted by this toweringly great Catholic theologian, in sincere, devotional tribute to his Hindu patrimony. In a way, these paintings represent a closing of the great circle opened when Jose Pereira (b. 1931) embarked on his studies in Bombay. Already aware of his exceptional capacities, he spent his mornings studying Sanskrit at Siddarth College, and the rest of the day immersed in the J. J. School of Art alongside contemporaries like Tyeb Mehta. Circumstances led to a stellar scholarly career, but it is interesting to note that his art practice never went away altogether. Alongside this historic suite rendered in 2010, there are other hitherto unknown canvases by Dr. Pereira on display at the XCHR. Among them is a superb nude self-portrait from 1946, which predates the notorious nude self-portrait by another Goan, Francis Newton Souza, which kick-started the new wave in modern Indian art. In fact, the entire body of work on display in Porvorim after July 24, 2010 makes an undeniable case for Dr. Pereira to be included alongside the great artists of his generation, much less known but no less important than Souza, Vasudeo Gaitonde and Laxman Pai. 'Epiphanies of the Hindu Gods' are rendered in a realistic idiom, which Pereira says "frees the drama in the themes from the constriction of iconographic formulas." There is monumental scholarship backing each image. 'Nrttaganapati' is derived from a quotation from Somadeva, the 11th century saint-poet. The Sesasayi Visnu is based on a verse by Visakhadatta, the Gupta-era Sanskrit dramatist, and the Dasavatarasamuha on a description by Vedantadesika, the 13th century Vaishnava guru. Some paintings are based on Chola sculpture and Thanjavur temple carvings, and others depict scenes as described in the Ramayana, the Bhagavata Purana and Gitagovinda. In his curatorial essay, written for the paradigm-shifting exhibition 'Aparanta' (Panjim, 2007) the extraordinary art critic and poet Ranjit Hoskote wrote about finding in Goa "inspired individuals who defy the apathy of India and the defeatism of their peers", who work in the context of "compelling psychic and historical contents that spur them on to artistic exploration." Though his paintings were largely unknown at the time Hoskote curated Aparanta to unprecedented national acclaim, Dr. Pereira's art fits that description perfectly. When you consider that these stirring, unforgettable images have been rendered by a great polymathic scholar at the summation of a magnificent career devoted to classical India, the work takes on a transcendent aspect that is ideally suited to the subject matter. ---------------------------------------------------------- Dr Pereira's latest work, on exhibition at XCHR, Porvorim: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fn-goa/4817672252/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/fn-goa/4817671566/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/fn-goa/4817672252/ ---------------------------------------------------------- We are lucky to be able to see these instant classics in ideal conditions at the XCHR, where they are juxtaposed with Dr. Pereira's previous work. And thus we begin to get the measure of this remarkable artistic career, with its strands encompassing both India and the West, the past and the present. I take this opportunity to offer Dr. Pereira warm personal congratulations for 'Epiphanies of the Hindu Gods'. Goa is already indebted to him for his ceaseless, monumental labours on behalf of our confluential culture that has already offered so much to the world. This rainy July, we are overjoyed to confirm his place among our greatest artists. Earlier published in The Navhind Times. http://www.navhindtimes.in/iexplore/goan-michelangelo * * * The book people are already talking about: Goanetter Selma Carvalho's *Into the Diaspora Wilderness*. Launch on July 25, 2010 at the UK Goan Festival [http://goafest.itpsworld.net] Goa launch next month. See http://selmacarvalho.squarespace.com/ Buy at Broadway's, Panjim [Ph 9822488564] at Rs 295 in Goa. Overseas, postage extra. * * *