Written by Sanika Dhakephalkar
When I began teaching art a few years ago, it was without any formal training in either art or teaching. So I began by learning about teaching art by reading. Coordinating the Tree Book Project as a part of Bookworm’s Mehlli Gobhai Visual Arts program gave me the opportunity to attempt to put my reading into practice. Two books I read during this time continue to shape my approach towards art education and my own practice of art. They also influenced the conceptualization of the Tree Book Project. These books were ‘Art in Education: Identity and Practice’ by Dennis Atkinson and ‘Teaching to Transgress’ by bell hooks. Atkinson’s work provides a lens through which one is able to reject replication and a fixed set of aesthetics in art in favour of seeing it as a radical form of expression of the self, while hooks’ work leaves you with a sense of deep respect for the freedom and selfhood of the learners.
At a very young age, children through the systems and expectations of formal education are excluded from experiencing and creating art. Only the few who are able to replicate or access training and space to practice replication are encouraged and awarded. These few are often those who already have access to the knowledge systems and (the single) perspective of the mainstream. Art education in a library can be fundamentally innovative in this way – unencumbered by the expectation to teach replication, it can challenge many ideas of artistic merit and widen the access of children and communities to experiences of and through art. To ‘begin’ with abstract art then is to communicate to children that they are set free of these expectations and that they can show up as they are.
In Hindi, Abstract Art is called ‘Amurt Kala’, which, translated back to English, is ‘formless’ art. It is this formlessness, according to me, which makes it accessible. Mehlli Gobhai’s abstract paintings provided the first opportunity for children to project their own selves into fine art. The first sessions of the Mehlli Gobhai Visual Arts Program were conducted with children in four different communities as a part of Bookworm’s Mobile Outreach Program, an inter organizational collaboration where the sessions were opened out to twelve organizations working with children across India, and an online artmaking session which was accompanied by a read aloud of ‘The Secret World of Mehlli Gobhai: The Man Who Found Art Everywhere’ by author Jerry Pinto, also lifelong friend of Gobhai.
During this session, we began by looking at Mehlli Gobhai’s abstract art. The paintings chosen for children were predominantly from the intense, remarkably fresh polychrome paintings that mark Gobhai’s transition from representation to abstraction (Hoskote and Adajania, 2021). Children were immediately drawn towards these colorful paintings. Upon receiving the cue that the paintings could be whatever each one saw in them, many different thoughts and ideas emerged. Some children chose to make meaning of the whole picture, while others concentrated on the detail, finding many different shapes and meanings inside. They understood abstract art as that in which we can express our feelings freely, but also keep them secret at the same time, and that everyone is allowed to have their own interpretations. After this, children created their own striking abstract paintings. They then chose to share the meanings behind their paintings or have their peers title the paintings. All children thoroughly enjoyed this activity. Many were not satisfied with creating just one abstract and wanted to continue painting! They also understood that while looking at art, it is not just the location of the artist, but also that of the interpreter which matters equally. Their experiments in looking at, making, and speaking about abstract art were enhanced by two other aspects: first, children’s confidence that all their thoughts and ideas are welcome in the free and non judgemental environment established in the MOP library sessions that they had been experiencing, and second, the medium which was chosen/suggested for these activities: paint!
Since paint sometimes behaves in chaotic ways if one is not familiar with it, it is not the obvious choice if one wishes to control the outcome of children’s artmaking. Using paint is then an invitation both for the educator and the children to give up control, to make mistakes, and to experiment directly on paper. Children across the MOP sites enjoyed exploring paint not just with brushes, but also with their hands and bodies. This encouraged them to bring to the following sessions their whole bodies and selves, instead of just a detached eye.
This session set the tone for the remaining 5 sessions which constituted the Tree Book Project. If the first session and abstract art had children peering inwards, the following sessions encouraged them to turn their eyes (and selves) towards trees around them, in books, in their memories, and in stories. Mehlli Gobhai’s Tree Book provided inspiration for the children as they explored ideas, form (and the absence of it), and different media to create their own books!
bell hooks in Teaching to Transgress suggests that educators should not be afraid of embracing the journey towards self actualization and putting themselves out there to be shaped and challenged if they truly want their ‘classrooms’ to be a communal experience. I am grateful to all the children, Bookworm, artist Mehlli Gobhai and his estate, Jerry Pinto and Ranjit Hoskote for enabling the beginning of this deeply satisfying and challenging journey for me.
References
Atkinson, D. (2002). Art In Education: Identity and Practice. Kluwer Academic Publishers.
hooks, bell. (2021). Teaching To Transgress: Education As The Practice of Freedom. Routledge.
Hoskote, R., & Adajania, N. (2021). Mehlli Gobhai: Epiphanies: 27 July – 18 September 2021. Chemould Prescott Road. Retrieved June 28, 2022, from https://www.gallerychemould.com/exhibitions/100-mehlli-gobhai-epiphanies-a-series-of-breakthrough-moments/