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METROSCAPE
World Of A Constructivist
Bernard Moninot,
52, was born in Fay on France's Jura Border. The artist's son began playing
with paints after he saw two engravings of Albrecht Durer (1471-1528),
Melancholy and The Knight, Death and Devil on the walls of his summer
home at Chateau-Chalon.
Show time: His current collection, from
"1983 to 2000", is showing at the NGMA, Delhi till August 10,
after which it will head for Mexico. It has already done a round of the
NGMA Mumbai.
Wallpaper: Actually, glass. The Towers
of Copper, Tribute to El Lissitzky, dust of red copper in a vertical construction
on prepared glass (oft mistaken for the Eiffel Tower after mud floods);
Constellation (various n°), paint, copper fillings and cristobalite
in geometric variants on 126 elements; Lodi IV-inspired by you-know-which
Delhi gardens-enamelled set of piano wires and plastic strings throwing
dime-sized, two-dimensional shadows.
Mountain views: The artist's 800-year-old
ancestral retreat is in Champagne, northeastern France, a region renowned
for its eponymous produce. When at the former abbey, Moninot's choice
isn't champagne but Cotes-du-Rhone.
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| SHADOW LINES: Moninot with "Constellation
(various n°)" in the background (above); "Lodi IV" |
Parlez-vous Français? Moninot's
skimpy English didn't stop sculptor Himmat Shah's affable assistants from
helping him through the week. But it did have NGMA Director Rajeev Lochan
speaking to him very loudly, very slowly. And it couldn't prevent a minor
upheaval with artists like Arpana Caur wondering why an unknown European
was hosted at the national gallery.
Map of the heart: Paris-based Moninot's
initial visit to India in 1981 included a stop at Vivan Sundaram and Geeta
Kapur's art camp in Kasauli. The event introduced him to Bhupen Khakhar
and Arpita Singh among others. For his fifth trip, due this December,
Moninot's memo to himself is: travel lighter and cheaper. His 300 exhibits
cost about Rs 14 lakh to transport from the continent. Then again, it
wasn't exactly Money for Nothing.
For l'enfant: The artist's spartan tastes
were demonstrated during a morning at the shops. For his nine-year-old-daughter
Léa he chose an embroidered bedspread. For himself? "Memories
are the best souvenirs," he said.
-Sonia Faleiro
 PLAYING
WITH MUD: They ignored the diktat (don't play with
mud!) and mischievously rolled up sleeves for some messy fun. The Potters
Party at Mumbai's Olive Bar & Kitchen last week provided just such
an excuse for those tired of the jaded Saturday night dos. Organised by
the Art Club, an agency that promotes contemporary Indian art, the pottery
initiation workshop left club members to their creative devices with little
more than two wedges of clay.
"The process of working with clay can be
very therapeutic," says Mumbai-based potter and evening tutor Madhavi
Subrahmanian who was also exhibiting her works at the venue along with
Delhi potter Vineet Kackar. KS-girl-turned-interior designer Pooja Bedi
Ibrahim, who culled masks and flower baskets out of the clay lumps, agreed.
Maybe she would have been more distressed had she worked without a blindfold.
-Himanshi
Dhawan
 POWER
PLAY: Taking unveiled potshots in his inimitable
style at his politician-friends and colleagues sitting in the front row,
it was Shatrughan Sinha, uncensored, all the way. At Delhi's Taj Palace
Hotel last weekend, for the second time-the first was in Mumbai last month-the
actor took the stage as narrator and chief protagonist in the Ramesh Talwar-directed
play Pati, Patni, Aur Main. The Agra Summit, Jayalalitha, Mamata Banerjee
... he just couldn't resist adding his own impromptu lines to the script
as senior politicians Sushma Swaraj, L. K. Advani (the only one who wasn't
ribbed), Amar Singh and a packed hall watched in rapt attention. Said
Swaraj: "Theatre is like literature. And there's no harm if there's
a spot of healthy humour." Sinha had got his nod of approval from
the Censor Board itself.
-Methil Renuka
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