Singapore-based international
ART DEALER and ART CURATOR

Aesthetic Awakening 10 by Vidhya Gnana Gouresan

My most intimate encounter with the cow was during my visit to Madhavaran milk colony in Chennai (South India), about ten years ago. Having had lived in Singapore all my life (where the closest I got to a cow was either in the zoo or during my primary school excursion to Vishnu Milk Farm!), I was simply stunned by the in dependence that the cow demand in India. Watching a cow stroll at the sides of busy roads in the city, along with people, was indeed an out-of the world experience for me. And the most amusing scene was when the vehicles on the road had to stop and wait while a cow took its won sweet time to cross over to the opposite side of the road. To me that was sign of “Cow Power”

Leaving the contemporary cow aside, it is not surprising that research on the tender herbivore has proven its undeniable significance in world mythology and symbolism. Would you have imagined that there is indeed a cow Goddess in Egyptian mythology? Her name is Hathor, and she is the daughter of Nut (Mother of the Moon, Sun and the heavenly bodies) and Re (the son God of Heliopolis). Hathor is also known as the Goddess of Love, Dance and intoxication. She is often portrayed as either a cow or personified with a crown that consists of sun disk that is secured between the horns of a cow. Hathor is also a symbol of maternity, in connection with the cow’s primordial affiliation towards fertility and nourishment.  Today a statue of Hathor stands as a prominent exhibit in luxor Museum of Egypt (ancient Thebes)

Coming back to India, Mythology speaks of Kamadhenu, a divine cow who is able to grant wishes and provide anything that making needs. Depicted as half female and half cow, she is believed to have emerged from Samudramanthan (the churning of the mythological ocean). In short, she is hailed as the mother of all cows! Even in contemporary folk-inspired art in India, Kamadhenu is very often a subject that continues to intrigue art collectors with it’s unique from and timeless symbolism.

At this point, I would like to take the chance to reveal a thought – provoking quote by Mahatma Gandhi, on the cow – “She is the second mother to millions of mankind. Protection of the cow means protection of the whole dumb creation of God. The appeal of the lower order of creation is all the more forceful because it is speechless.”

Forceful yet speechless – this description beautifully seta the tone for the quiet might in the very nature of the holy cow.

Vidhya Gnana Gouresan curates contemporary art exhibition, and has been researching for museum in Singapore Since 2000. Her research interests revolve around Asian aesthetic, abstract art appreciation, art marketing, the temple art of the Chola Dynasty, the rasa theory in Indian aesthetics and museum studies. She can be reached at vidhya@gnaniarts.com

Maya, an illusive truth
Aesthetic awaking 7 by Vidhya Gnana Gouresan

There are times when I find myself in a State of uncontrollable anger that usually leads to emotional hysteria. I have struggled very hard in my search for a down-to-earth, yet authoritative, personal philosophy that will act as a “medicine” to control my frequent encounters with my very own influx of emotions. I have found this “medicine” in the notion of Maya.

As an aspect of Hindu philosophy, Maya is very simply referred to as ‘illusion’. In other words, what one sees, thinks, feels, hears and tastes are a “lesser reality” and not the absolute truth.

Maya is dream that we believe is reality; a state where one’s existence is nothing but a mask that conceals the ‘truth’. In such a state, what is the point of feeling angry, afraid, sad, happy, and disappointed or all the other emotions one can summon?

“So what has maya got to do with art and the creative process?” You may ask. In my opinion, art is indeed the ultimate form of maya, in which the illusive reality is daringly given a coat of an even stronger dream. By reinterpreting reality, discovering inspiration, feeling for subject matter and making a choice of medium and colors, an artist is unknowingly redefining maya . In every era in art history, it is maya that has been reinvented and made contemporary. Therefore, maya is not only a philosophy, it is also the force that enables the social evolution in a fluid reality that is both within and not within one’s control. Maya rules as an entity that entangles dreams, illusions, reality and inevitability. There will be no escape from maya, until of course, enlightenment occurs.

This brings us to another issue. What is enlightenment? Here is an analogy. An artist puts his/her untouched canvas on the easel waiting for the moment of spontaneous inspiration. When the moment of inspiration strikes without warning, the artist wastes no time in immersing him/herself in the amazing process of creation. I believe during this enigmatic and intense creative process, maya takes a break to reveal a ‘truth’

That is specific to the creator only.

Noise of Silence 11 by P. Gnana
76 x 76 cm, 2006, oil on canvas

Noise of Silence 6 by P. Gnana
76 x 76 cm, 2006, oil on canvas

Vidhya Gnana Gouresan curates contemporary art exhibition, and has been researching for museum in Singapore Since 2000. Her research interests revolve around Asian aesthetic, abstract art appreciation, art marketing, the temple art of the Chola Dynasty, the rasa theory in Indian aesthetics and museum studies. She can be reached at vidhya@gnaniarts.com

Nature - 12 by A. Viswam
oil on canvas, 59 x 59 cm, 2005

Nature - 8 by A. Viswam
oil on canvas, 85 x 85 cm, 2005