Souza, Adieu

Hi, this is Eliot, the poster of many blogs here. In actuality, my name is Craig and I’m a white American living in the American Midwest. Before I was hired two and half years ago to write for Tamarind Art Gallery, my creative interests were Anglo-Saxon oriented. I was a lover of American artists—Warhol, Wood, and Whistler, as well as European masters like Van Gogh, Manet, Monet; especially the artist who set the art world on its ear, Pablo Picasso. I knew or cared little about Indian art and culture—it was half a world away.

Since then, I have developed a great respect and admiration for Indian art and culture. From Ganesh to Gandhi, Tagore to TV Santhosh, I have learned a great deal about the long, rich, sometimes tumultuous, always beautiful, creative history of the subcontinent. MF Hussein, what a master of lines, colors, and shapes, Raza’s bindus, intriguing. Most of all, however, I shall always enjoy the tortured works of Francis Newton. Nobody expressed their cynicism, disdain, and the foibles of life like Souza did. I shall carry his images in my heart and mind forever.

This is my last post. Life happens, things change. But I will always remember my new found respect for everything Indian. I would like to thank, you the reader, for perusing my blogs. I hope they were entertaining as well as enlightening. We learned together. Peace and joy to you all.

Craig