http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10438377
M.F. Husain and his influence on modern India speaks volumes. Contemporary artists consistently push the envelope, often raising the question of what is ART? And how acceptable is it?
From reading the article I was able to have more of a perspective on what to expect when exploring contemporary culture in India. What kind of art, music, and film is reason for political censorship in India? There are similarities drawn between Husain and Picasso's work, both in style and content. Picasso's art was at the height of controversy around the 1920s and 1930s. The article on Husain was published in 2007. From a Western perspective Husain's paintings are as risque as I would guess something to be 60 years ago. But to be honest there really isn't much that shocks me anymore in modern film, music, art, etc. Western-style raunchiness and its infiltration into Indian media is not surprising but the resistance to it is. Not long before the article had been published there had been a court order to seize Husain's property because of his painting of a nude representation of India. There are some distinct differences between Eastern and Western ideology and freedom of speech. Which brings me to wonder how desensitized Americans have become to media? Would we create at the risk of actually having house and home taken away?
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