The ‘Visual Interpreter’

His overall appearance is one of intelligent modesty. Upright, but not entirely unbending. These are some impressions one gets of Sujan Chitrakar after a few minutes of chit chat with the bespectacled artist. Additionally, if one were to go by what many of his young contemporaries in Kathmandu say about him, one would have to acknowledge that Sujan Chitrakar is one of the most gifted artists around town. And if one were to delve a little into the reason for his colleagues’ favourable opinions, then one would know that Sujan is highly regarded for, among other things, his innovativeness.

While he lives in Bijayshwori, on the way to Swayambhu,  his studio is on the first floor of one of the buildings around the expansive courtyard of Kathe Simbu temple in Shi-gal (the lane between the famous bangemudha near Ason and Chetrapati). Sujan has found for himself an apt setting in which to conduct his travails into the world of inventive art. The location is an attractive one to be sure (and surprising too to the first timer) what with it being a preferred hang out for many young people for whom the exotically defined spaciousness within an ocean of bricks and concrete, and congested lanes, is a most convivial place as a common meeting point. So, for an artist like Sujan, it could be an inspiring location, one in which the creative juices can flow unabated. This creativity, even if easily discernible in his many works, is also obvious by what he calls himself. “I prefer to be called a ‘Visual Interpreter’”, he says.

This rather clever sounding designation may be found to be justifiably earned on observing Sujan’s different and individualistic works, like for instance, www. meditateonself.com, now in a museum in Fukuoka, Japan. “I consider it to be one of the best works I have done till now,” he reveals. In the artist’s own words, “‘www. meditateonself.com’ makes a tough textual contact, each flap you turn corresponds to your own curiosity and an innate desire to flip through the pages, quickly, towards the end.” He adds, “It is very personal, therefore very satisfying, and yet at the same time, a good example of public art.”

This is one area in which Sujan wants to make a difference. “I wish to increase art appreciation among more of the general public and not limit it only to the elite.” No wonder the artist is now deep into what he calls art activity or ‘artivity’, in short. Some signs of his novel methods were apparent during the recently held (19^th to 29^th July 2006)  international workshops and exhibition held by Sutra Art Centre in Patan Durbar Square. Then he had used common vendor pushcarts as mediums in which to express to his works. At least that was what was immediately obvious, but it would be right to opine that the artist’s purpose was much more even if it was not so clearly apparent to the lay observer. Thus, how far he succeeded in achieving his objective is not certain, for sure, but to the keen observer the event signified something important, and perhaps could have been taken as a sign of things to come.

Sujan’s words give concurrence to the above, “I am now focusing on conducting another such ‘artivity’ in April. On a much bigger scale.  I want to trigger public interest in art by involving the public themselves in the activity of creating art.” No doubt it is a momentous task Sujan has taken upon himself and indeed, the art fraternity would be hoping that he succeeds mightily. At the same time, it seems to be a complicated task as well which is evident from his words, “I like to do process oriented projects rather than solo ones.” Maybe that is one reason why there have been very few solo exhibitions by the artist. Nevertheless, ‘Masticated Faces’ in Gallery Nine, inaugurated at 4:45 PM on August 3^rd 2004, was one of the few.             “My birthday, my birth hour,” explains the 31- year old artist. 

This intriguing exhibition was much acclaimed and it can be presumed, helped in further bringing to the forefront, an interesting ‘Visual Interpreter’. ‘Masticated Faces’, a mixed media presentation of sketches, paintings, masks and varied visuals, was also exhibited in Lahore, Pakistan, on 5^th December 2004 as part of the international show, ‘Old Masters,  Young Voices – South Asian Masters at Alhamra’. In June 2004, Sujan had displayed another collection titled, ‘Utopian Introspection’ at the Siddhartha Art Gallery in Kathmandu. Besides these, the artist has also participated in group shows around the world.  Asides from participation as a student in many exhibitions in India, Sujan has exhibited in Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery in the UK (2006), Fukuoka Triennale in Japan (2005), Colombo and Kandy, Sri Lanka (2002) and Lucknow and New Delhi ( 2000-2001).  In 1998 and 1999, Sujan’s works were displayed in Varanasi at six different exhibitions. Within Nepal itself, the bespectacled artist has been a regular participant in group shows as well. These include, beside others, ‘Uneven Fragments’ and ‘Nugu Mikha’ (2004), ‘Coaxing the Nature’ (2003), the National Exhibition (2002), ‘Confluence’ (2000),  the Bangdel Memorial Exhibition (1999) and ‘The Heritage of Chitrakars’ (1997).

Born to Misree Man, a commercial painter himself, and Tirtha Shova Chitrakar, Sujan is the eldest of three brothers, the other two being social worker Sanam and musician Suman. Two years into the long voyage of marriage, the artist’s wife, Jeny, is a professional in her own right. Sujan’s early education was at the then Raktakali School, now called Whitfield, and he did his I. Com from People’s Campus. Then, Sujan took the decisive step to follow his own dreams and  joined Lalit Kala Campus to study arts. “I am extremely grateful to my parents,” he states. “I am what I am today due to their encouragement and whole hearted support.” Disclosing that he was fortunate to have received early professional guidance from renowned artists, the late Amar Chitrakar and K K Karmacharya, Sujan did his IFA from Lalit Kala Campus in 1994. He went on to receive his BFA from Banaras Hindu University in 1999, and his MFA from the College of Art in New Delhi in 2001.

Presently, he is the Academic Programme Coordinator and Lecturer at the Centre of Art and Design, Kathmandu University, in Bhaktapur. In 2002 – 2003 he was visiting faculty at the Lalitkala Campus in Kathmandu as well as at Khowpa Engineering College in Bhaktapur. He is also a visiting lecturer at the Actor’s Studio in Swoyambhu. Among his non-academic activities, Sujan has been creative director of ‘Pen and Ink’; a freelance illustrator for children’s books and other literature as well as a founder member of  Sutra Art Group. Sujan regards teaching to be a great responsibility and asserts that he has taken it up as a challenge because art education is not good in the country.

He believes that it should be started from the basic level and declares, “My goal is to contribute towards making art education in Nepal, the best in the whole of South Asia.” This, of course, translates into the making of great artists. Sujan himself is enamoured by the works of the American artist Mark Rothko whose creations he defines as ‘colour filled abstractism’. “Rothko’s canvases pull you into their very beings,” he says. Sujan has some difficulty in answering to the question, “Any Nepalese artists you admire?” Nevertheless, among contemporaries, he does mention Sunil Sigdel as an artist whose works are interesting, and Salil Subedi, whose works have an infusion of art and music. Among his peers, he has high regard for Manju Babu Mishra as well as for Shashi Shah, whose paintings, Sujan says, are sensible and assertive.

Doubtless, although Sujan’s own works may be much more assertive in their depiction, one cannot expect them to be as sensible due to the very fact of them being more of  visual interpretations as compared to simply, pure expressions. And so, it is rather befitting that the artist is as dedicated to teaching art as he is determined to be an artist of a different calibre. Much therefore depends upon his own efforts in educating others to fathom the vast boundaries of post modernistic art, a form that Sujan Chitrakar, ‘Visual Interpreter’, seems to revel in. At the same time, it is a hard task indeed, seeing that the lay public, one which Sujan hopes will gain more of an appreciation for art than is the case now, still seems to lack even the rudimentary fundamentals of the same.  So, one cannot but wish him all the luck in the world and pray that his efforts pay off for the benefit of many.