Collecting things I think must be a universal, natural phenomenon that is inherent in human behaviour. All of us willy-nilly end up collecting something or other. In some cases, it becomes a passion, pointing in a certain direction, with a perspective in mind followed up with a deep study of the article one is collecting. In most cases even if we want, space constraints impel us to throw out what we think is cluttering our living space.
For instance, I used to collect catalogues and brochures of art exhibitions and events that I attended. I felt that I could use the updated information contained in these or refer to a certain phase of an artist’s journey in my writing, considering there was such a shortage of printed material or books on the subject.
A time came when it became an either-or situation, when either I could live in my house or choose to have these catalogues and brochures stored in it. Needless to say, who won! Now it is my saree collection that needs some serious intervention, but I am hoping someone will set up a textile museum in the meantime so I won’t have to throw or give away these sarees with such painstaking view of history in mind! But then I think now onwards we needn’t bother cluttering our living space, largely thanks to the Internet. I think as a matter of habit, all artists and artistes should upload not only updated information but also designs of the printed catalogues for reasons of historicity. Not only is it more professional, but it also captures history as it is being made. It is leap forward in a culture that has always believed in shruti and smriti — hearing and remembering — way of keeping history.
Having said this, two interesting collections in recent times that come to mind are the Nemi Chand Jain’s collection of theatre-related literature and memorabilia, and the other being Mohan Khokar’s collection of classical dance related material. While these collections serve the purpose of a historical connect, to turn them into relevant exhibitions is another ball game altogether.
The recent exhibition of Khokar’s collection is a case in point. The publication is extremely well designed, and beautifully produced, but the exhibition needs more work. Displaying visiting cards to letters, sketches, boxes of Diwali crackers, dolls of yesteryears in dance costumes from various parts of the world got crowded. Cutting off the space of the large gallery to make a fixed path made it impossible to look at anything properly. The exhibition of such material that is varied in size and style. It is obviously not the easiest to design. I had interviewed Mohanji about the collection years ago, and I still vividly remember how lovingly he spoke about it and rightly so. It has some rare gems that need to be highlighted. There are some things in it that look great in the publication, but have no impact when put on display. However, it is a correctable situation. If a museum like the Salar Jung Museum in Hyderabad can be set right by professionals, this is only a collection!
Alka Raghuvanshi is an art writer, curator and artist