“My heart, like a peacock on a rainy
day, spreads its plumes tinged with
rapturous colours of thoughts,
and its ecstasy seeks some
vision in the sky,–with a
longing for one whom it
does not know.
My heart dances.

The clouds rumble from sky
to sky–the shower seeps
horizons, the doves shiver
in silence in their nests,
the frogs croak in the
flooded fields–and the
clouds rumble.”

–Rabindranath Tagore, (1861-1941)

The peacock dance by Om evokes the image of a strutting male peacock in its prime, showing off his proud plumes to its mate. Anyone who has seen a peacock dance can instantly read the poet’s meaning distilled in words and the artist’s emotions frozen in time as strokes of color on the canvas. Those flashes of the peacock “eyes” that shimmer, shine and wink in the morning sun or even in the gloom through sheets of rain are unforgettable. No one can ignore a peacock dance, even though some pea hens seem to, they too eventually capitulate to the glorious display, danced effortlessly to how nature dictates. And then, life is renewed for yet another generation.

Even if one has not seen a peacock dance, its rhythmic motions full of desire, radiating life energy and flashes of color that it employs to entice a mate can be easily imagined by the beholder of this painting.

Om, an artist hailing from Rajasthan, brings to the palette not just his observations and artistic skill. He is also an educator who has researched into the role played by the creator in art through an in-depth study of artistic motivation and uniqueness of creativity in the development of artistic talent.

Thus, beyond contemplating the visual image of the peacock in its natural environs, and what the artist tries to convey through his vibrantly executed pastel strokes, we are given the option to explore further. How did each stroke come into being? What did Om see that we did not see, while growing up as a Rajasthani child in the early 20th century. As with most of his paintings, the far away Indian childhood and youth of the artist still inspires and illuminates his creations.

With its dynamic and colorful depiction of the joyousness of being alive right here and now, Peacock Dance, in oil pastel by Om would be an inspiring addition to any connoisseur’s collection.

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 28th, 2010 at 10:41 pm and is filed under Art from the Vault. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.