E D I T O R I A L
The Pitfalls of Eye Candy

April 13, 2003

There is so much talent in the Sikh community that it is just bursting at the seams. This is about the artwork created by contemporary Sikh artists, of the not so distant past and especially the present. Current Sikh artists such as Arpana Caur from New Delhi, and Amrita and Rabindra Kaur, twin artists from London, are gaining world-wide recognition for their artwork. Their talent is so brilliant and their work so mesmerizing, it is easy to just let oneself be carried away by the beauty - the eye candy.

But supporting art for the sake of art is a risky concept. Sikh artists producing works on cultural, social or political themes are certainly acceptable. But when they dwell upon Sikh religious topics, they have a huge responsibility to the Sikh people. Many have not lived up to that responsibility. A great deal of artwork, past and present, is disrespectful to our Gurus and boarders on being sacrilegious.

In the past, artists have created works that distort Sikhi. One would expect the Janam Sakhis painted on the walls of Baba Attal's Hawali, for example, to be an illustrated recording of Guru Nanak's life. But a majority of these painted scenes are infused with images of Hindu gods and Christian angels and demons. The stories themselves distort events in Guru Nanak's life and many are just manufactured. One story shows how Guru Nanak turned an unwanted baby girl into a baby boy to satisfy the mother. This is completely opposite to what Guru Nanak taught about the oneness of humankind. The final result of this creation is a distortion of Guru Nanak's life and the teachings on which Sikhi blossomed.

These Janam Sakhis were painted during the late 1700s and 1800. A slide-show of these paintings was presented by Shivi Singh of Punjab University at the Seminar on Sikh Arts (San Francisco, CA). The paintings are being documented and preserved for historical record.

Even today, Sikh artists are creating works that twist the values of Sikhi. Non-Sikh ideas and imagery are still creeping into paintings of the Gurus, and especially into those of Guru Nanak. We still see gods, demons and angels along with other non-Sikh concepts intermingled with Sikh Gurus and Sikh tenets.

At a recent showing of contemporary paintings at the Seminar on Sikh Arts, the audience was exposed to some works created by Arpana Caur and the Kaur twins described as "dancing Nanak," "Gandhi-like Nanak," "Nanak taken to the heavens by angels," "Nanak with monkeys painted on his arm," and so on. This is sickening, to say the least. These paintings say nothing about that magnanimous human who once walked the face of this earth known as Guru Nanak. And they say nothing about his legacy.

We as a Sikh people understand the value of the freedom of expression. But we cannot stand by and let our Gurus be illustrated disrespectfully or have the concepts of Sikhi distorted for the public eye. We need to step back and consider what the public will interpret from these paintings. The answer is: a false idea of Sikhi.

The best action we can take is not to take any action at all. We should not support this kind of artwork. Don't exhibit these artworks. Don't go to galleries where these artworks are displayed. Don't buy this kind of artwork. Don't invest in preserving these artworks.

Sometimes restraint sends the loudest message. Supporting art for the sake of art is not acceptable. If artists want to dwell upon Sikh religious topics, they need to take responsibility and do Sikhi justice.

How about just painting the truth? That is where the real beauty lies.

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