Matthias Beckmann


Report from Bangalore

After a few weeks in Bangalore, I understand some things better and many things not. That’s not so bad, because all I want to do is observe and paint in watercolours.

Thanks to a cooperation between the Lichtenberg Studios in Berlin and 1Shanthiroad Studio/Gallery in Bangalore, I can be here with a scholarship from the Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan. Uwe Jonas, director of Lichtenberg Studios, said that it was a good idea to walk in the footsteps of colonial British travel artists in India. I want to create a series of watercolours on location, looking at the life and goings-on in Shanthinagar. This is the district where the artists’ house 1Shanthiroad I live in is located.

20 years ago, Suresh had a young architect friend build this imaginative, intricate house on top of his parents’ house. Up and down stairs, different floors, an open courtyard with many plants and a roof terrace. I hit it off well. Great host, great house, great food and a nice room. 

I have a small travel watercolour box, brushes with a built-in water tank (press the back and water comes out the front), a painting stool, watercolour pads, a baseball cap and of course sunscreen. I usually draw with a pencil first and then continue working on the picture with watercolours.

The Shanthi Road sign could be described as battered. I see it as a dynamic element that, with its form, tells of the movement in this street.

Everywhere you come across mysterious drawings. Women clean the floor in front of the house entrance, splash it with water and let white powder glide through their hand, creating artistic, centred ornaments from a line. Bangalore is a metropolis of one-line drawing. This is the place for me.

The pavements in Bangalore are narrow, full of holes and tripping hazards, but nobody trips. Most of the time you walk along the edge of the road. Cows can cross the road at any time and in any way. People have to learn it. If a local wants to cross to the other side, you can join him. Otherwise, you have to venture alone. Above all, trust in God is important.

In Shanthi Road and the surrounding streets I found most of my motifs: construction sites, small shops, a freshly painted mosque, a Hindu temple and just nearby a Jain temple. 

When I was drawing and watercolouring a motorbike repair workshop, it didn’t take long for people to look at what I was doing. Often the onlookers stay beside me from the beginning to the end of my work and follow the progress. Indians are open and hospitable. And very curious. They want to know where I’m from, whether I’m alone, how long I’m staying, for what purpose I’m drawing this motif. The children keep asking if the picture is finished. What a question. As long as I am working on it, nothing is finished.

I noticed how beautiful the little things can be by looking at a red cart on a street corner in my neighbourhood. Just around the corner is a small temple. I tried to combine a precise washed representation with a purely linear environment.

Cemetery Road is a paradise for draughtsmen. Here lie the cemeteries of the great religions of India: Hinduism, Christianity and Islam. I came across the magnificent tomb with the mustachioed man on the elephant. You can commission something like that during your lifetime, if you’re so inclined. In the Hindu cemetery, you can go around on a scooter or you can be taken to the desired place by autorickshaw. When I painted the god who is sacrificed to here, a friendly gentleman bought me water and orange juice. I’ve never experienced that in Berlin. Berlin has to learn.

My first watercolour in Bangalore was painted in a cemetery not far from the Lalbagh Botanical Garden. There I fled from the chaotic traffic, from autorickshaws, scooters and horns. Everywhere in the city you find very lethargic dogs. One of them was lying on the cemetery wall.

The open hall of Johnson Market was built by the British. The butchers cut up large pieces of beef. I sat outside first and kicked away a small piece of meat that had been thrown close to me without intention. For the crows and birds of prey were already waiting and pounced on the scraps in flight.

At the centre of the huge, bustling City Market is a large, square market hall. On the upper floors, mainly used metal goods are sold, e.g. drills in every size and length. From the gallery I had a nice view of the baskets of flowers and flower garlands. Around the hall there are many vegetable stalls, in the side alleys goods of all kinds.

Of course I had to paint a cow, too. This time I drew it directly with a brush. The cow was already gone by the time I had finished watercolouring the rest of the sheet.