 They came to America 20 years ago, a hundred strong, on a ship from India: men, women, children, cattle and scores of monkeys, all stowed away in a container. No illegal immigrants these, they were the concrete sculptures created by Nek Chand, the noted artist whose magical Rock Garden in Chandigarh is supposed to be the most visited site in India, after the Taj Mahal.
The pieces were commissioned by the Children's Museum in Washington D.C. and were seen and enjoyed by families for two decades. Like all of Nek Chand's work, they celebrate the value of discarded items like rocks, stones and broken crockery and shards of glass that are mixed with concrete. Now that the museum is relocating, Nek Chand's people and animals are on the move again.
The museum has donated a sculpture to each of several museums across the nation with Asian connections. The American Folk Art Museum in New York loved the sculpture so much that it acquired another 29 pieces. Now these can be seen at the museum through September 24, 2006 in an exhibit titled "Concrete Kingdom: Sculptures by Nek Chand."
"I recover everything and I give them new life," the artist says of his creations and indeed he's done just that.
In 1958, Chand was a road inspector in the newly created city of Chandigarh, which was designed by the French architect Le Corbusier. As the new city came up, the old was being discarded, so Chand hoarded disposed material, rocks and recyclable items. Gradually he built a secret fantasy garden peopled by creatures made from abandoned items and poured concrete, a Le Corbusier. Since this concrete world was on public property, there was resistance at first, but soon it became a national pride and today over 25 acres are covered with 2,000 figures, all from recycled materials.
Now in his 80's, Chand is not able to travel to New York, but audience reactions are being sent to him. A young girl wrote: "I really enjoyed seeing your scolpters. I am 8-1/2 and my name is Lucy. How long does it take to make a scolpter?"
Chand will surely be happy to know that Indians are connecting with his creations. One Indian wrote: "Lovely to see your beautiful art again. Brought back so many memories as I grew up in India, in New Delhi."
A quote from Mahatma Gandhi on the wall says it all: "A nation's culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people." Seeing Nek Chand's wandering concrete tribe, Indian Americans would surely concur. | |
