Balbir Krishan was peacefully filming sound bites about his latest exhibit at the Lalit Kala Akademi yesterday in New Delhi when a masked man entered the building, smashed one of his works and attacked him. Krishan, who is a double amputee, is currently giving his first solo show, an exhibition of works on LGBT themes, in the Indian capital city.
The works are hardly erotic on the scale of Tom of Finland but have still raised the ire of religious Hindus, reports the Times of India:
Krishan, 38, from a village called Bijrol in Baghpat district of Uttar Pradesh, had received several threats over phone on Wednesday. The calls—made from phone booths—accused the artist, himself homosexual, of “spreading” homosexuality in the country.
According to Krishan, the caller said… “You are determined to ruin Hinduism.”
Before that, posters advertising his exhibition at Garhi studios and near Jamia Milia Islamia, were ripped and burnt.
Some of Krishan’s able-bodied friends pursued the attacker, who managed to escape. Closed-circuit cameras were out of tape and did not record the assailant fleeing and the footage above didn’t capture his face.
Krishan says the exhibit was dedicated to the late gay artist Bhupen Khakhar and to M.F. Husain, the “Picasso of India,” whose sensual depictions of Hindu deities earned the wrath of extremists and led to his self-imposed exile in Quatar. (Krishan’s attacker allegedly shouted: “We chased Husain away, you are nothing” during the assault.)
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Though Krishan’s works were moved from the gallery, he’s not deterred—the exhibit will continue at Triveni Kala Sangam in Connaught Place starting Friday.
Video: Tehelka TV. Images via Balbir Krishan, Soumik Mukherjee
tallskin2
No religion is cuddly. All are vile. Somehow Hinduism has acquired a reputation for cuddliness, when it’s far from cuddly. Hinduism like all religions supports the most reactionary, patriachal aspects of the societies it lives as a parasite within.
And remember a Hindu fanatic killed Ghandi because the murderer thought Ghandi was too accommodating to muslims and other minorities post independence.
xamthor
providing this isn’t fake… I hope the artist is ok.
for the LGBT this is a reminder of the long road ahead. that we can’t ever get lazy and complacent.
for the Art community, this is publicity gold! his prices just went up. which is why I may be skeptical… I men i WISH that would happen at my next opening.
tookietookie
I love “Sickly Man Cringing in the Valley of Nipple Mushrooms”! I want it for my living room.
AH! PUSH IT!
@tookietookie: LOL!! I thought the “nipple mushrooms” were blue condoms for chode-y dicks
dn12
The attack is extremely vile and loathsome. However, the way this event is being reported here is also troubling. Are the comparisons to Tom of Finland and Picasso really necessary? Not all queerness or art needs to be gauged by Western standards. Further, I disagree with tallskin2 that it is Hinduism that is reactionary. This assumes that all Hindus are of the same ilk when, in this case, it is one person or a fringe group of reactionaries whose interpretation and use of Hinduism should be in question.
Esculapio Mitiríades Torquemada de la Cueva
@tookietookie: The English title tends to be “Self-fellating leper amid blue boob sea.”
It Puts The Troll In The Basket
@xamthor: I am skeptical too. It’s a little too convenient how the guy came into the building while the cameras were rolling, isn’t it?
trevor bartlet
@tallskin2: Pretty much nothing on earth as “vile” as your comments.