ART - Deccan Herald - Internet Edition


	= Monday, August 8, 2005

Search=20 DH

News

N= ational

Stat= e

D= istrict

City<= /A>

B= usiness

Fo= reign

Spo= rts

Comment

E= dit=20 Page

P= anorama

Ne= t=20 Mail

It's=20 Your Take

Infoline =

= In=20 City Today

He= lpline

Daily=20 Almanac

Weather

Leisure

= Crossword

Horoscope by = Tiny

Year=20 2005

Week= ly

Pearls of wisdom
"Art is = made to disturb.=20 There is only one valuable thing in art: the = thing=20 you
cannot explain" -Georges=20 = Braque

Supplements =

Economy= =20 & Business

M= etro=20 Life - Mon

Scienc= e=20 & Technology

S= pectrum

Con= sumer=20 Bytes

DH= =20 Avenues

Cyber=20 Space

Metro=20 Life - Thurs

Sportscene

DH=20 Education

Liv= ing

She

Ope= n=20 Sesame

DH = Realty

M= etro=20 Life - Sat

Sunday=20 Herald

F= ine=20 Art / Culture

Arti= culations

Ente= rtainment

Reviews=20

Book= =20 Reviews

Mov= ie=20 Reviews

Art=20 Reviews

Columns

Kuld= ip=20 Nayar

Khushwant=20 Singh

N= =20 J Nanporia

Ta= vleen=20 Singh

Swami=20 Sukhbodhananda

Bit= tu=20 Sehgal

Su= resh=20 Menon

Shreekumar=20 Varma

Movie Guide =

Ad Links =

Deccan
International School =

Real Estate Properties in Bangalore=20

<= FONT=20 size=3D1>Deccan Herald
Now Available=20
Globally
in Print = Format=20 =

Others

About = Us
Subscription=20

Send your=20 Suggestions / Queries about the Website to=20 the
Webmaster

To send letters to Editor :
Letters to=20 Editor=20

For enquiries on advertisements :
Contact = Us=20

Deccan Herald = =C2=BB Arts = Reviews =C2=BB Detailed Story

ART

Distinct style =

At=20 first glance, the exhibits at the show, The Art for Children 2005, = an=20 Indo-Japanese artists=E2=80=99 venture, previewed first at the = Welcom Art Gallery=20 and then at Gallerie Sara Arrakal till August 6, appear as an=20 inter-cultural activity between two countries that have a backdrop = of rich=20 tradition and history. On investigating further, the show is a = potential=20 space to debate the existence or non-existence of indigenous = contemporary=20 art and arrive at some significant conclusions on present day = status of=20 art. The exhibition was in support of Vishwalaya, a resource = centre based=20 in Bangalore which provides home and education for children.=20

Contemporary Japanese art, like Indian art, has = accumulated=20 diverse styles and concepts, with Eastern and Western = characteristics=20 mixed in varying degrees. With growing demands from the art = market,=20 expressions are catered by galleries and tastes from = =E2=80=98outside=E2=80=99. The future=20 of Japanese and Indian painting which formerly possessed an = =E2=80=98exoticism of=20 the East=E2=80=99 is now dictated by Western or International = norms.

The = growing=20 internationalism in art today, diffuses boundaries, and creates = dilemmas=20 in differentiating origins of art ideas and styles. Though people=20 knowingly or unknowingly succumb or acknowledge their cultural = tradition,=20 art has attained an internationalism which unites subjects or = causes.=20

The exhibition adds to the belief that depiction in art is = not as=20 important as the reason to create art; as it houses different = ideas;=20 primarily paintings, with also instances of pottery.

The = show has=20 a variety of subjects from landscapes to still life to figurative = and=20 abstract works of art. Mrs Tomoko Mukasa=E2=80=99s painting = =E2=80=94 Standing =E2=80=94 thinks=20 about the relationship of the two-dimension surface of the = painting with=20 the seemingly irregular arrangement of simple flat forms painted = in it.=20

The painting, done in a minimalistic fashion has = continuity, that=20 grapples with a movement and momentum extending outside the frame. =

Decorative works by Hisako Teruyama, Saeko Amakawa and = Kyouko=20 Saitu have a =E2=80=98flowery arrangement=E2=80=99, conceive a = progressive stability and=20 simplicity.

Unique mixture

The forms = subduely=20 reveal Japanese style lines. A beautifully glazed pot created by = Hirokatsu=20 Kondou, adheres to the age-old rich history of Japanese work-man = ship.=20 This designed pot has pores all over its surface, creating a = lattice which=20 illuminates and reveals the bright brown surface behind. =

In the=20 Indian contemporary art section, a unique mixture of works by=20 well-acclaimed artists like M F Hussain, S G Vasudev and talented=20 newcomers like Vishnu Kumar S along with the Japanese = artists=E2=80=99 work=20 ascertain the collaborative objective of the exhibition. Babu = Xavier=E2=80=99s On=20 Guard Duty, appears as an environmental friendly work, with a = distinctly=20 created subject lapped with green planes hovering in front of a=20 stylistically created =E2=80=98natural=E2=80=99 background. =

Vishnu Kumar S, a=20 young promising painter, creates connotations in his = semi-abstract,=20 symbolic work.

G Raghu sculpts a composed head with eyes = closed=20 capturing a moment of contemplative or debating thought. In the=20 prominently blue print done by M F Hussain, the angular form of = the horse=20 used in many of his paintings moves onwards, with a human guide = towards an=20 arched streak of shadow.

The inevitability of adhering to = norms=20 dictated by the today=E2=80=99s market-oriented world, is = realised.

But,=20 does this dilemma reduce or lessen the quality of art? To this, = there is a=20 befitting answer by Octavio Paz, =E2=80=9C=E2=80=A6one must not = confuse the hegemony of=20 the market place with fruitfulness, imagination, and power to = create=E2=80=9D.=20

Mixed similarity

The show at the Kannada = Bhavan=20 between the July 30 and August 5 gave expression to writings of = the=20 well-acclaimed literary figure, Kuvempu through paintings. = Kuvempu, an=20 extraordinary poet, novelist and scholar stands as a great name in = Kannada=20 literature. Along with portraits of Kuvempu, 50 artists from = different=20 places, mainly from Karnataka, created paintings based on his = famous works=20 namely the Ramayana Darshanam, Kanooru Heggaditi, and a number of = popular=20 poems. This venture of exhibiting the works together, dedicated to = the=20 renowned literary figure, not only creates a dialogue between the = various=20 artists, their styles and preferences; but also maps a = relationship=20 between the verbal and the visual.

The series include = direct=20 narratives, symbolic gestures, =E2=80=98straight-right=E2=80=99 = portraits and intricately=20 rendered paintings. The rectangular painted surfaces in various = sizes=20 represent the narratives attaining interesting forms, giving = importance to=20 the depiction/content rather than the technique used in the = painting. It=20 speaks of an inconsistency, where style and technique is = concerned, as one=20 can see diverse styles on one platform; however, the paintings = form a=20 coherent whole of being associated with Kuvempu; in turn = reflecting the=20 notion that the very idea of contemporary art implies multiple=20 possibilities to experiment or include, and also depict = contradictory=20 narratives.

Kuvempu=E2=80=99s literary works are = noteworthy as they=20 generate a subjective interpretation of the mythical episodes or=20 creations. Likewise, when an interpretation takes another form; in = this=20 case painting, it includes the experience of an artist. =

Hence, the=20 visual manifestation of Kuvempu=E2=80=99s life and works also = depend upon the=20 diversity of media and techniques used in conveyance, reflecting = the=20 individual stance of the artist. Upon entering, portraits of = Kuvempu and=20 his wife are done in a realistic academic rendering followed by = Yusuf=20 Arrakal=E2=80=99s repetitive images which takes the guise from = Andy Warhol=E2=80=99s work.=20

Modern interpretation

Basavarj = Musavalgi=E2=80=99s=20 Sacrificial Goat is a modern interpretation of an age-old = ritualistic=20 practice created by using computer-aided technology. The painting = puts=20 across the situation of animal sacrifice. Based on an incident in=20 Kuvempu=E2=80=99s novel Kanru Heggadithi, it recites the episode = where a goat is=20 brought by the servant to the sacrificial spot and upon seeing the = gory=20 blood around him, signified by the red colour spread across the = painting,=20 the goat flees as he is scared out of his wits. This instance = precedes the=20 event, when he is pursued by the crowd to surrender, in an attempt = to=20 escape them he jumps into a tank, to save his skin, literally.=20

Baby Eshwar Prasad sticks to an adherence in applying = paint using=20 his signature techniques, illustrating a story from another = narrative in=20 Kuvempu=E2=80=99s writings.

The show raises queries = pertaining to the=20 freedom of expression sanctioned to artist, which also questions = the=20 freedom of choice granted to a curator or organiser or = conceptualiser to=20 exercise or exhibit a subject or an idea? What standards can be = applied to=20 exhibit works?

Where this show did have potential in its = varied=20 stories and renderings, it also investigates the way in which = visual=20 expressions reflect the historical background, politics, = geography, social=20 structure, religious beliefs, and also the role of the = contemporary artist=20 in the context. And thus, with the clutter of imagery, the show=20 consequently states the popular genre of today=E2=80=99s art = =E2=80=94 subjective, kitsch,=20 freedom of media and a curated show with independent ideas.=20

Nirali Lal

(Our regular art critic Marta = Jakimowicz is on a month-long vacation)=20

Comment=20 on this=20 article

Other Headlines

ART=20 =C2=BB

MUSIC=20 =C2=BB

Ad Links

Florist Send=20 Flowers Gifts Bangalore Delhi Dehradun Hyderabad Mumbai All India=20

NRIs! Do you know? =

Home Decor

Flowers to India, = Mumbai, = Delhi,=20 Hyderabad= ,=20 Bangalore= =20

Send Flowers, = Cakes, Chocolates, = Fruits to = India =

Deccan
International School =

Real Estate Properties in Bangalore=20 =

Copyright 2005,=20 The Printers (Mysore) Private Ltd., 75, M.G. Road, Post Box No = 5331,=20 Bangalore - 560001
Tel: +91 (80) 25880000 Fax No. +91 (80)=20 25880523