NEWS
Titled ‘Blurred Boundaries: Transcending Borders, Transcending Lives’, on display is an exhibition of photographs by 55 young photographers from Bangalore and outside the city showcasing their unique photographs from around the world.
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The show commences on 14th of September and will be on view till the 17th of Spetember 2013.
Strife of love in a dream
Jhaveri Contemporary art gallery, Mumbai presents a screening of the film, ‘The Strife of Love in a Dream’. The 11 minute film is shot and edited by young, award winning film maker, Camille Henrot.
Five Days in August
The participating artists are O. Sunder, Prathapan G., Sunil Vallarpadam, Surendran K., Bindhi Rajagopal, Nandan P.V. and Asanthan.
Ranging from melancholic and sombre shades to vibrant colours, the works display an array of how each artist has explored the femininity of mother nature and how she subtly leaves messages. Also portrayed are the depictions of animals in their elegant forms.
The show is on view till the 31st of August 2013.
The participating artists are, Rakshanda Yadav, Tanima Bhatacharya, Vineeta Vadehra, Priyanka Dua, Rewal Walia, Sunando Basu, Sangeeta and Smeetha Bhoumik.
The works vary from spiritual self- explorations to fantastical and imaginative voyages and abstractions on canvas with oils acrylic and mixed media.
The show is on view from the 1st of September to the 6th of September 2013.
(News reports by Sushma Sabnis)
Blurred Boundaries in Photography
Government Museum and Venkatappa Art Gallery, jointly present a show of photography organized and hosted by Focus Bangalore. After last year’s successful response, Focus Bangalore is back this year with another edition of its exquisite photography.
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| ( A still from the film) |
Camille is known for her videos and animated films combining drawn art, music and occasionally scratched or reworked cinematic images, Camille’s work blurs the traditionally hierarchical categories of art history. Her recent work, adapted into the diverse media of sculpture, drawing, photography and, as always, film, considers the fascination with the ‘other’ and ‘elsewhere’ in terms of both geography and sexuality.
Camille’s first in India, is the film, The Strife of Love in a Dream (2011), commissioned by the Centre Pompidou for its show, ‘Paris-Delhi-Bombay’. It is composed in a structure, interweaving a pilgrimage, the production of anti-anxiety medication and the extraction of snake venom, all of which are linked to human strategies of defense against fear. She also focuses her work on the role of snakes as a symbol that shows up often in popular culture with references in religion, animation films, poetry, comic books and the obvious temples and other institutions.
The screening will be on view till the 6th of September 2013. |
| (Artist G. Prathapan observing some of the works on display at the exhibition. Photo: K. K. Mustafah) |
Durbar Hall Art Gallery, Kochi presents a group show of artworks by seven upcoming artists. Titled, ‘ Five Days in August’, the show is a tribute to the blend and unity of man and nature. The works displayed are rendered in acrylic on canvas, paper and charcoal, pencil, ink drawings, reiterate this unity.
September Melody
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| ( A work by Priyanka Dua) |
Open Palm Court Gallery of India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, presents a show of artworks by a group of artists titled, ‘September Melody’. The show displays works of eminent and upcoming artist from the country.
(News reports by Sushma Sabnis)
FEATURE
Frames of tradition
Artist-turned-textile designer, Mukesh has brought glimpses of the traditional pichwais to Bangalore in vivid, colourful frames
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| (A Desire to revive: The craft. Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy) |
Far from the town of Nathdwara where the pichwais, one of the most popular forms of Nathdwara art originate, a whole series of these paintings now adorn the walls of Vermillion House. These paintings are being exhibited by Mukesh, an artist-turned textile painter. The series of Nathdwara paintings in the form of pichwais are part of his latest series of work.
“The word ‘pich’ in Sanskrit means back and ‘wai’ which means hanging. They are usually hung at the back of the Hindu deity ‘Shreenathji’ (Krishna) as a ritual. The pichwais hung behind the deity in havelis/temples are usually large-scale and since it is hard to replicate the paintings in that scale, I have taken glimpses of the imagery from these paintings into smaller frames of cloth,” says Mukesh.
His vivid and detailed frames, made of cloth, as all pichwais usually are, depict the deity Shreenathji being worshipped in all his finery, in various postures and costumes that change with the seasons.
Sometimes he is accompanied by gopis (maidens), sometimes by Radha, sometimes he is simply being worshipped in the frame. The imagery also includes trees and flowers, as well as animal forms, largely cows, monkeys and peacocks.
“The basic idea was to revive the craft,” says Mukesh. Though the craft is not in danger of extinction, Mukesh feels that its quality has somewhat diminished over the centuries. “Similar to miniatures in form (except that they are painted on cloth instead of paper), pichwais mainly adopt three schools of art — the Bundi school, the Udaipur school, and the local Nathdwara school. Few other schools, such as the Kishangarh and the Mewar, are also a part of the tradition. But these three schools are the most prominent and that’s what I have adopted in my paintings.”
Mukesh says he has remained faithful to the tradition in his works, learning the basics from a pichwai master. “It was only about four years ago that I decided I wanted to work on this collection. While looking for designs, I went to the temple and asked somebody from the pichwai tradition to paint on textiles. Though he did a good job, I was not happy with the outcome; it was not what I wanted. That’s when I went to the teacher and then went back to Delhi to work on it.”
Originally a graduate in Fine Arts from the Delhi School of Art, Mukesh was drawn to traditional textiles, especially block printing, after he worked on some brochures for the ITDC and later invited to design textiles for the “Festival of India”.
Though Mukesh largely works with block printing on handloom cloth, he now wants to explore other transitions like the Masulipatnam paintings, he may perhaps go back to the fine arts by beginning to do contemporary art, but he also wants to continue working with pichwais a little longer.
“I find it interesting because I am from an art college and have an eye for art. I love the ancient traditions of our country. One of the other reasons why I took up pichwais is because I am from a Vaishnavite family and this is close to my heart.”
The exhibition of pichwais is on view at Vermillion House, 3/12 Cleveland Road Cross, Frazer Town. For details, contact 41225830.
(Report by Harshini Vakkalanka for The Hindu)
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