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Journalism of Courage
DURING his tutelage under Nandalal Bose in Santiniketan during the 1940s,KG Subramanyan learned one of his first big lessons in art: it is a reaction to his surroundings as much as it is a mode of personal expression. It has been 70 years since his first stint at Santiniketan,and Subramanyans artistic activities have gone through a myriad forms: paintings,murals,print making,relief-sculpture and designing to being a theoretician and art historian. Yet,this philosophy continues to be the foundation for his art.
Subramanyans latest works,a set of murals of the size 9 feet x 36 feet,is his bitter commentary on the times of wars and terror attacks,and the futility of it all. The work,titled War of the Relics,is currently on display at the Sakshi Gallery,Colaba,and the show is on till June 3. A phone-conversation with the 89-year-old artist at his home in Baroda indicates a person who has become cynical and less optimistic over the years. These days,the beastly nature of man affects me the most. Unfortunately,religion,is related to it, he says.
In his portable murals a set of 16 large canvases the beastly nature of man gets translated as creatures that are a hybrid of animal and human beings. It is difficult to highlight the elements they reflect. They are as varied as the indigenous essence of Bengal School of Art,of terracotta and toy-making and designing,to foreign influences from his New York stint during 1960s. My visual language is more personal; its a part of a larger visual culture, says the artist,who was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 2012. He retired from his academic profession in 1989 from the Faculty of Fine Arts in Baroda.
sankhayan.ghosh@expressindia.com
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