A marketing strategist and an artist would sound like the a dream combination! What better than an amalgamation of artistic acumen and a promotional temperament? Pune-based photographer Prakash Bang intersperses his corporate jaunts around the globe with creative submission to his nature-loving camera. Some of these photographs will be on display at an exhibition titled 100scapes,to be held soon in the city. I call it my 'hobby with a cause'. All proceeds from the exhibition will be split and directed towards two organisations called Shreevatsa and Kamayani,whose charitable work in aid of the disadvantaged I really appreciate. Imposing price tags that hang by any art exhibition can make the pictures difficult for the common man to reach up and possess. But it is going to be a tad different at this exhibit. I feel that its not fair to put a price tag on a picture. I believe that a true art lover will always do justice to what he is wanting to purchase. The photographs that will be displayed will be up for grabs at voluntary prices. I hope the understanding that it's for a charitable cause will persuade the people to invest more in the pictures. Its my own little drop in the ocean, says Bang,further adding,I am not a professional photographer. The photos are more fruits of passion than instruments of income generation. I remember once at an exhibition,a little girl approached me and gushed about a photo that she really liked. When I asked her if she would like to purchase it,she produced a 100 rupee note and said that was all the pocket money she had. And the deal was made! For me its the undiluted appreciation that over-rides all monetary considerations. The exhibition will showcase 100 of Bang's best photographs and will be free for anyone to choose at prices that they individually deem fit to pay for them. Bang says that his personal ambition wants to see the photos up on the buyer's walls. Having traveled to the Antarctic in January and Tibet just the previous month,the eye of this photographer is filled-in deep with the picturesque and the spectacular. The travels I have made have exposed me to some fabulous experiences. I feel stoked if the photos get picked up and are perceived to be worthy enough to adorn walls. That,for me,is the ultimate accolade. Refreshment,in this age of commercial pop art,comes in the form of such self-less pursuits. Its a choice I make. I choose to sling my camera and head out to explore rather than just sit in front of the television with a drink in my hand. Amen to that. (Bang's photo exhibition titled 100scapes will be on from September 3 to 5,at the Balgandharva Kala Dalan,from 10am to 8pm.)
