A Brush With Fun

Narayan is one of a few dedicated artists who are

unafraid to cross the lines that have been drawn around ‘Art’ and reach out to children to draw them gently into its realm. One of the first to demolish the barriers between artist and artisan was the multi-faceted painter K G Subramanyan. He experimented with weaving and toy-making and his delightful books, How Hanu became Hanuman and At the Zoo still enthral children and adults alike. In a similar vein, artist Navjot Altaf has done several projects with adivasi families from Bastar.

A new wave of younger painters like Gautam Muherjee, Reena Saini Kallat, Brinda Chudasama Miller, sculptor Arzaan Khambata, photographer Neela Kapadia and film-maker Bishaka Dutta are making their art more accessible.

By participating in workshops with children from

organisations like Akanksha, Pukar and Shed, they

navigate a two-way process which enriches both their work and the lives of the children.

Interacting with children has been specially rewarding for Kolkota-born artist Gautam Mukherjee, who recently participated in the Akanksha workshop at JAMAAT in February. ‘‘The best part about working with children is that they are totally uninhibited. They never think twice about using a colour or putting unregulated elements together in the same space.’’

‘‘Children from our organisation, Charuchitram, were even selected for the Kanagawa Biennial’s World Children’s Art Exhibition, in Japan,’’ he says like a proud father. The icing on the cake was when his 10-year-old protegee, brought home the gold medal.

For Narayan, it was a chance meeting with an old student from the Bombay International School which inspired him to work with kids. ‘‘He took me to lunch and in the middle of it began thanking me. When I asked him why, he said, ‘Sir you put that spark in me as a child. So when I went to Amsterdam to the Reijks Museum I could appreciate the art’,’’ he says.

Saini Kallat points out that while working with

children on projects like the Akanksha workshop last year she was more mediator, and less artist. ‘‘I did not want to touch or ‘finish’ their works since it was their ideas that mattered. When some of the things they painted were even disturbing or violent, like their reaction to 9/11, I did not intervene,’’ she says.

Yet another jamboree that artists routinely participate in is the annual Art Mela organised by Harsh Goenka which is held in April. Last year’s Mela saw artists like Jitish Kallat

making cookies and Sunil Gawde tossing an omelette. Vikram Sethi’s cooking dos at the Oberoi with the art camp crowd like Sunil

Padwal, Rini Dhumal and Chudasama Miller have also become an annual affair.

‘‘Art has crossed many barriers. A few years back an activity like my chocolate tattoos or the cooking mela would be viewed as frivolous and anti-intellectual. I am glad the lines are blurring since art should also be fun,’’ says Chudasama Miller who is a regular at most events.

The recent Art Camp at the sea-facing CEAT guesthouse in Mumbai where artists worked in sylvan bliss, is a case in point. While

massages and long walks along the beach were some of the indulgences, artists like Payal Khandwala and Riyas Komu worked at a hectic pace making as many as three canvases. ‘‘I tend to get very charged up in a relaxed atmosphere,’’ reveals Khandwala.