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Journalism of Courage
Thota Vaikuntam is a farmer-painter. Whatever the given canvas size is, he ensures that the boundaries are 8216;marked8217; like a farmer ensuring his/her farmland from his/her neighbour. Hence there is very less background. The classic difference between the viewed figures and the farming element background is absent, just like there would be no wasted land after it is tilled and sown. If you are familiar with the way he works at it, he brings in all possible layers of process, which is so alien to the contemporary understanding of image making, involved in getting a good harvest.
Each of his Telangana women8230;alone or in a group or even with an occasional man, is actually the 8216;plan8217; of a field, and also appears as it might look from, say, an aeroplane. Interestingly, the field itself does not look as lush and green, similar to the immense possibility of sensuality in these woman which seems to be there, while looking at it hurriedly on the surface.
It would be rather too simplistic to categorise and analyse his work in a conventional art historical tone. Many have done it, by branding these images as just voluptuous. His imagery is something more than that. It is perhaps Vaikuntam8217;s paintings and Ravindra Reddy8217;s sculptures that use the form of a woman as a point of deviation rather than empty canvas 8212; to express themselves, often to explore what womanhood means for them, as well.
If one could survey the way the Telangana women have evolved over the decades through the hands of Vaikuntam, there is an interesting story that unveils. The woman stretches herself, to reach all sides of that imaginary field8212;into the edges of the picture frames, speaking realistically. Over the years, as the artist aged, the sense of sensuality assumes a newer meaning. The face, hand and torso that are exposed exchange identities and evoke other living beings, almost like chameleons, and no longer look doll-like. The only possible way to read his works creatively, is to study 8216;how8217; these images have evolved rather than 8216;what8217; they are. In this sense his woman has always existed. This is the reason why she doesn8217;t age8230;
Extracted from 8216;Thota Vaikuntam8217; Arts Alive Masters series; ed. Sushma Bahl, 2005
