Artists from Bangalore feel the art scene is not conducive to growth and discuss challenges they face in the art world
Bangalore, April 9, 2018: Local artists at the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishad’s “Windows of expression” art exhibition say the art scene in Bangalore is subdued at the moment. The art exhibition is a coming together of five artists in the city.
Latha Kruti, an artist who considers the nature as her muse, recalled the time she met her peers while pursuing a correspondence course in Fine arts from Mysore. “The reason we decided to host the exhibition in Karnataka Chitrakala Parishad is because people at least come here and we get greater exposure,” she said. She also added that when there are exhibitions in other galleries, not many people get to know about it and only a niche crowd ends up coming to such events.
Janaki Raman, a painter and a musician, spoke about his latest collection which is focused on crows. “We as human beings have contributed to the destruction of forests and the natural habitat of animals and birds. The series tries to depict what can be the implication if crows take on the world and cause destruction,” he said. The idea is conveyed when you concentrate on his paintings which depict crows causing damage to canvasses.
Raman explained there is a dearth of art collectors in the city which contributes to low sales. “It is very difficult to gauge the current trends and the moods of buyers and art collectors,” added Latha Kruti.
Raman also added that people do not appreciate creativity and the manual work that artists put in to produce their artwork. The reason for this phenomenon he said is that art has become increasingly reproduced with the advent of technology where people can download art work and get them printed. He added by saying that the ‘print on canvas’ technique brings in easy money but it leaves little scope for authenticity.
Felix Hartly, a former graphic designer who works as a visual artist currently, spoke about how technology has helped him in producing his work. Applications like Adobe Illustrator help him produce his artwork in a day’s time. His series consists of abstract artwork that tries to convey the message of harmonious interaction between different objects.
Hartly added that the mood among buyers today is, “If I can get it printed, why should I buy the original artwork for Rs. 30K to 40K?”
The other artists whose works were on exhibition are Deepthi Udupa and Meghana Parkala.
