Kerala - Thrissur   

Traditional art is not mere craft: Kanayi

By Our Staff Reporter

THRISSUR, SEPT. 14. Traditional art should not be dismissed as mere craft, the chairman of the Kerala Lalithakala Akademi, Kanayi Kunhiraman, has said.

Inaugurating a camp of traditional painters, organised by the Akademi, here on Tuesday, Mr. Kunhiraman said that modern art could imbibe a lot from traditional styles, especially in formulating new perspectives.

"Certain European genres have been inspired by Eastern traditions and the Japanese woodcut style,'' he said.

Craft and art

Mr. Kunhiraman spoke on the concepts of craft and art. "Craft can be learnt and taught. But art cannot be," he said.

He said that art should be beneficial to society and not considered a commodity. The traditional artist, Pattambi Krishna Warrier, and the Thuyilunarthupattu exponent, Valiyapurakkal Unnikrishnan, were felicitated on the occasion.

The others who spoke on the occasion were J. Guruppa Chetty, Kalamkari artist, S. Visweswara Raju, painter, Balachandran Vadakkedath, secretary, Kerala Kalamandalam, V. K. Sharafuddin, secretary, Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi, K. A. Francis, vice-chairman, Kerala Lalithakala Akademi, and R. Gopalakrishnan, secretary.

About 35 painters from southern States are taking part in the weeklong camp. An exhibition of traditional paintings is being held as part of the camp.

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