Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Art for art's sake?

MIXED RESPONSE: Exhibition of photos by French photographer Olivier Follmi at the Museum grounds in the capital. - Photo: C. Ratheesh Kumar

Last weekend, citizens who thronged the verdant Museum grounds for a morning jog were greeted by giant photographs installed on the sprawling lawns. Colourful images of cities and people from various parts of the country, cultural icons and artistes, and pictures of mundane scenes looked down on the joggers from all over the lawn. The pictures were put up on frames made of bamboo poles.

The novel exhibition organised by the Alliance Francaise de Trivandrum elicited a variety of responses from the public. While some appreciated the novel method of using a natural setting to exhibit art, others found it obtrusive and jarring. "How could the authorities let someone dig up the lawns and deface the grounds? As if the city doesn't have enough exhibition halls," said one regular visitor. His comrade, however, chose to differ; "It all boils down to one's capacity to appreciate creativity. People are so intolerant, even a minor deviation from the ordinary upsets them."

A third member of the group, however, pointed out that if every artist chose to use the lawns as an exhibition ground, it could disfigure the premises for the better part of the year. One way or the other, the exhibition captured the attention of every visitor to the grounds.

T. Nandakumar

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