The Hindu : Kerala / Kochi News : Women given wider space in India, says art critic

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Mar 09, 2007
ePaper

Kerala

Kerala - Kochi

Women given wider space in India, says art critic

Staff Reporter

Exhibition by 19 women painters commences

KOCHI: The mode of feminism practised in countries like the United States of America is not relevant to the Indian context as the socio-political and economic background of the countries differs, according to art critic and CPI(M) leader Suneet Chopra.

Inaugurating the exhibition of paintings `Women Painters of Kerala,' organised by the Kerala Lalithakala Akademi at Durbar Hall Art Centre on Thursday, Mr. Chopra said that in India, women were given a wider space, from the time of our national movement. In fact, Indian women got the power of franchise even before their western counterparts.

Mr. Chopra said that emancipation of women could be a better agenda for artists rather than feminism itself. However, feminism could be considered a temporary form of resistance that could be later integrated into the wider campaign for social equality.

Gender division

Citing the works of the artist Nalini Malani, he said that gender division that marginalised women may be biological, but it was the social aspect that was important.

A national seminar on `Feminist Art and the Issues of Cultural Identity in the Age of Globalisation' held in connection with the exhibition was also inaugurated by Mr. Chopra. Talking at the seminar, H.A. Anilkumar from Bangalore said that finding a common space for the male and the female in the works of art and in art history was important.

He pointed out that there was no need to differentiate between women artists and feminist artists as such.

In her paper, S.P. Sreemathy from Bangalore highlighted the need of women to find their own space, respecting both male and female individualities. Women had to reconstruct and reclaim their own space, she said. She pointed out that women were still excluded from all vital centres of human activity.

Sunil P. Elayidam, writer and lecturer at the Sree Sankara University of Sanskrit, Koilandy, presented a paper on `Contexting the Contour - Hetroglot Character of the Feminist Art and Unsettling of Art History'.

Raziya Toni spoke about the four female artists from Madras School who were almost marginalised in the annals of Indian art history.

C.B.Sudhakaran presented a paper on "Identity: Questions of Experience and Resistance'.

The exhibition, curated by Ajayakumar, Principal, Government College of Fine Arts, Thiruvananthapuram, includes the works of 19 women artists. The participants are Anitha T.K., Anupama, Anuradha Nalappad, Bindhi Rajagopal, Deepthi P.Vasu, Kabitha Mukherjee, Kavitha Balakrishnan, Lekha Narayanan, Licy C., Lizzie Jacob, Nijeena Neelambaran, Ponmani Thomas, Raziya Tony, Rethi Devi, Savithri Rajeevan, Shobhana Panicker, Sreeja P., Sreekumari J.L. and Suvitha K.V. The show will continue till March 14.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Kerala