Karnataka - Mangalore   

Artists, art lovers throng Kadri Park

THE HINDU CHENNAI— Photo: R. Eswarraj

Concentration: Children taking part in a painting competition held as part of ‘Kudla Kalavali’ in Mangalore on Saturday. — Photo: R. Eswarraj

MANGALORE: Kadri Park has become a destination for artists and art lovers as a two-day exhibition-cum-sale of paintings and drawings began here on Saturday. Three demonstration workshops and painting competitions will also be held.

Artists from Dakshina Kannada and Udupi have come together under the banner “Kudla Kalavali” to make people interested in paintings and drawings. The event will conclude on Sunday evening.

A painting on the late Shivarama Karanth, Jnanpith Award-winner was sold for Rs. 2,000 within an hour after the exhibition opened. This is the second year that the event is being held at the park.

The event was inaugurated by district in-charge Minister Krishna J. Palemar. Inaugurating the event, Mr. Palemar said that people desired some aesthetic pleasure in their busy lives. He said art gave him that pleasure and energised him.

Art has the strength to bring about social change, said Yogish Bhat, MLA. He said that politicians and activists believed change could be brought about in society through speeches, which was a false notion. Change of any kind could be brought about by touching people’s hearts. Art has the strength to do that, Mr. Bhat said.

Padi, Mangalore, which has taken a stall, attempts to send across social messages regarding the rights of children through the paintings.

Ganesh Rao, president, Karavali group of colleges, said that art had the power to trigger love and harmony, which is the foremost requirement in today’s society.

Artist J.S. Khanderao, president, Karnataka Lalitkala Academy, who presided over the inaugural function, referred to art as the first communicative language of man. He said that reproducing what is seen is not art. Art, he said, must be a reflection of the emotions triggered by the objects seen by the artist. Mr. Khanderao said that art changed with time, but reflected not just the present but also the past and the future.

Speaking to The Hindu, artist Purushottam Adve said that in the era of the digital revolution, graphic art was evolving as a new art form. When asked if digital technology threatened artists, Mr. Adve said that even for art done with the help of technology an artist is required, hence there was no threat to artists.

Young artists Anand Bedral, Santosh Andrade, Nagaprasad K.R., Geetesh Kumar and M. Vishwas were felicitated.

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