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In search of aptitude
K.K. GOPALAKRISHNAN
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A regional painting camp for artists was an effort to trace and encourage talent.
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BRUSH WITH SKILL: Young artists experimented with colours and shapes.
In an attempt to encourage talented painters, the Kerala Lalithakala Akademi, is conducting five-day regional camps at three places in Kerala, which will be followed by a state camp for senior artistes. The first camp, consisting of artists from Malappuram, Palakkad, Thrissur, Ernakulam and Idukki districts, was recently conducted at Peechi, on the suburbs of Thrissur.
Regional camps
<167,1p,1>"Until 2003, the Akademi conducted an annual state camp, with a participation of about 20 selected senior painters from Kerala. We have decided to conduct regional camps at three centres in order to give a chance to budding local talent. The participation is strictly restricted to those who have not attended any camps in the last couple of years," says R. Gopalakrishnan, secretary of the Kerala Lalithakala Akademi. Artist and former executive committee member of the Akademi, G. Rajendran was the director of the Peechi camp. Although the Akademi had selected 15 painters, only 11 people attended the camp.
"Kerala lacks practicing painters. The same is the case with sculptors too. To earn a livelihood our artists are compelled to look to other professions. Only painters who paint regularly will encounter problems related to painting, and only then can the solutions be found for these problems. What attracts youngsters in Kerala to painting is the chance of becoming a drawing teacher and none is committed towards painting beyond that. In the backdrop of such a situation, such camps by Government organisations such as the Akademi offer some relief; though the five-day period is too short to create an atmosphere to produce a work of art," says Rajendran.
<167,4p,1>One of the main problems of painting in Kerala, besides the fact that there is a dearth of talented painters, is that there is hardly any scope for exhibiting and marketing works unlike cities such as Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai.
Of the twelve paintings (including one by the camp director) by the participants, with the exception of two or three, all the works dealt with contemporary issues. For most of them it was their maiden camp, which was "a novel experience and the thrill of getting together."
The camp was a blend of senior and young artists, and there were three women. "Slide shows and video films about renowned artists exposed us to new aspects about painting in different parts of the world. Since we are artists from villages, we are deprived of such opportunities," says Ashokan Adipurayidath, one of the participants.
Noted sculptor Varikkasseri Krishnan Namboodiripad inaugurated the camp. Ramachandran Mokeri, Director-in-charge of the School of Drama, rendered his felicitation with a solo theatre performance .
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Entertainment
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
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