Features: Magazine | Literary Review | Life | Metro Plus | Open Page | Education Plus | Book Review | Business | SciTech | Friday Review | Young World | Property Plus | Quest | Folio |

The festive spirit

Inspired by his visit to the Ardh Kumbh Mela, V. Rajagopal talks about his artistic representation of the congregation of sadhus

PHOTO: K. ANANTHAN

CONTEMPORARY The kumbhpainting,

The flow of the Yamuna, the holy dip of the sadhus and the festive fervour of the Ardh Kumbh Mela have been caught in shades of blue, brown and yellow by artist V. Rajagopal. The art teacher from the Government High School, Devarayapuram, represented the South Zone Cultural Centre at `Rang Kalash - 2007', a painting workshop in Allahabad to commemorate the Ardh Kumbh Mela. Organised by the North Central Zone Cultural Centre, the seven-day workshop brought together art students and teachers from Rajasthan, Chandigarh, Bihar and Delhi. `Kumbha Kalash' in contemporary art was the common topic given to the 17-member team. "We were given the freedom to choose the media, style of art and the material," says Rajagopal.

In his knife oil painting, the face of the main sadhu flows uninterrupted from the image of the kumbh. The faces of other sadhus and the devotees are represented inside his beard. "In any contemporary art, some elements need to be hidden. So, I have used the early morning procession of sadhus to the Yamuna and the big umbrella used to provide shade for the main sadhu as abstract elements on either sides of the kumbh," he points out. Images of sadhus old, young and bearded, the colour of their attire and other paraphernalia have been captured with his black gel pen work. "They are just direct lines in running strokes. For figure relief, I've used brown acrylic. Most sadhus carry a stick with a triangular flag on top. The pillars in the painting represent this," he explains.

Rajagopal

Rhythm of lines

The kites that lend a festive mood, the decorative umbrella and the tents where the sadhus stay are represented as flag posts. He has also included in the painting the river, safety poles, sunrise, birds, and the boats used to ferry people to the Sangam.

Rajagopal says that for any artist, rhythm of lines and colour is important to strike a balance. Folk forms found a place in the paintings of students from the North. "Some students split the canvas into three colours and developed the painting thereon. One student used acrylic as background and created images of sadhus using charcoal. A lot of cubical forms, rectangles and realistic elements were there, but with a contemporary twist," he adds.

His gel pen work.

He says the environment there served as a platform to learn newer things in contemporary art, especially the way it is perceived in the North and the South. "Like it is in music and dance, kala melas should be organised in all regions to promote painting," he says.

K. JESHI

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