Art conclave for North-Eastern artists

BANGALORE: Lalit Kala Academy is conducting a camp for artists in collaboration with College of Fine Arts, Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath.The national artist camp of north east region artists, called ‘Art Conclave’ is being held till March 17 at the Parishath.Sixteen artists from five north-eastern states - Assam, Tripura, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram - are participating in the camp. Renowned artist Yusuf Arakkal who inaugurated the camp on Sunday said, “This is a learning experience for students of Chitra Kala Parishath.” Arakkal who was both a student and teacher at Chitra Kala Parishath and whose earlier teacher was Jai Varma, great grand nephew of Raja Ravi Varma, spoke about how art, especially painting and sculpting, are viewed and accepted differently in India from other countries.He said he is currently working on a 10-ft copper sculpture for Biocon and pointed out the dismal condition of his sculpture at Anil Kumble Circle.Speaking about the history of sculpture in India, he said he was always amazed at the stone sculptures in Karnataka. “The stylisation in figure is so unique.It is unbelievable that it was carved out of the Krishna Shila stones hundreds of years ago when there was no scientific method to test the quality of these stones,” he said. Arakkal also spoke about how historical monuments are not preserved well in the country. “The act of preserving structures and sculptures of historical importance should be learnt from the west, especially Italy,where every city is a museum,” he added. Five artists will paint one or two canvas a day between 10.30 and 6 pm. The camp has been divided into different sessions that includes debate or discussions, slide presentations and execution of art works.