Mangaluru: “There are many artists in the undivided Dakshina Kannada District but their contribution to the field of art is not enough. More needs to be done in the future,” said Senior Visual Artist Sudesh Mahan.
He was in conversation with Art Historian Nemiraj Shetty during an open dialogue programme organised at the Kodialaguthu Center for Art and Culture in the City on Saturday November 12. The event was organised by Art Kanara Trust, Intach Mangalore Chapter, and Mangalore University’s N. G. Pavanje Chair in Fine Arts as a part of the concluding ceremony of ‘Modepu’, a posthumous exhibition and introductory documentation of 34 modern departed coastal artists of the undivided Dakshina Kannada district including Kodagu and Kasaragod.
K. K. Hebbar, G. S. Shenoy, Ramdas Adyanthaya and others had left Mangalore and developed their own styles of art, but mostly artists from the coast have only recreated the scenes they saw, Mahan added. Responding to Nemiraj Shetty’s recollection of the open-air art gallery experiment held during 1993 – 1998 in Sonangeri Village near Sullia, Sudesh Mahan said that this was the first of its kind art experiment in our country to convert an entire village into an art gallery, conceived by the late Mohan Sona. He said that proper documentation had not been done about this experiment and that this kind of effort needs to be repeated.
The discussion regarding art gallery experiments in Mangaluru included references to the Ajanta Art School started by his father and the BGM Art School of B. G. Mohammad.
Professor B. Kalluraya of Mangalore University opined that documentation may not be the artist’s work. As the artist is engaged in creative work, the organisation should take over the documentation. “In our country, painting is not given the same importance as Yakshagana, music and dance,” he added.
Students from Roshani Nilaya and different art colleges in the city participated in the dialogue. Dr. Janardana Havanje, the author of Modepu, welcomed the gathering and introduced the dignitaries. Subhash Chandra Basu, Convener of the Intach Mangalore Chapter and Project Advisor, was present.
The programme was followed by a concert by renowned sitar player Ustad Rafiq Khan. He was accompanied by Vignesh Kamath on the tabla.
The exhibition will travel to Udupi from November 20 to 27, 2022, where it will be organised under the auspices of Udupi’s Intak sub-chapter and Artists’ Forum at Gallery Drishti, K. M. Marg (behind Alankar Theatre).
