BENGALURU: Studies of the human form and anatomy have been an integral part of art from ancient times. Ask any professional painter and sculptor and they will tell you that lessons in nude studies are one of the most important steps in the development of/as an artist.
Strangely enough, this is exactly what art studies in the city and the state seem to be lacking.
Dr M S Murthy, chairman, Karnataka Lalitkala Academy says that people here do not seem to be too bothered with nude studies. “This is a grave thing. Young students of art in the city and state are missing out a lot. There is no all round development as an artist and they loose out to those from Mumbai and Santiniketan,” he says.
Murthy is a figurative artist who studied nude forms during his college days. “Most students tend to practise using second-hand sources such as books or pictures,” he adds.
Ask him what he would like to propagate in the artform and he says that he will soon embark on a project with a few other artist titled, ‘Sheel-Asheel’.
“Who decides what is vulgar or not. It is a very important question,” he says. He also highlighted the possibility of undertaking more workshops and seminars to further raise awareness on the matter.
Fear of Reaction
Shivanand Basvanthappa is a national award winning artist and the director of Chethana Lalitkala Mahavidlaya, a private art college. He highlights his reservations about undertaking nude studies for his student because of fear of unwanted reactions from the society as was the case with MF Hussain’s paintings.
“There is always the fear that someone might not get the essence of the art being portrayed,” he says.
S G Vasudev, senior artist who started initiatives such as Art Park and Ananya Drishya points out that even galleries are hesitant to showcase displays involving nude artworks. “Perhaps they are afraid of it having the wrong impact. With traditions such as the Khajuraho sculptings, I do not understand why nude studies cannot become popular,” he says.
Who will Pose Nude?
Shivanand further pointed out the lack of models who could pose for such assignments. “Models are not ready to come and go the full length. There are also no proper studio facilities for the same,” he says.
He also says that no institution out of the 60 odd colleges over the state and five in the city were doing nude studies in its true sense. “Artists mostly do it in their individual capacities. I also do nude paintings using my own resources. I studied nude forms in 1997 during my college in Gulbarga. It was difficult even during those days to make arrangements for such assignments. We, however, managed somehow,” he adds.
Contrary to this in places such as Santiniketan, Baroda and even Santiniketan, nude studies are an integral part of the art lessons.
Acknowledging the same M J Kamalakshmi, general secretary, Karnataka Chitrakala Parishat (CKP) says, “At the CKP, studies in this aspect is not being done fully in the nude. I would say it involves almost 80 percent nudity. It is difficult to arrange for models who can readily agree to pose for nudes”
Art Student Craves
Sachin D’Souza, an art student says that he would definitely like to study the human anatomy in its true essence, but felt that the present environment was not really safe to undertake such an initiative. “People’s mentality might be a hurdle to studying nude art,” he adds.