Having been part of the Madras Art Movement, city-based artist R B Bhaskaran has had a ring side view of the changing market scene both in the State of Tamil Nadu and across India, in the last 50 years.
Set to take part in the Jaipur Art Summit that will be held between November 7 and 11, the artist says that there is a need for a debate about the pan-India art scenario. “It is unfortunate that art galleries in Chennai bring artists from outside, but hardly take talented youngsters from the city outside to showcase their talent elsewhere. Artists, who passed out of the College of Arts 12 years ago, have started living independently, unlike many of us who were part of the Madras Art Movement. We only struggled to work; we didn’t expect any sales of art or think about the market. This was the case all through the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s,” he says. He observes that today despite the market paraphernalia and other support, there isn’t enough exposure for artists from the city. “There is a gap between art promoters, the gallery and art lovers. We need a debate about art and in Jaipur we are going to have that. At the art summit that will see veterans in the field from across India. We will cross check the downwards, upwards and the trends of art, apart from having a debate on the lack of support,” he says.
Bhaskaran says that unlike in the earlier days where there was support from the Department of Culture, today, after the spurt of galleries and art promoters, the support from the government has dwindled. “In the 50s, there was a thrust from the Department of Culture through the funding of regional akademis and departments. However, today, the art department has been merged with the language department,” he adds.
It is the first-ever art summit in Jaipur and is expected to be on a large scale. Taking place at the sprawling Jawahar Kala Kendra, the summit will have workshops for arts, apart from art discussions. As part of the summit, an all-India art exhibition along with a crafts’ mela will take place. Bhaskaran says that Rajasthan has witnessed a sweep of art promotion that has aimed to add impetus to the field through a range of novel methods. “Jaipur was like any other city, but has produced many big artists. In the 70s, Ram Niwas Mirdha introduced a mobile gallery, in a bus that was taken to different cities and villages. The mobile gallery came to Chennai in the 80s. Today, Neerja Modi School, an international school, has started a gallery on its campus to take modern art to its students,” he adds.