CHENNAI:It’s not often that you get to listen to artists speak. Because, they let their brushes do all the talking. For a change, some of the senior artists of Madras Art Movement including C Dakshinamoorthy and C Douglas gathered at Spaces on Besant Nagar recently and spoke about the life of the late K Ramanujam, apart from sharing their thoughts and experiences about his paintings.
Delivering the third K M Adimoolam Memorial Lecture, ‘Mapping Mind and Matter’, city-based author-literary editor C Mohan took us through the life of the artist K Ramanujam, who died at the young age of 33.
We learnt that Ramanujam was schizophrenic and had a disturbed childhood. “Despite his stammering issues, depression and learning disabilities, he studied at the School of Arts and Crafts and did extremely well in painting. In fact, they took a new avatar after his death,” said Mohan.
He recounted how the artist lived as a recluse in his own world of fantasy, which was expressed through his art work. “The basis of his drawing was both linear and figurative and he mostly drew in black and white. Be it the pen and ink drawings, self portraits or informal media, he churned out surreal and bold pieces that focused on intricate and minute details,” said Mohan.
There were neither subtleties nor subtexts. The PowerPoint slides running in the background showed how Ramanujam broke new ground in the realm of modern Indian art, particularly in the 1960s and 70s. They reflected how he had used the medium of painting as a catharsis, not only for portraying his intense emotional expression, but also healing the wounds that society had inflicted upon him. The free flowing lines and forms revealed his powerful craftsmanship.
“Hunger made him sell his sketches, often inspired by contemporary Indian culture, for a meagre amount. His family didn’t support him and he was found dead after consuming pesticide in 1973 at the Cholamandal Art Village. He had a tough life battling his inner demons,” said Mohan.
Mohan recollected how K C S Paniker, who had a major role in the founding of the Cholamandal Art Village, encouraged Ramanujam to grow as an artist.
“Paniker compared him to Somerset Maugham’s character, Charles Strickland. Even when he was staying at Cholamandal, he didn’t like the company of other artists. His last painting, unfinished, reflected his bruised state of mind. There were dark clouds and a dog. Instead of the dog’s face, he ended up drawing his,” he said.
After all, which great mind ever existed without a touch of madness?