
CHENNAI: What am I looking at? What does it make me feel? What message am I taking home? Does the artwork talk or appeal to me? These might be a few questions that come in our minds when we visit an art show, where we turn from corner to corner and wonder about the backstory of each painting. In the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, “In art, the hand can never execute anything higher than the heart can imagine”.
Bringing these words true to life, young Bharatanatyam dancers tried to recreate the pose and the emotions they noticed in various artworks open for the public to see over the weekend. The paintings displayed at ‘Graceful Strokes’, an art exhibition, entered the Jackhi Book of World Records.
A total of 170 artists came together for this record. They were awarded a certificate by Maniam Selvam, an eminent artist-illustrator for Tamil magazines, Shyam, an artist-actor-fashion instructor and Martin Sagayarj, headmaster of St Paul’s Mahajana Higher Secondary School, at the inaugural ceremony on Saturday.
Painting poses
Selvakannan Rathinam, CEO of Indian Art Factory, put together the exhibition as a tribute to Indian dance forms and to “inspire, motivate and bring youngsters back to art.” He says, “Indian art forms have always been intertwined. Most artists at some point in their lives must have painted a dancer in their element. And by projecting them at the exhibition, the audience from both backgrounds come and respective artforms thrive.”
The audience ranged in age from three to 80, and the artists between eight and 70. In her 40s, city-based Gowri T centred her art on poikkal kuthirai attam. “I chose a man with a dummy horse, dancing with his eyes closed enjoying the music from Nadaswaram played by Lord Ganesha in the backdrop. I thought my work was unique and different.
But, when I saw other paintings, I understood I could have done better in terms of colours, thickness of stroke and layering.” Gowri, a teacher turned artist, painted her art on a 36x36 canvas in the last three months. Her proudest moment at the exhibit was when she was beside her teacher and clicked a photo with him. “When Prakash sir and I were at the same level, that is when I understood, I have achieved something in life,” added the former teacher.
For Ram Krishna Agarwal from Noida, his greatest moment at the display was when Maniam appreciated his work. Blue, red and yellow colours popped up in his work on Kathakali. “I showed three facial expressions in the dance form. Kathakali has different colours, shapes and textures, so I created this painting in less than a month’s time.” He adds that his work was on par with the exhibition’s theme because Ram specialises in combining Indian tradition and folk art.
Priceless possession
The exhibition is a step towards a larger purpose — for people to look at art as an investment and for every house to have one artwork. “Just like one tree in a house, I dream of one painting a house. It is a huge investment. After gold, painting is the highest investment market and the general public has not understood that yet,” points out Selvakannan.
Exhibitions like this are crucial in helping individuals understand the importance of art. It serves as a platform for artists of all ages and experience levels to showcase their passion and love for their work. Substantiating that, the experienced adored the beauty of each painting and the budding artists tried to recreate the poses. In the words of artist SA Ramalingam,
“In any art form, without outlining or creating the art by famous, how will one become creative? We say “he/she copied my work or sabotaged it,” but I question them without watching, copying and practising what already exists how will an individual show his creativity? If you want to be a niche artist, how will you learn and appreciate the beauty of other works?”
‘Graceful Strokes’ was all about learning. Seeking lessons on balancing experience and being creative from seniors and staying relevant and exploring niches from the budding artists. The most important of all is “Art is art. It need not be extraordinary to be beautiful, complicated to be understood only by the critics and intimidating for a common man,” wraps up Selvakannann.