Posted at: Oct 15, 2017, 1:05 AM; last updated: Oct 15, 2017, 1:05 AM (IST)
You need to understand art to appreciate it. Punjab Lalit Kala Akademi brings to Chandigarh an art appreciation workshop with some renowned artists
Manpriya Singh
Let alone what is modern art, what is art in the first place? Is it something that painters draw and involves arty sharty people to begin with? Artist Kishore Singh’s introduction to an art appreciation workshop is apt. What you make of art will ensure how well you appreciate it. In an endeavour to promote better understanding and in turn better appreciation of art Punjab Lalit Kala Akademi in collaboration with DAG Modern brought to the city, an art appreciation workshop. While the evening session is taken over by the renowned artist couple Manu and Madhvi Parekh, who share their journey besides other things. The day long seminar consisted of five sessions, specially tailored towards those unfamiliar with critical key points.
Careers in art?
Key areas that ranged from a brief history of Indian modern art to the latest in the field. From collecting and investing in art to mediums & materials in practice. And then of course the careers in art. “So what do you think are the careers in art? There’s an artist, a painter or a sculptor and there is somebody to sell those pieces and at the most somebody who is writing about them?” adds Kishore Singh. “Let me tell you, there’s a sheer universe of opportunities that exist in the world of art.” Directly or indirectly, the industry employs millions of people. But, he adds, “We have segregated and relegated things to one corner.” Beyond the Sotheby’s, Christie’s, and PhillipsThere is a lot that goes behind any piece of work; much more than the materials and mediums. Art galleries to begin with. “Of course we know about the Sotheby’s and Christie’s and Phillips, the auction houses and their private sales…Interestingly the largest auction houses operate out of China.” It’s a space that India is just beginning to explore and at a slow pace.
Nudity & art
We’ve addressed the issue, debated about, written and kept it aside. Every once in a while the question pops up, so how is nudity in art to be differentiated from pornography? Somebody wanted to know at the end of the session by art historian Yamini Telkar. She says, “Of course there is a very fine line between nudity and pornography, it is a very subjective issue. What is nudity also depends from time to time and culture to culture.”
Selling an art piece
It’s a lot of effort that goes behind selling an art piece. In an ideal world, the artists and their works would get their due from an appreciative audience who is not just wanting but willing to invest in an art work. In a real world, some great works of art are unfortunately competing with an exotic holiday, a solitaire or an immovable property investment. On the same note, adds Kishore Singh, “When you enter an art gallery, you feel privileged. The sellers are trying to add onto this feeling of privilege. Sometimes separate viewing rooms are created. People don’t always want other people to know what they are buying and at what price.”
