A thought bubble emanating from Flaneur’s head, a character that discovers a city on foot, reads ‘don’t be afraid it is only a comic art show’. The Flaneur in Kochi, created by artist Appupen, is a Malayali with his characteristic black umbrella, and, is looking warily at the goings-on in David Hall in Fort Kochi. A maiden show of comic art, The Flaneur hosted by artists Appupen, E.P. Unny and Gokul Gopalakrishnan is on till September 27. The Flaneur looks suspiciously at the unfamiliar idiom of the show while the artists, through a quirky poster, encourage viewers, to not be afraid and to step in. The show has received curious and enthusiastic response, albeit small, giving good reason to believe that the time has come for comic art to return to a State where it has had a short history of active engagement, with G. Aravindan’s Cheriya Manushyarum, Valiya Lokavum(1961-73).
The show is dedicated to G. Aravindan.
The idea of comic art in a gallery is perhaps what momentarily feels incongruous, for this form of art has hitherto been perceived as non-serious, a travesty, funny, only social and often slapstick. Here this idea is challenged and the reactions more than encouraging.
“The Keralite delights in political cartooning and enjoys the flourish of caricature but they think comic art to be intellectually feeble. This is a misplaced notion,” says Gokul whose two narratives present the underbelly of the fast urbanising city.
A familiar name in the world of drawing, E.P. Unny’s video loop presentation of images of Fort Kochi is a light walk through heritage zone. The shifting gaze of the Flaneur is akin to the moving images in the loop. Says Gokul, “In comics the eye need not move linearly, it moves forward and backward.”
“The first cartoon appeared in Kerala in 1919 in a humour magazine from Kollam,” says Unny stating categorically that the city has had a wide exposure to different kinds of art, the art biennale being the most recent one, and is therefore ready for city-centric shows like this.
“Comic art is not intimidating,” he says adding that comics are ceasing to be child art and are becoming more a part of everyday vocabulary. George Mathen aka Appupen who has to his credit graphic novels, the latest being Aspyrus is pleased with the show. “I told a few onlookers, it is a friendly show,” he says with his characteristic sense of humour. His fantasy world of Halahala (Moonward) is carried forward in some works. He introduces Flaneur through posters and wall works. A thoughtful Flaneur walks into the city where the road cracks up and he arrives dodging pot-holes. Amidst his many adventures here he finds himself in a gold jewellery store – Flanuer and Sons. Appupen carries his world lightly and joyously. His technique of “over rendering” he says is because he has no formal training in art but over years of illustration he is now comfortable with the flow of his ink.
Script and short story writer Unni R. whose latest film, Munnariyippu , has drawn good reviews revelled in the show. He says, “Such an unexpected visual experience is happening in Unny’s, Gokul’s and Appupen’s comics.” To him Unny’s world melds the past and the present in the same frame. “It’s a political, economic perspective,” while he finds Appupen’s frames futuristic that fire a sense of speed. Gokul depicts a realistic picture of contemporary Malayali life.
Film director Aashiq Abu has used comic art, as animation, in his latest film Gangster . Impressed by a comic art presentation, he undertook this unique experimentation and introduced animation in his film. The film opens with animation. Aashiq says, “the medium is interesting and if of good quality, the audience will appreciate it.” Young Leeza John, an architecture student at CEPT University, Ahmedabad, attended the workshop held alongside the show. An avid reader and collector of graphic novels and one who follows the progress of comic art in the country keenly says, “At one point comic in India was just superhero and fantasy. Now it has matured,”
And if maturity means accepting the quirky alongside the rationalthen Appupen says in his typical drawl, “People don’t easily accept quirkiness but quirky is the right thing.” Unny winds up justifying the timing of the show, “somebody has to make a beginning.”
