People collect all sorts of things — from priceless artefacts to the most mundane of objects. There is, however, more than whimsy to ‘Art — yesterday, today,’ an exhibition of brochures and catalogues from the collection of artist Kattoor Narayana Pillai that is under way at the Museum auditorium here. The brochures and catalogues, a few yellow with age, reflect the changes in art over the past 40 years.
The nearly 750 brochures — of exhibitions of paintings and sculptures by names well-known on the art scene — were those that Mr. Narayana Pillai received over the years and carefully stored. “The brochures provide a quick glimpse of an artist’s style. In the event of a group exhibition, a brochure could have works of 40 artists on a single page,” says Mr. Narayana Pillai.
There are brochures of exhibitions by famous artists and sculptors such as Ganesh Pyne, Bhupen Khakhar, Ravindran Nair, Ramachandran, Malayattoor Ramakrishnan, Balbir Singh Katt, Yusuf Arakkal, K.G. Subramanyan, M.V. Devan, Ravi Shankar, K.C. Panicker’s son Nandagopal, Srinivasa Rao, and of Mr. Narayana Pillai’s own shows. There are also those of artists from Cholamandalam, exhibitions in other parts of the country to which Mr. Narayana Pillai was invited, and those collected during his travels abroad.
“As I was an artist, I often liked to look up what other artists’ styles were. The brochures became a reference for that,” he says.
A majority of the brochures are of exhibitions by famous artists, many of whom are no longer alive. The brochures, he felt, would help the current generation of artists know about their predecessors and their art. “Though the works go back four decades, they are done in the post-modern period, and reflect small changes. There is no going back to the Raja Ravi Varma style in them, though he was a symbol of renaissance.”
One can get an idea of popularity of trends such as print-making, etching, and wood cutting in those times.
A number of catalogues are also on display at the exhibition, as also books written by Mr. Narayana Pillai and on him.
The exhibition, organised by the Kerala Chithrakala Parishat, will conclude on Saturday.
