“I have never given monetary value to my sculptures which is perhaps the way of the art world now,” noted sculptor Kanayi Kunhiraman has said.
Speaking after receiving the M.K. Sanu Guruprasadam Puraskaram on Monday at an event organised at Changampuzha Samskarika Kendram, Mr. Kunhiraman said he had found sculpting his language to communicate on his own physical and spiritual self.
He added that he had realised the strength of sculpture with Yakshi.
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It was also the time when he realised how art can evoke so much negative emotions too, he said.
Sculpture is not bound by a single dimension of thought. A thing converted into sculpture gets different dimensions, he added.
Mr. Kunhiraman, who received ₹25,000 and a memento, donated the money back to Mr. Sanu’s charity fund. Known for giving Kerala a public domain for sculpture, Mr. Kunhiraman has enabled the art gain public attention from Shankhumukham to Kasaragod, said Nemam Pusparaj, Chairman of the Kerala Lalithakala Akademi.
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In his address, Mr. Sanu said the fact that Mr. Kunhiraman had chosen to return to Kerala after his exposure abroad spoke volumes of how well the person is rooted in his home State.
He could have made any other place his home to achieve world fame, said Mr. Sanu.
Father Paul Thalekkat also spoke.
Writer and environmental activist M. Thomas Mathew presided over the function. Scriptwriter John Paul welcomed the gathering, while Father Roby Kannanchira proposed a vote of thanks.