Senior visual artist Sudesh Mahan on Saturday said that there are many artists in the undivided Dakshina Kannada district and more creative works may be expected from them.
He was in conversation with art historian Nemiraj Shetty during an open dialogue organised at the Kodialguthu Centre for Art and Culture to mark the valedictory of Modepu, a posthumous exhibition and introductory documentation of 34 modern departed coastal artists of the undivided Dakshina Kannada district, including Kodagu and Kasaragod of Kerala, organised by Art Kanara Trust, INTACH Mangalore Chapter and Mangalore University’s N.G. Pavanje Chair in Fine Arts.
Mr. Mahan said while K.K. Hebbar, G.S. Shenoy, Ramdas Adyanthaya and others who had left Mangaluru, developed their own styles of art, many artists from the coast have only recreated the scenes they saw. Referring to Mr. Shetty’s open air art gallery experiment during 1993–1998 in Sonangeri village near Sullia, Mr. Mahan said it was the first of its kind art experiment in the country to convert an entire village into an art gallery, conceived by the late Mohan Sona. He said proper documentation had not been done about the experiment.
The discussion regarding art gallery experiments in Mangalore included references to the Ajanta Art School started by his father and the BGM Art School of B.G. Mohammad. Professor B. Kalluraya of Mangalore University said documentation may not be the artist’s work. As the artist is engaged in creative work, the organisation should make documentation. “In our country, painting is not given the same importance as Yakshagana, music and dance.”
Students from different colleges, Modepu author Janardhana Havanje, Intach Convener Subhash Chandra Basu and others were present.
The dialogue was followed by a concert by renowned Sitar player Ustad Rafiq Khan, accompanied by Vignesh Kamath on the tabla.
The exhibition will now travel to Gallery Drishti, K.M. Marg (behind Alankar Theatre), Udupi (November 20 to 27, 2022).
