Artists oppose move to set up memorial to R.K. Laxman

'Laxman did not have any real association with the pioneering J.J.School of Art'.

Eminent cartoonist R.K. Laxman. File photo

The breath of controversy seems to be enveloping the Maharashtra government’s decision to honour independent India’s pre-eminent cartoonist R.K. Laxman.

When Mr. Laxman passed away on Republic Day this year aged 93, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, in a gesture to match the poignant public mood, had announced a memorial for the iconic cartoonist.

Last week, the Maharashtra government zeroed in on the spot on the Sir J.J. Institute of Applied Art campus, the eminent institute where Mr. Laxman was famously denied admission in the late 1930s after his drawings were allegedly judged to be “below the requisite yardstick.”

Museum It also announced that it would construct an art museum dedicated to Mr. Laxman.

Now, a number of art societies have taken objection to the State’s decision on the ground that Mr. Laxman did not have any real association with the pioneering J.J. School of Art.

‘What aboutother greats?’

According to Gopal Nene, secretary, The Art School of India, giving space to Mr. Laxman’s works, which have already been published, would be unfair to those painting masters whose life works were awaiting display.

Likewise, the Bombay Art Society had shot off a missive to Mr. Fadnavis pointing out that since its inception in 1857, works of several maestros like Ganpat Mhatre and Vasudeo Gaitonde had been added to the collection of the J.J. school, but had yet to be displayed.

Currently, the school has more than 3,000 artworks by art titans in possession. Artists refer to the 2007 Government Resolution (GR) under which a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the State government and the JSW Foundation that set forth the construction of the museum to house the J.J. School’s existing collection.

“While we respect Mr. Laxman, students and art aficionados alike will be deprived if we allow a museum which houses only the cartoonists’ works to go ahead and jettison artworks by stalwarts,” said Vasudeo Kamath, president, Bombay Art Society.

Many artists and cartoonists, including the city-based illustrator Shivram Phadnis, have joined ranks on the issue to oppose the museum.