Unusual choice of themes

ARTISTS S. KUMAR, P. Thiyagarajan and M. Velmurugan are conducting ``Art Event'' at Gallery Bhoomika (T-29), 7th Avenue, Besant Nagar) till July 4, 11 a.m. - 8 p.m. Besides exhibiting their paintings and drawings, they will demonstrate the art of portrait painting, clay modelling, and also have meetings with poets, writers and critics. All three of them are alumni of the College of Arts and Crafts, Kumbakonam.

Thiyagarajan is obviously fond of dogs; his paintings, rather drawings with black ink on canvas, depict dogs running. While they reveal his skill in drawing, which brings out effectively the stretched body of the animals as they run, one can almost feel a great sense of animation and speed. Another panel of the wall shows buffaloes, also with a sense of movement.

Velmurugan has chosen an unusual subject for his charcoal and pencil drawings: pigs. Why pigs? He says that he had to make a drawing of the animal for a friend and he found that very difficult. Later, this became a challenge and he started observing pigs keenly in his village and found it a fascinating experience. The drawings are large and one of them is nearly five feet long. The degree of perfection makes the drawings as realistic as photographs, whether it is a group of four pigs moving forward or the pig trying to squeeze through a fence.

Kumar goes in for rural scenes. He seems to first create an abstract painting of colours and then adds a human form or animals like a cow or goat; the face of the men and women are just indicated. Unfortunately, the final effect is not particularly impressive. His painting on the wall shows a group of people,this time faces all completed.

Fusion art

Fusion music? Yes... but fusion art? Swarnalattha Chandrasekaran has tried a (con)fusion of Raja Ravi Varma and Tanjore paintings! She has copied several paintings of Raja Ravi Varma from prints and on them, she has added the Tanjore technique of fixing gold foil for saree borders, gold, semi-precious stones and beads for jewellery and decorating furniture. Also some of them have gained a `vasi' - the typical Tanjore painting element on the top corners of the work.

Ravi Varma has a special place in the minds of most South Indians. His paintings of gods and goddesses are a must in every pooja room. He had used beautiful women from royal families as models. It is not easy to copy them perfectly; the hands and feet are the worst victims, besides the faces.

Swarnalattha claims to be a great admirer of the artist and when she wanted to do something different, only after a few months of training, she hit upon the idea of this fusion. One cannot help wishing that she had left him alone. The show is on at Vinyasa Art Gallery till June 30. 11 a.m.-7 p.m.

LAKSHMI VENKATRAMAN

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