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Reading the fine print
| Prakash Aswani’s penchant for art prints led him to start an online store, finds AYESHA MATTHAN |
ART LOVERS’ DELIGHT Prakash Aswani loves being surrounded by art. He fancies prints from Renoir to Picasso
Prakash Aswani was always interested in the arts — be it music, theatre or fine arts. “I had a music shop called Music Magic and I used to be a radio jockey on Radio Indigo. Since I loved classic rock music from the 70s, I used to insist on playing music only from that period. So I used to play everything from Crosby, Stills and Nash to Bad Company.”
Prakash is also a part of a theatre group called Gnatak. “We have been performing plays since ’82. Plays with real scenarios interest me, like those of Athol Fugard and Yasmina Reza.”
“Earlier in Bangalore, we just had Bangalore Little Theatre, Abhinay and Gnatak. It was either English or Kannada theatre then, and now we see more regional theatre like Bengali. Theatre in Bangalore is still chugging along, but I cannot see myself doing Neil Simon plays.”
Prakash recently directed “Art” by French playwright Yasmina Reza for a theatre festival in Bangalore. “Sean Connery watched the play in Paris and produced it in London with an English translation.”
Prakash admits it is difficult to make a living out of theatre. “Along the way, people went into regular jobs and family.” Five years ago, Prakash came across a publication in the US that primarily makes prints of fine art originals.
“I have always been fascinated by art and found that print-makers go to all the international museums of the world from the Louvre to the National Gallery in London and pay artists or the museums a sum of money to be able to produce prints.” This way, the artist continuously earns from their work.
“These prints are of fine colour accuracy and printed on high quality paper in New York.” Initially, Prakash was only interested in buying for himself, but he found the museums were only interested in selling in bulk. So he started bringing high quality prints of some of the best artworks, and making it affordable and accessible, through his online store. “I also take care of the framing. But you could also buy the print unframed.”
He feels that blowing up downloaded prints is not easy and won’t be of the same quality. “I find that people also buy abstract art as they are neutral and still fill the walls with colour.”
At the end of the day, Prakash loves being surrounded by art. “I love it when I see prints ranging from Renoir, Van Gogh, Monet, and Modigliani to Picasso around me.” As his business has grown, he also assists art galleries and frames interesting objects besides prints.
The price of the print ranges from Rs. 290 upwards, depending on the size. “I have also started making orders of prints on canvas,” he says, showing catalogues ranging from Tribeca artists to Alice Dalton.
“It is like a one-stop museum shop for all your artist requirements. And moreover, you don’t have to undergo the hassle of packing while travelling. I also insert interesting snippets from the artist’s life on the website with his/her work. And the best part is that my website is like a 24/7 shop from where one can order.”
Visit www.fineprint.in
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