Bengaluru, the capital city of the Indian state of Karnataka is popularly known for its high-tech industry, green spaces and nightlife. But little do we know that the Silicon Valley of India houses some of the most brilliant artists who make this world a little more colourful with their brushes and pencils. Bangalorean artists range from those who have broken stereotypes and created a niche for themselves to those using their creative abilities for civic activism.
Today at TYS, we’ll attempt to unearth some of these creative beings from Bangalore!
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3-D AND ME
36-year-old visual artist Baadal Nanjundaswamy has made headlines for planting a life-sized crocodile in the middle of a road in an expression of his frustration over the lackadaisical approach of civic authorities to repair a giant pot hole and a broken water pipe located in the middle of a main street in Bangalore The life-size crocodile measured 9 feet in length and weighed 18-20 kg and paid off as the Bangalore municipal corporation covered up the pothole in just a day after the pictures went viral.
However this was not the first time Nanjundaswamy used his art as a means of civic activism. The artist had turned an open manhole in the city of Bangalore into the mouth of ‘Yamaraj’ – the God of Death, to signify that the open man hole was a death trap. Infact the artist who covers streets with his 3-D paintings has been making a mark for a while now. He has rode a car, kissed a peacock and rode even an elephant, all his impressionable artwork.
Image Courtesy: Huffington Post
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ART AND ANATOMY
Hailing from Bangalore, Dr. Norman Louis Guido is a skilled artist of what he calls the ‘Human Form’, unparalleled in the Indian Art Scene. His art works are original, painted from imagination and three dimensional, displaying depth with creative use of light and shade. He excels in painting exquisite human figures with an eye for detail. The characters portray everyday activities in a gripping display of raw emotion. At the same time one cannot help but admire the relaxed style intermingled with a hint of mysticism. Quite characteristically the pulsating vibrant colours in his painting contrast with the pale skin of the characters creating a dramatic effect.
Apart from being an extremely skilled artist, Dr. Guido is professional Plastic Surgeon having a profound knowledge of human anatomy.
Image Courtesy: Norman Guido
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RE/SPACE IMAGINED
A group of national and international artists come together in Bangalore to design a fun and interactive office space that breeds creativity, for ‘Kstart’ – an initiative by the venture capital firm, Kalaari, to fund seed stage companies that is, an incubator for startups. They’re hoping the artsy office place might just rekindle your creativity and motivate you to work harder.The design behind various series under this project ensure that once you step inside the place will speak for itself and live up to its anticipation.
The group behind the innovative project, titled Re/Space, includes Raghava KK, Shilo Shiv Suleman, Sean Stevens, Nikhil More and Pallavi Sen among others. Apart from art, the project entails concepts of engineering, technology, science and architecture where the work is divided into different series, all prefixed with the word ‘Re’. Installations like Re/Flect, featuring mirrors or Re/Cycle, made with recycled fabric and materials and Re/St, which has interactive installation are expected. Also anticipated are the meditation rooms, to “channel the forces of nature into small light installations”, giving you the effect of clouds passing above, wind blowing or the sound of the ocean and the interactive LED wall which is based on concepts of hacking as well as the Speaking Tree, in which the leaves light up if you speak under it. The space opens up on February 5 2016 and is open to the public.
Image Courtesy: LBB
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BREAKING STEREOTYPES
Nationally acclaimed artist S.G. Vasudev was brought up and resides in Bengaluru where he completed his graduation with Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. Vasudev had this great urge to study art. His mother, a painter and father an agriculturist, had this dream that their son would become a doctor or perhaps an engineer. But Vasudev had other plans.
I was always interested in art and had to convince my parents that I should get into painting.
Carving his creative path, S.G. Vasudev eventually conceived the idea of Cholamandal Artists’ Village, an artists’ village which aimed at extending art to a crafts in the conservative Madras, where artists could work on batik, textile, ceramic, pottery, metalware – which could bring money to keep them going. This brilliant village bagged him the national award at the young age of 24.
Vasudev’s work — copper-reliefs, drawings, tapestries, paintings easily wows anyone who views it. He’s a successful artist by all standards, well except for his own. In his dictionary, there’s no such thing as “having arrived”. As long as he has the urge to paint he will do so. That’s his yardstick to measure success.
Image Courtesy: Vasudev Art
So there you have it, a wide range of artistic souls hailing from the city of Bengaluru spreading creativity in different colours and hues across the globe!
