Words may mean different things to different people. However, images open up a whole new dimension. When artists create images, then the mind registers them better. "between Mysore & Mysooru" is one such set of images, impressions and words.
The book, authored by art curator Shoaib Chadkhan, will be released by veteran journalist Krishna Vattam at a function to be held tomorrow at Art Dissemination, No.11, Opp. Bal Bhavan, Bannimantap in city at 5.30 pm. MLA Tanveer Sait will inaugurate. An exhibition of a group of paintings published in the book will be launched by K.R. Ramakrishna, Commissioner, Dept. of Archaeology, Museums and Heritage on the occasion.
Usually a book or an exhibition on a town includes the history of the place. But here, the author and the artists do not believe in writing about the history of Mysore. This coffee-table book by art curator Shoaib Chadkhan is an artistic documentation of a heritage city through the eyes of artists. He says though the title would suggest a Mysore story, it is, however, the story of many places across the land; places which are in a quest for development. The book is also about how we evolve to the things and experiences around us.
The 80-page book is a fictional story of the curator's own life depicted through Haiku-type poems — it is a romantic rendezvous with the architecture of Mysore and the artists here.
The book is quite a 'page-stopper' as the reader, who after contemplating on the beautiful poems, sets his eyes on the paintings and gets captured by the aesthetics in the paintings, quite forgetting to turn the page and move on.
It is a journey which started in 2009 when the author stayed at the India Song House in Vonti-koppal, a quaint old house that had a history of being a creative space with hosting of exhibitions like Abstract Perception & Contemporary Cows at Crossroads.
The house was sold by their owners to a firm from Bangalore who in all likelihood had seen it more as a real estate investment rather than the heritage that the house held, says Chadkhan.
Yogananda, a young city artist, was keen on creating a painting of this house. Chadkhan used the painting to put up a story on internet. The response that it evoked was huge and quite emotional. A lot of people were concerned about the way beautiful spaces like these were being treated. It was there that an understanding of the romanticism took place, the melancholi-ness and all the feelings that a painting could evoke was bro-ught forth. This led to a quest for more such buildings and to use this type of imagery to create a subtle but powerful way of re-introducing sense of aesthetic and thus go about preserving them.
The making of this book has changed how these artists and their friends see a building today, says Chadkhan, adding that now they see it as a life form in itself.
Totally, 30 contemporary artists of Mysore have created 70 paintings of Mysore in their varied forms and styles and about 50 of these paintings will be exhibited in the show.
If one artist has painted in monochrome, then another artist has made the house become a subject for a stamp. Hence there was a need to photograph them, have artists make portraits of these houses, make a book, make a film and document it in some form.
The landscape paintings, which are vivid both in colours and black & white, portray the places the artists have explored and painted, often with rich metaphorical possibilities. These artists have used the paint medium to raise awareness on conservation concerns. The series of paintings capture a changing Mysore, which is falling prey to changes in time and the inevitable urbanisation.
The heritage Mysore that has a unique identity, has been revisited by the artists with a tinge of nostalgia and raises the question of introducing a policy to conserve the heritage of the city for future. The 'Tropical Architecture' of Mysore homes with typical Mysore roof tiles, sloping roofs, chajjas, wooden trellis work and solid wrought iron grills, have been recreated by the artists to show the signature look of the city, says Suresh Jayaram in his critique in the book.
The author says T.P Issar's book 'Mysore the royal city' helped in reiterating the belief that most paintings have a stronger emotional quotient than photos. The poems have been penned by Shoaib with an earnestness to create a little world through words and images.
Though the inauguration is by invitation only, the painting exhibition will be open to the public from May 19 to 25 between 10.30 am and 7.30 pm at the same venue. The book is priced at Rs.3,000 and will be available on a discounted price during the show at Rs.2,400.
After Mysore, the exhibition will move on to Venkatappa Art Gallery in Bangalore.
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