The economic slowdown being witnessed in the country has left artists of contemporary art affected forcing them to take up side jobs to make ends meet.
|Last Updated: Feb 25, 2013, 01:27 PM IST|Source: Bureau
Jamshedpur: The economic slowdown being witnessed in the country has left artists of contemporary art affected forcing them to take up side jobs to make ends meet.
Contemporary artists witnessed a boom in the 2000-2007, but thereafter as the market shrank many of their work remained unsold, National Award winner Aditya Basak said.
Indian painters had started making their presence felt world-wide after commercial galleries came up in the 1980s, but the good days lasted till mid-2000, Basak, based in Kolkata, said.
Basak had won several awards including National Award in 1986 and West Bengal state Academy award in 1987. He has held more than 76 solo exhibitions in India and France, United Kingdom, Switzerland, USA and Singapore since 1957.
He, alongwith a host of renowned painters from across the country, was here to take part in a four-day `Art in Industry Camp-2013` organised by Tata Steel at the Centre for Excellence last week.
Around 20 painters, some of them internationally known, took part in the camp.
Reputed Delhi-based artist Vijender Sharma, however, said the economic meltdown was a `temporary phenomenon` and that the market would look up sooner than later.
Terming the economic scenario as `cyclic`, Sharma said, "I hope the market for `genuine` artists will emerge stronger as they have learned to face the challenge and accordingly adapt themselves."
A gold medalist from the College of Art, New Delhi,
Sharma, who had the honour of presenting a life-size portrait of former President APJ Abdul Kalam to Rashtrapati Bhawan in 2007, though stating there was no impact on hard-working artists urged big industries to support talented ones facing hardship.
"Both art and industry will grow if they work in tandem," Sharma said, regretting that the government had not taken any step to promote the artist fraternity.
He demanded that the government take steps to exempt art work and artists from the tax net.
Striking a different note, another renowned artist Dhiraj Choudhury said that commercialisation has ruined the taste for art.
"Art has been reduced to decorative pieces hanging from the wall of drawings room in rich homes," he said.
Choudhury, who has exhibited his work in the country and abroad, said, "The rich has lost its sensibility and value the hard work of the artists more as decorative pieces to adorn the walls than something to be appreciated."
PTI
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.