Category: Exhibition

Taking Wing

10561790_10152201109211053_3239163086169552431_nThere is a brilliant art show in town at the Salar Jung Museum, a group show by the outgoing MFA students of our University. Paintings, sculpture, prints, installations- its all there in great variety and the exploration of different techniques and themes is amazing!

As the pictures in this post attest, there are artists finding their sophisticated expressions through a variety of media, and scattered across the gallery one can see installations made of matchsticks, lace, umbrellas, scupltures constructed out of wood, scrap… literally anything that could be used. The range is, to put it mildly, spectacular.

IMG_1135IMG_1136How strong the breeze, How precious the flight– the title of the show is taken from the feminist poet Andrea Gibson’s  The Moon is a Kite. The fragment brings to mind a wonderful image, of the fledgling artists finding their wings and taking strength from the training here- the breeze- to launch themselves into the wide open world- the flight. And as the dreams in one of the installations, the dreamcatcher on the right, swirl around in the gallery, the choice of title seems very appropriate…

But more, there is actually a double bonus at the Salar Jung- the adjacent gallery is home to another UoH linked show, by our honorary alumnus K. G. Subramanyam, the legendary artist who so graciously accepted an honorary doctorate from our University last year. Titled “New Works”, the scale and scope of the paintings on display belie the artist’s 90 years-  Mani-da, as he is more popularly known has admirable discipline, and the phenomenal ability to work in concentration. The few images of the paintings on display give an idea of what feasts await the visitor.

IMG_1138IMG_1131We are very fortunate to have such great persons associated with the University, and are very happy that the students’ show was inaugurated by him. One could not have asked for a stronger breeze to lift them up and propel them into the uncertainties of the everyday world and the vicissitudes of life beyond studenthood.

The show is on until the 16th of August for all to view and enjoy. By going out and showing our work in a public space, the University affirms, yet again, that we are not just of the city, we are a University for the city of Hyderabad…

Anugunj :: अनुगूँज

Prof. K K Mishra of our Department of Anthropology is presently away from the University, serving as the Director of the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya in Bhopal (and also as the Director General of the Anthropological Survey of India, in Kolkata).

This week, he has brought an exhibition to the Salar Jung Museum,  Anugunj, that explores the various creation myths that occur in our diverse indigenous cultures. Hyderabad is in good company- the exhibition that is permanently housed in Bhopal has earlier traveled to Mumbai and to Delhi. I had the privilege of seeing it today, and it was, in a word, stunning.

The Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya was founded with the aim of preserving and documenting the disappearing traditions and life-skills as well as with a view to revive as many of them as possible. It aimed at presenting a chronicle of human evolution but with an awareness of the pitfall that threatened a past oriented approach. The museum is spread over 200 acres with an undulating terrain has many open-air exhibitions. The travelling exhibition Anugunj is a component of [their] permanent exhibition and consists mainly of photographs of the exhibits from there. However, it also has fibre replicas of some huge terracotta works as well as smaller versions of the original objects in iron, bronze and terracotta created by the same artists.

Mythology, besides being the ancient cousin of culture is also a chronicle of its highs and low. Hence a basic understanding of the myths is necessary for knowing a culture. This brings out the importance of this exhibition as well as the reason for its popularity.  

In addition to being visually very attractive, this exhibit that occupies a large new room on the third floor of the Salar Jung museum and which has been curated by Shampa Shah (of the IGRMS) explores the creation of the world, various trades and various tribes in a variety of media- painting, terracotta, and metalwork. Being a traveling show, many of the exhibits are photographs or reproductions, but still. It was great to see a large painting by Durgabai Vyam who had come to the UoH last year. Also a terracotta sculpture by the phenomenal- and tragic- tribal artist,   Jangarh Singh Shyam.

The exhibition is on for the next three weeks, and given the range of arts on display- from Ao Naga to Saora to Bhil- this is well worth a visit to the Salar Jung Museum. And if things work out, we should be able to catch a glimpse of it on our own campus too…