Artworks

Kolkata Institute of Art Conservation (KIAC) is happy to announce the launch of KIAC MASTERCLASS Season II, a three-day series of online talks (17th – 19th August 2020, every day from 3.30 – 4.30pm) that will aim to throw light on the rich artistic tradition of the Santiniketan Murals which form a distinctive episode in the history of modern Indian art.

Tagore always believed in the modernity which is deeply embedded in its tradition, the surrounding nature and everyday lives. At Santiniketan, he established an institution where he tried to formulate a kind of structure for art education that will help towards shaping this idea of ‘modernity’.

Experiment with the murals was an integral part of this pedagogy, not only to decorate the buildings but also to bring art closer to the life of the community, the teachers and the students together in a common pursuit. 

The tradition of murals at Santiniketan has a long and glorious past where the artists like Nandalal Bose, Benodebehari Mukherjee, Ramkinkar Baij, K G Subramanyan, Somnath Hore and many others have immensely contributed. It became an abode of extensive experimentation with different styles, contents and mediums ranging from tempera, traditional Jaipuri technique, Italian fresco, terracotta to the modern ceramic tiles. The Season II of KIAC MASTERCLASS will explore this Santiniketan experiment with the murals that spanned five decades and made it a rich open-air museum with the traces of the early stages of modern Indian art.

Schedule

• 17th August, Monday: R. Siva Kumar on Art, Community and Communication: An overview of murals and sculptures in Santiniketan
• 18th August, Tuesday: Suresh K Nair on Santiniketan Murals: Materials, methods and techniques
• 19th August, Wednesday: Dr. S. Vinodh Kumar on Conservation of Santiniketan Murals: A challenging task