Drawn to art

Though he has completed five decades in the art world, Bengaluru-based artist SG Vasudev still retains the exuberance of a 20-year-old. This veteran artist whose ongoing exhibition 'Recollections Reconnections' at the Jehangir Art Gallery showcases his paintings, copper reliefs and tapestries, is also one of the founders of the Cholamandalam Artist Village at Chennai. CS speaks to Vasudev about his early life, passion for learning and the need to retain Indianness in art:

WHO: S G Vasudev
WHAT: Talking about his passion for learning
WHERE: At Jehangir Art Gallery

Pic/ Sayed Sameer Abedi

Artistic expressionu00a0
I love working on different mediums. As a young man, I started off with painting but learnt other mediums of art at the Madras Arts College. I believe that an artist shouldn't restrict himself to a particular medium. When I started off in the 1960s, an artist couldn't make a living by solely selling paintings.

So, art works made on Batik, copper as well as enamelling helped us sustain ourselves. At the Cholamandal Artists' Village, I came in contact with various artists who also had a deep impact on my work. My association with playwright Girish Karnad has also influenced me a great deal.

Age no bar
As you grow older, your attitude and philosophy towards life changes. You stop paying attention to mundane, petty things, which might have affected you previously. It is also important to have a constant love for learning. I visit a lot of exhibitions even today to see what's happening in the art world. I love movies, music concerts, theatre, etc.

But growing older is a challengeu00a0-- you need a lot of discipline to stay motivated for your creative pursuits. Though I am nearing 70, I work for eight-nine hours daily. I get my ideas from tribal art, folklores, ancient murals, miniature art, and Kannada literature and so on. Most of my paintings boast of Indian colours.

I have never changed my style for commercial reasons as I feel I have enough money to lead a happy, contented life.u00a0

Desi hain hum
Most artists want to follow Western masters or their trends. This can't go on. I believe that we can't reject the West as we are contemporary people, but our basic inspiration should come from our culture. Today, Indian artists are mainly working on contemporary art, which they have seen across the world.
u00a0
As a result, most of the paintings look like assembly line productions where you can't distinguish an artist's distinct style through his painting. They lack a sense of contemplation and are rather money-minded. I think it is time the art scene in India witnessed a change.