Art in three-dimensional installations is set to transform the face of Bengaluru.
Spaced out
Next time you run into a swanky art installation at a tech park or a mall in the city, stop for a few minutes and feast your eyes. These are unique in their style of execution and are giving public spaces, tech parks and malls a facelift. These installations have been designed to last over a lifetime.
Head to view the Birds from My Mom’s Kitchen Cupboard at Phoenix Marketcity, Urban Avantgarde on display this month at Goethe-Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan and also installations at Golf Links Business Park, Manyata Embassy Business Park, Brigade Tech Park, Biocon India Ltd and Brigade Metropolis.
City galleries like GallerySke in Langford Town are a hotspot for quirky art installations with chips, cycles, machines and recycled products and it has also featured artistes such as Krishnaraj Chonat and Sakshi Gupta. Others like Jaaga Sound and Lights, Sumukha and Venkatappa also have had a few shows where the installations come alive and are free flowing.
Curator Robert Kaltenhäuser is showing Achtung: Asphaltkultur, a German Graffiti Avantgarde exhibition at Goethe-Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan. This Urban Avantgarde by contemporary German and Indian artists from various disciplines will display graffiti in public spaces.
Good art in public spaces is one of the hallmarks of a great city and our city is now waking up to art installations at important locales.
Artist’s corner
Romicon Revola, received her training from Bruce Chappel, a San Francisco-based sculptor and started her career with a show of outdoor bronzes in 2004 and has done 15 large installations in the city. From 2006, at the age of 23, she began working with stainless steel, which is now her primary medium. Romicon reveals how she gets a controlled contemporary style in a quick chat.
* What is your inspiration for these pieces?
As a kid, I often said that I wanted to build monuments across the world that would last beyond my lifetime and leave my footprint and this dream was tempered by reality. I create and install monumental sculptures in stainless steel for public spaces. My inspiration does not come from external factors or entities.
* Who are your favourite artists?
Picasso. I also love Chagall and Matisse for their ability to transport us to magical places. Among the sculptors, I like Jeff Koons and Tony Cragg for their large outdoor works in bold colours. I find sculptures of Igor Mitoraj very poignant.
* What do you think of our city for art installation?
Although Bengaluru has been very accepting of new genres of art, the work that I do is mostly installed at business parks and residential enclaves which are densely populated. There is a need to create sculpture parks and installations at various traffic islands. All this is slowly becoming reality with several art fairs and festivals being organised to widen the audience for art.
* What’s the response you have received?
I meet people at random who tell me that they enjoy my sculpture during their smoke break at their office or that they see it everyday from their apartment window. Recently, I installed a sculpture titled Infinity at Hebbal and we had about 200 techies asking us to explain what the sculpture was all about.
Midas touch
Prince CG takes pride in crafting and designing birds using cutlery and material taken from mom’s kitchen cupboard using stainless steel cutlery. His first serious installation was done at the age of 20 while in college, which was a meditating Buddha using stone, mortars and grinding stones.
* What inspires you as an artist?
I was always fascinated watching works of traditional carpenters, blacksmiths and goldsmiths. I found them assembling wood and metal which gave me the idea of shaping. Also I had the fortune to come across Japanese stone arrangements during my teenage, which ignited the idea of combining materials into meaningful forms. I believe that my sculptures carry a message directly or indirectly. I have travelled and lived in Singapore, Japan, Africa and Middle East meeting with various artists to understand the art and culture of that region.
* Who are your favourite artists?
Alexander Cadler, the mobile sculptor, Vincent Van Gogh and Jackson Pollock.
* What do you think of Bengaluru for art installations?
The vast arena of the city seems to have the best spots to locate installations. I must confess that my onlookers have been earnest in their appreciations towards my work.
There should be more public events like this in Bengaluru in the field of art which will boost the inherent quality in art appreciation.
* How many installations have you done so far?
I have worked on various mediums such as stone, cement, metal, wood, fibre resin with stone dust, found objects like nails and cables automobile parts. I have done 20 works which include a 30 feet tall sculpture using natural rock and metal, tiltled Sun, Godmother earth and baby moon and life size crucifix of Jesus Christ, titled black Jesus in association with Kenyans and Congolese wood carvers at Nairobi Kenya.
Landmark foreign installations
Chicago is known for its public art installations. The trend of installing non-commemorative sculptures throughout the city began as early as 1967 when Mayor Richard J Daley dedicated Picasso’s untitled sculpture at the Civic Centre Plaza. The installation of the Chicago Picasso inspired a cultural renaissance. Since then, the downtown streets of Chicago have become a sculpture gallery displaying works by many great artists.
It encompasses all areas of the visual arts and is exhibited in municipal buildings and neighbourhoods throughout the city. After the guru of installation art Picasso created waves in the industry, many artists emerged worldwide with their versions of interesting sculptures in public spaces. Other cities one can head to for a tour de art are Brisbane, Oregon and Barcelona. UK countryside is also home to a few sculpture parks.
