A case for making art accessible

It might not seem significant, but if one were to explain the impact of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale in one line it would be that it has introduced the words 'Installation' and 'Biennale' into the common man's lexicon.That an art festival held in a town tucked away in the southern-most corner of the country is drawing the respectful gaze of the global art community is certainly commendable, but for festival director Bose Krishnamachari, it is the subtle way in which it's appropriated the common man's mind space that is validation of a good job done.“When I was an art student at the Sir JJ School of Art, Mumbai, I'd managed to see only two triennales that were held in Delhi. And efforts have been made previously by artists to start a biennale in the country but none of them took off. The Kochi-Muziris Biennale today is the largest contemporary art project in India and the event is certainly gaining popular appeal because of the increased footfalls it is witnessing with every edition. While the first edition, in 2012, had four lakh people attending it, we saw over halfamillion visiting the recent one,“ says Krishnamachari who was in the city recently.
Of course, there's no disputing the fillip it's given young artists to consider art as a viable career option. “The contemporary arts scene in India is getting better and the younger generation of artists are getting better opportunities today than ever before. A 23-year-old artist, for instance, had his artwork sold at the Biennale. We even had students from disciplines like engineering, MBA and architecture volunteering with us.“ But besides artists, an art event that's on the scale of the biennale has a ripple effect on economy itself. “It helps create jobs , boosts revenues and promotes cultural tourism. An amusing thing we discovered was how restaurants were selling a dish called Biennale Fish, and we had coconut water sellers calling nariyal paani as Biennale Paani! These are the unobtrusive ways in which art can change society .“
Good taste needs to be inculcated
As an artist and curator who keeps active tabs on the contemporary art scene, while talking of fostering a healthy culture of art in the country, Krishnamachari is a proponent of “getting them started young“. “On one of my travels abroad, a sight that literally gave me a kick was seeing this fiveyear-old kid at an art museum sitting in front of a Pollock and painting it. Where are these art museums in our country where students can sit and practice painting? The authorities need to understand that art museums can be great learning portals for art students. And where are the art universities in the country?
You can count 33 art universities in the US, we don't have a single one in India.I seriously believe that a course in aes thetics needs to be taught in our schools because good taste needs to be inculcated. Else, what you end up seeing is a total lack of aware ness of the arts. The glass and con crete buildings you see these days is he one such glaring example of the lack of a. aesthetics in our present society.“
s Until such a time when art and aes thetics will be considered serious subjects in our schools, the void, Krishnamachari notes, is best filled by art fairs, exhibitions, art gardens and public art.“Did you know that Chicago's The Bean sculpture, made by Anish Kapoor, is the most photographed work in the world? It is photographed more than the Taj Mahal is.“