CHENNAI: In the 1960s when
Arnawaz Vasudev
decided to make art her profession, there was little family support and very few means of selling paintings. But she resolved to pursue her passion and was among the handful of women who created a new trajectory during the
Madras Art Movement
.
Nearly 30 years after Arnawaz’s death, an all-women’s
art camp
organised in her name on International Women’s Day is a reflection of both how far women artists have come from the 1960s and the challenges which still remain.
For artist Meenakshi from Karnataka, the issues faced by women find expression on her Lambani-inspired canvas. “Feminist traits in my work are subtle like this work showing a cup within a teapot. It is an everyday chore that most women do and also signifies that her whole life is indelibly tied to the household, no matter if she’s a homemaker or a career woman,” says 34-year-old Meenakshi who is part of the 5-day art camp of 10 women artists from Chennai and Bengaluru at Cholamandal Artists’ Village.
But for many of her colleagues at the camp, gender does not matter when it comes to art. “I am an artist first. My obsession with male and female icons demonstrates the inherent spiritual understanding that we need both the energies to make a whole,” says city-based artist Thejomaye Menon.
Today, it is not so much patriarchal oppression but individual priorities that limit the progress of women artists.“Very few women graduates in art go on to become professional artists. They don’t seem to have the drive and the financial support as marriage and responsibilities of a family take center stage,” says art critic Ashrafi Bhagat. This has meant that after the likes of Arnawaz and her contemporary Anila Jacob, only a few women artists have made a name for themselves.
“Though the city had the Madras Art Movement, surprisingly it has very few women artists. The art camp is one of the measures to bring more women artists to the fore,” says artist S G Vasudev, husband of Arnawaz and trustee of
Arnawaz Vasudev Charities
, which was set up following the untimely death of the artist in 1988.
Artist Asma Menon considers an exclusive women’s art camp to be a meeting place for ideas. “It is an environment which fosters creativity and experimentation,” she adds.
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