Avilla Damar

No gallery can afford all these works together. This is an important place. My works are secure here, and when I am gone, I feel at peace to know that my works will continue to live here," he says. The door from the studio leads into a full-fledged gallery with paintings big and small floating in pools of yellow light. His most recent work, featuring a cat, rests on the floor-the smell of linseed oil and varnish still fresh. Bhaskaran mulls over what to replace this with. The replaced one goes inside one of the two storage areas, which includes his paintings, prints, writings, catalogues and books that he has illustrated for.

Contemporary cultural studies on art: Can art exist without a language? Thought without symbols-life without language-it is a cognitive reality that is virtually impossible for most modern humans to fathom. So it is with the Fine and Visual Arts-there is no art without a language. The highlights of this first session on contemporary cultural studies on art were:  Can art exist without a language?  Without appearance, does an artwork remain an artwork?  What is the role played by cultural studies in such a scenario? 'An artwork is not where it happens in a studio but only when it is subjected to a dialogue', stated the Lecturer with conviction.

In an effort to enable themselves and their audience to perceive their messages in a new way, artists seek to find new ways to present their ideas. The intention is to create something fresh and unexpected-to "surprise" the viewer into giving his/her full attention to the work of art. In addition, as the social and political climate shifts, the perspective of the artist must also shift to take new circumstances into account. Thus many of the greatest artists have troubled, confounded, and shocked their publics. The most famous historical examples would be: Michelangelo (use of nudity in religious art), Rembrandt (ordinary every day subject matter), Manet (reinterpretation of classical themes, nudity vs. nakedness), Courbet (Peasant subjects, social protest), Monet (changes of technique), Toulouse Lautrec (prostitutes as subject matter), George Segal (new techniques and materials for sculpture of human figures) and Matisse (use of color and form). History keeps repeating itself and even today, art practices are being deconstructed and reconstructed. The history of art and design does not occur in a vacuum. Artists and designers are only responding to the events of their times. The shifting of art from the studio or from the white cube to public spaces is one of the now-common phenomena in the art world. Performance art seems to be 'the new sexy' in the art world. Biennales which can be termed as a contemporary invention of artists are no longer reserved to cities like Venice. In every nook and corner of the world, Biennales are happening. The inevitable relocation of art means predictable confusions and questions. Is there any difference between an art that is produced in a studio and one that is made in public? Is private art different from a public art work?