Among one of the first interactive talks of this semester, Blank 101 and Artpod Manipal joined hands to orchestrate time-travel in the world of art and artistry. Titled ‘Insane Interpretations of Art’, it captured a massive influx of art enthusiasts ready for some riveting discussions on contemporary and abstract art alike.

Art often takes the burden off of the crazy. It channels energy, both positive and negative, to create profoundly intricate pieces of work, full of vivacity and emotion. On that note, the first painter to be discussed was Vincent Van Gogh. Categorised as a lunatic in his lifetime (perhaps with due reason), Van Gogh still taught the world to have varied insights and perspectives through his art.

The talk progressed to discuss the works of two celebrated minimalistic artists—Eva Hesse and Frank Stella. Aditya Ramesh, of Blank 101, successfully coaxed laughs out of the audience while comparing Hesse’s work, which symbolised maternity, to a pair of dosas. The audience also learnt about Stella’s general trend of playing around with polygons and background and foreground colours.

Eva Hesse’s sculpture Ringaround Arosie

In between doses of intense interpretations, the Artpod team, who had organised a successful art exhibition the previous semester, came out to share a few personal experiences about their artwork. First in the queue was Sahil Jaiswal. He expressed his love for nature and his attachment to the feeling of serenity in his paintings. He talked about the various mediums he has worked with and enthralled viewers with his work—especially with one of his pieces, which was inspired by Claude Monet.

Moving on, Anusha Prabhu and Snigdha Burkule from Blank 101 presented critical insights into the theory of Surrealism. Displaying Salvador Dali’s famous painting, The Persistence of Memory,  the speakers explained the magic of surrealistic paintings. They stir in their viewers the power to dream and imagine. Some of the artwork is termed as hallucinogenic and is considered to have a profound theatrical impact. Next, they delved into artwork by Rene Magritte—namely The Human Condition, The Son of Man, and The Lovers.

Salvador Dali’s famous painting The Persistence of Memory

In the segment that followed, Mohammed Rauhaan, the President of Blank 101, lightened the mood with a collective of pictures titled “Art thou art?”. He asked the audience to pick out the real artwork out of six images projected on the screen. As the room buzzed with guesses, he let everyone in on a little secret. The pictures were of various doodles, pen marks, and dents across the furniture in the Group Study Hall of the Library. As amusing as it might seem, Rauhaan laid the premise for an essential conclusion—anything can be considered art and its various meanings lie in the eyes of the beholder.

Next, Vaaridhi Mathur, President of Artpod Manipal, took to the stage to display her paintings and give insights into each one of them. One of her paintings that stood out the most was a vibrant piece of a girl touching her nose. Another was an intricate drawing of an elephant and mandalas, inspired by her trips to Jaipur. Vaaridhi then showed some of her more emotionally charged work like the metamorphosis of two hands into a heart, symbolising friendship.

Vaaridhi Mathur alongside her painting

Coming close to the end of the talk, another artist from Artpod, Spandita Das Sharma, spoke about her journey as an artist. She navigated through her breathtaking works of human figures that involve a great deal of precision. She even threw light on the colour wheel and its importance in blending the right hues in one’s work. From acrylic painting to fluid art form, Spandita won many hearts in the room with her enthusiasm and passion.

Spandita Das Sharma explaining her work of fluid art to the audience

For the final segment for the evening, Praneeth Ratnagiri from Blank 101 spoke about Street Art, keeping everyone glued to the vibrant colours on the screen. He introduced the audience to the New York and Stencil forms of street art. The viewers also enjoyed the witty one-liners in the numerous graffiti by artists like King Robbo and Banksy. Parvathy Radhakrishnan, a second-year student, said “I found the section where they discussed graffiti very catchy and interesting. The face-off between Banksy and King Robbo was pretty funny.”

The event successfully maintained just the right mix of information and entertainment, leaving everyone in the hall a tad bit wiser and a lot more artistically inclined.

Featured Image Courtesy: The Photography Club, Manipal