Art and the Environment

Artist in Focus –Ramchandra Kharatmal

Ramchandra Kharatmal is the quintessential artist. He does his work without any consideration of awards, art market...the goal remains to improve on his skills and compositions, with the best work always being categorised as “the next one.” Besides, he is also very interested in ensuring that artists from his home state Maharashtra get due recognition and is collaborating on creating an encyclopaedia (for want of another word) on artists from this state that is home to the financial capital of India – Mumbai. We learn more of this humble and reticent artist in an interview with him.

At what age did you become interested in art?

There is no clear age or period in my memory that I can pin point. All I can say that when I starting understanding colours and paints was the time that I began my journey into the world of art. There was a teacher in my school, in a small town called Sholapur, Mr. Sunil Potdar, who recognised my interest and talent in the 5th grade and nurtured and encouraged me through school. In fact it was him who was also instrumental in convincing my family to allow me to take art as a profession?

Was your family against you becoming an artist?

Let’s say that my father was a typical middle class person whose ambition for his son was that I should become a graduate in some field and then take up a secure government job. My mother, on the other hand, liked to paint and was quite talented. She felt that I should figure out what I enjoy doing and make my career in that field.

Tell us about your journey towards becoming an artist?

Once I finished my 12th grade I joined a government college in Sholapur where I completed the basic and foundation courses in art. I didn’t know much about the profession and again turned to my school teacher for advise. He suggested that I do my art teacher’s course first because at least that would assure me of a job and stable income in future. I had to leave my family and home town as there was no further education in art available there. I studied to become an art teacher at ............... However, on completing the course I felt that teaching was not for me. I decided to move to one of the bigger towns that offered a good art education, finally choosing to go to a private art college ..............in Satara. My father said he couldn’t afford to pay for my admission, but my mother, who would earn a small income from her home tailoring business paid for my admission fees. To pay for my fees and boarding I began to take on small freelance jobs such as calligraphy, book illustrations, painting banners etc. It was while in college that I met my mentor and guide Vijay Dhumal.

Has winning the national award made a difference to the way your art is perceived?

I think that winning a prestigious award brings you into the limelight. People are made aware of you and your art. Your name is recognised in the art field. The award did not change the way I work but it definitely made people aware of it and gave my work a certain validation – it is award worthy!

What do you convey through your art?

 I feel every artist through his work presents his perception of reality. My paintings are the way I communicate with the world at large, they are my opinions on social issues, they are my reactions to events in my life, in a sense they can be termed autobiographical. For instance, I started working on the ‘Childhood series’ after my son was born and my paintings in this series are actually an overlay of my childhood intertwined with his. My art is a reflection of my life, which should be with every artist, creative people are sensitive to things around them and that comes forth in their work.

The quilt is an oft repeated motif in your works, why is that?

To the common man the quilt is a functional object, a tool to keep away the cold. I see at as the story and history of a family. In India the poor people make quilts by stitching together pieces from old clothing; so a quilt is a patchwork of the whole joint family – a scrap from a grandmother’s sari, a pocket from the father’s shirt, a piece from the new baby’s smock, a fragment of the mother’s blouse... and each piece of cloth bears memories of the occasion for which it was bought, where it was worn and it retains the essence of the wearer. The Indian quilt is an ode to the Indian joint family.

You also do portraits and commissioned artworks, how difficult or easy is it to deliver what the client imagines?

Commissioned works are always complicated. One has to understand the client’s thoughts, emotions and then execute something that is an idea in his mind through your skills. It becomes more difficult when the client is unable to communicate exactly what’s on their mind, when they say things like, “I know what I want but I don’t know how to tell you.” I have to sometimes resort to intuitive thinking and most often the result surpasses what the client has imagined – that is extremely satisfying for an artist.

As an artist based in Pune do you find it difficult to make your art known in the country or abroad? What advice would you give to artists in small towns?

The main problem occurs because as an artist one is constantly creating and thinking of what to do next. There is little scope for marketing activities. I do make time to surf the internet to gain knowledge of what is happening in the art world globally and update myself.  The internet has truly made our world a smaller place. For artists living and working in other small towns the only advise I can give is to make sure that your art is exhibited in at least two exhibitions a year and one of those exhibitions should be in a main art centre like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore...This way you ensure that your art is recognised not just in your own home town but also nationally.

Tell us about the project concerning artist’s in Maharashtra you are working on.

It is actually a project that is the brainchild of the publishing company Vivek Prakashan. If you go to West Bengal you will find information available on artists working there, but no such glossary exists for artists in Maharashtra. The working title is ‘Chitrashilp Kosh’ which can be loosely translated to mean an ‘encyclopedia of artists and sculptors.’ They have basically demarcated the state into zones and cities from which the information is to be collected. I am responsible for Pune and Satara.  I co-ordinate with the artists, and collect all the relevant information on them. How many people know that probably the very first art school in India – the Nana Padnis Art School was located in Pune in Shanwarwada? The book should be completed in the early half of 2010.

Where do you see yourself and your art 10 years from now?

Definitely 10 years from now also I will still be working as an artist. As to what form my art will take I cannot say. I have recently been practicing the art of miniature painting, possibly some elements of this may reflect in my work. I have many drawings ready for sculptures, possibly I may do those. One can never say where your creativity will take you.

~ Razvin Namdarian

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