Teach and tell: The gurus of art
Some of India’s greatest artists have also been teachers, but have they merely handed over a tradition or inspired fresh thinking?
Curated By: Kishore Singh
[Untitled by Ramkinkar Baij]
There have been numerous teacher-artists whose works have survived time, or whose teaching skills have proved to be legendary. One of the most interesting of these is Ramkinkar Baij (1906-80) in Santiniketan. A student at the university, he joined the faculty of Kala Bhavana to teach sculpture and was singularly responsible for veering his students away from British-taught realism, or the more sentimental versions of early modernism in stone and metal, to newer materials and a representation that was distorted. Among his more important students is KS Radhakrishnan who also curated a retrospective on his teacher and guide.
There have been numerous teacher-artists whose works have survived time, or whose teaching skills have proved to be legendary. One of the most interesting of these is Ramkinkar Baij (1906-80) in Santiniketan. A student at the university, he joined the faculty of Kala Bhavana to teach sculpture and was singularly responsible for veering his students away from British-taught realism, or the more sentimental versions of early modernism in stone and metal, to newer materials and a representation that was distorted. Among his more important students is KS Radhakrishnan who also curated a retrospective on his teacher and guide.
