Printmaking from the Heart!

By Shriram Khadilkar

Sachin Bonde

Studentsof the esteemed Sir. J. J. School of Art, Mumbai, exhibit heart-warmingcomradeship – work-wise and personally, to create an endowment of scholarships for studentsof their Printmaking Dept.

Some people believe in artfor the sake of art. That must be true, I guess. When the expression of artcomes from the fierce passion that drives it, art can truly be for the sake ofart.

AA Raiba

Lalita Lajmi

I was reminded of thisearlier today, when I browsed through the portfolio of 22 graphic prints at SirJ. J. School of Art, Mumbai. Enquiring about the purpose behind this creativeexercise, I was informed that Sir J. J. School of Art awards its students for ‘Drawing’and ’Painting’, but there isn’t a single award for the students in the ’Graphic/Printmaking’categories.

Liz Ballard

Nandini Pantawane

An ingenuous effort hasbeen made by the Dept. of Graphics/ Printmaking to solve this problem.  17 students of the Printmaking Department fromthe Sir J. J School of Art have joined hands with two ex-students - veteranpainter A. A. Raiba and renowned print-maker Lalita Lajmi, also alumni of thesame Dept., to create an endowment of scholarships for students of the Dept.  Commendably, three artists from abroad have generouslypooled in their expertise to make a success of this venture. 

   

Deepali patkar

Komal Sonwane

The 22 limited edition printsin a total of ten portfolios, titled Auguries JJXXI, havebeen supervised by Prof. Anant Nikam, Head, Dept. of Graphics/Printmaking atSir. J. J. School of Art, Mumbai.  Allthe 17 students have contributed in equal measure to bear the cost of creatingthis portfolio. Clark House Initiative, a curatorial intervention platform inMumbai requested Taiwanese artist Charwei Tsai and British artist SimonLiddiment to teach and guide the students, while British artist Liz Ballardconducted a workshop challenging existing conventions of the process of print,through experimentation and modifying the plate, the paper, and the sequence ofmaking prints from the plates. The students visited the studios of seniorartists A.A. Raiba and Lalita Lajmi and made a collaborative attempt atcomprehending the lives and works of these stalwarts.

Prasad Nikumbh

Priya Salve

Participating artistsincluded Srinivas Adadadi, Somnath Adamane, Liz Ballard, Sachin Bonde, MildredCastalino, Prapti Chavanke, Richa Mehta, Shrinivas Mehetre, Avinash Motghare, PrasadNikumbh, Lalita Lajmi, Simon Liddiment, Nandini Pantawane, Deepali Patkar, AA Raiba, Nikhil Raunak, Priya Salve, Hemant Shinde, Komal Sonavane, TejswiniSonavane, Girish Urkude and Charwei Tsai.

Simon Liddiment

Hemant Shinde

All participants preparedplates and prints and took limited editions of ten prints each. Thus tenportfolios were readied. The response has been laudable indeed as the entireset of portfolios have been sold out! The exhibition of these prints that beganon Monday Nov.28, 2011 has been a roaring success. The sale has helped raise therequisite fund that can now institute an award for the students of the PrintmakingDept. This is a footprint for others to follow in their attempts at raisingfunds. All-in-all, the bottom line is that this year the printmaking studentswill get an award at the annual show of Sir J. J. School of Art; testimony tothe fact that one is bound to succeed when art comes from the heart!

           

Avinash Motghare

Richa Mehta

Itis interesting to note that the Printmaking Dept. at Sir J. J. School of Art,Mumbai, was started by Prof. Yadneshwar K. Shukla; taken over by Prof.Vasant Parab; then Prof. Paul Koli, who was instrumental in augmenting theorganizational structure of the department.

Srinivas Addadi

Tejswini Sonawane

Auguries JJXXI - Student Exhibition of the graphicportfolios continues at Sir J. J. School of Art Main Hall, until 3 December 2011. It isopen to public daily, 9am - 5pm.