Just outside suburban Mumbai’s gleaming Maker Maxity tower, a ravishing red double-decker public transport vehicle, resembling one that used to ply the city roads in the 1970s, drew everyone’s attention for quite a long period. One could see it sprouting a couple of stainless steel wings, its front wheel slightly raised off the ground as if set for a takeoff. A plaque beside it read: ‘Sometimes when we travel, we forget who we are...’
Its inception can be traced to the artist’s meeting with Manish Maker on a flight. Starline, an automotive company, helped him fabricate the piece, weighing almost 9,000 kilograms (10 tonne). It was brought from Belgaum, Karnataka to Mumbai after a 600 kilometer long journey by road and was thrown open for public viewing earlier this year. The bus could house a transitory audience, which drops in and comes out as BEST passengers used to.
An exhibition space on the upper and lower deck of the bus hosts noteworthy creators from the fields of art, architecture, photography and film like Delhi-based filmmaker Amar Kanwar, photographer Dayanita Singh, artist Gurdeep Singh, graphic novelist Arijit Sen and the Bangalore art duo, Pors & Rao.
This fascinating Flying Bus sculpture by Sudarshan Shetty, which cost an estimated $250,000, can be counted among India's most prominent public art projects. An unconventional notion of ‘art-within-art’ stands for his keenness to draw the people to artistic world. His purpose seems to have been served as a steady stream of visitors often checks into the public gallery.
The project in a way, redefines the myriad possibilities for public art domain. He has been quoted as saying: “Public art is a very difficult space because it’s going to remain there forever presumably. But I believe that all objects are bound to change in their meaning over time so this allows for that continuous change.” According to the senior artist, instead of curating shows, he just selects practitioners to showcase their work.
Its inception can be traced to the artist’s meeting with Manish Maker on a flight. Starline, an automotive company, helped him fabricate the piece, weighing almost 9,000 kilograms (10 tonne). It was brought from Belgaum, Karnataka to Mumbai after a 600 kilometer long journey by road and was thrown open for public viewing earlier this year. The bus could house a transitory audience, which drops in and comes out as BEST passengers used to.
An exhibition space on the upper and lower deck of the bus hosts noteworthy creators from the fields of art, architecture, photography and film like Delhi-based filmmaker Amar Kanwar, photographer Dayanita Singh, artist Gurdeep Singh, graphic novelist Arijit Sen and the Bangalore art duo, Pors & Rao.
This fascinating Flying Bus sculpture by Sudarshan Shetty, which cost an estimated $250,000, can be counted among India's most prominent public art projects. An unconventional notion of ‘art-within-art’ stands for his keenness to draw the people to artistic world. His purpose seems to have been served as a steady stream of visitors often checks into the public gallery.
The project in a way, redefines the myriad possibilities for public art domain. He has been quoted as saying: “Public art is a very difficult space because it’s going to remain there forever presumably. But I believe that all objects are bound to change in their meaning over time so this allows for that continuous change.” According to the senior artist, instead of curating shows, he just selects practitioners to showcase their work.
I like your blog posts. Really informative and enriching. There are no sites, blogs in India similar to what you have. There are only magazines, gallery websites for art buyers, artists. But your blog is pure information and very useful. Thanks for being there. Please do continue on it. All the Best!
ReplyDeletePraveen Nair