ROLE OF PEDAGOGY IN SHAPING THE MODERNISM OF POST-INDEPENDENCE MADRAS PRESIDENCY AS SEEN FROM THE MADRAS ART SCHOOL

 ROLE OF PEDAGOGY IN SHAPING THE MODERNISM OF POST-INDEPENDENCE MADARAS PRESIDENCY AS SEEN FROM THE MADARAS ART SCHOOL

 

The display characterized the pedagogy of Madras Art School shaping Modernism. It explores the art 1960s to 1990s in Madras and states how the artists were influenced by their teachers and reached to their style and artistic method which contributed to modern art.

 

The dissertation “Role of Pedagogy in Shaping the Modernism of Post-independence Madras Presidency as Seen from the Madras Art School”, is an attempt to identify the changes in the institutional identity of the Madras School of Art and link it with the shifts in its pedagogical developments over the years. Beginning with Alexander Hunter’s vision for the institution as a center for handicrafts using Western teaching methods, to changes in curriculum brought on by K. C. S. Panikar. The institution has transformed from Madras School of Art and Crafts to a prominent Fine Arts School today.

 

The display gives a thorough pedagogical tree of the legacy of the Government College of Fine Arts. Here, we witness a shift of eminent students and faculty that shaped the language of the Madras Art School, D.P. Roy Chaudary as a student of Abanindranath Tagore acted as a catalyst for the whole process. It also draws connections and links between the Madras art movement, the progressive art association, and the establishment of the Cholamandal Artist’s Village with this development.

 

To take the research further, we looked into artists who were contemporary to Panikar, such as S. Dhanapal, their students S.P. Santhanaraj, L. Munuswamy, Alphonso Arul Doss, R.B. Bhaskaran, P.V. Janakiram, C. Dakshinamurthy, and T.R.P. Mookiah. To execute the narration the main sources are books, catalogues, magazines, and student interviews of Gopinath, Nandagopal, Douglas, S.G. Vasudev, Arnavaz and Anila Jacob. Furthermore, we planned to divide these artists into categories based on their style and material. 

 

The display provides an overall glimpse of the dissertation’s idea, through a map of the School’s history. To express our ideas, we started with mind mapping and did multiple of them, which resulted in the main display charts. To extend, we portray the four separate displays, thus it explores the clearer idea of the pedagogical shifts of Madras Art School. Simultaneously, refer to the visuals present in the book besides the seating space, and immersing yourself in the story’s journey.

 

               

                By Harshada MVA II  and Rachna MVA  I