Calling sculptor Kanaka Murthy committed and dedicated is an understatement. It really is. The septugenarian artist has injured herself during a fall but her pain is not because of the wound, but due to her inability to create works. “Vadiraj (her guru Devalakunda Vadiraj) told me to never waste time. If he was not doing any work, he was drawing," remembers the sculptor, adding how she cried for 10 days post her injury. “I need to have a firm grip on the sculpture which I can't because of the pain. It will take me another six months to recover. Age is catching up and it feels so bad to loose time like this. I love stone but I think my career in stone is over."
As Kanaka says this, Narayana Murthy, her husband and one of the biggest pillars of strength sitting opposite, lets out a heavy sigh.
One of the few women sculptors in the country working with stone, Kanaka’s name has become synonymous with it. And though she works on the popular subject of Indian mythology, her pieces are imbued with a unique visual vocabulary. Her female sculptures are robust with bold expressions and her Ganesha figurines are child-like. The celebrated, but modest sculptor gave us a glimpse into her artistic life at her home in Kamanahalli. Filled with sculptures of different shapes and sizes, they are her best friends, besides her husband Narayan Murthy and musician daughter N. Sumathi.
Now that this unfortunate fall isn’t letting you to sculpt, what are you occupied with? Knowing you, there must be something going on in your mind.
Yes, it is very difficult for me to sit quietly but it hurts so I am taking it easy. But I feel restless. I have something in mind which is Kalidasa’s Saraswati from Chandela Period. I want to do just the facial expressions of Saraswati. Apart from that I am sketching, clay modelling. As I am unable to work with stone, I am experimenting with other material like fibre glass and clay. I am used to working with different kinds of stone like red sandstone, white sandstone, soapstone which was popular during the Hoysala era. I released a book of my line drawings “Shilpa Rekhe”. I realise that I have so many of my Guru’s drawings – I must be able to bring out that book as well.
Besides craftsmanship, what else did you learn from Vadiraj?
I learnt the virtues of dedication and honesty from him. He would constantly be doing line drawings. He told me half your work is done if your drawing is right. I have got many awards, because of which I am entitled to a few sites and honorarium but I haven’t taken them. I have seen my guru and my husband lead lives of propriety, never carried away by temptations. My guru didn't have money, we faced lot of problems too, but never did I feel that I must make money.
It is not easy being an artist in this country. Being a woman, your woes must have increased manifold.
Yes, it is not easy. They doubt your capabilities as an artist. I remember I wanted a model for work and nobody was ready. Stone is a tough material which lot of men think a woman sculptor won’t be able to handle. In camps, I remember being given the largest piece of stone deliberately. But tell me if a woman can carry a baby of six to seven kilos, can’t she lift a heavy stone sculpture?
And you love stone.
Yes, I love it. My daughter says that I love stone sculptures more than her. I love the roughness and the expressions it allows. A flat smooth surface doesn't offer anything. I observe everything about a face, the eyebrows when it raises, the side smile, the marks, the lines, all this makes it interesting.
Sculptures of deities, characters from our epics and scriptures are all over temples and palaces for anyone to see. What more possibilities are left for an artist to explore in a subject like this then?
I compare it with literature. Every writer has his own way of writing. It is all about expression. Expression is the language of a sculpture. Everybody sings the same raga, but differently. If you see Chalukyan sculptures, they have bold features, works from the Hoysala period are soft, they are like a sweet poem. And I have taken these different elements from various periods and woven them together to present a new expression.
Famous archaeologist S.R. Rao asked me to do samudra manthan in Chalukya style. I referred to Mysore miniature of samudra manthan . The sculpture is six feet high. Rao was so pleased to see the work.
Now, I hadn't read Dwasuparna from "Mundaka Upanishad". Two birds are sitting on the tree. While one is eating the fruits of the tree, the other one is a witnesses. There was no saint in that sequence, but I added one. People say my 'Gaanalole' sculpture of Saraswati is very different. I was inspired by Kuvempu's "Sri Ramayana Darshanam". I have studied a lot of his works. Then one day I went to Doraiswamy Iyengar's house. He was playing veena and was lost in his music. He was enjoying it so much and that he became my inspiration for gaanalole. There is just so much to explore.
What is the status of sculpture?
I have been worried about the future of traditional sculptures. The Academy (Karnataka Shilpakala Academy) needs to conduct camps related to traditional sculptures. Young sculptors need to study them thoroughly.
But what about contemporary sculpture?
Is Purandara Dasa’s devaranama of Krishna playing flute in Vrindavan not contemporary? What is happening is that a lot of people resort to an easy way of expression.
