People go ‘Wow’ over Caricature, Nimmi Cartoons and Art by Awardee John Chandran
People go ‘Wow’ over Caricature, Nimmi Cartoons and Art by Award Winner John Chandran, displayed at a Exhibition to Mark ‘World Art Day’ at Ideal Ice Cream Parlour, Near Hampankatta Junction, Market Road-Mangaluru.
“Art is the most genuine expression of the human soul, shaped in images words, sounds and movements enduring reflections that describe us the story of humanity. World Art Day will permit to all the artists and art lovers of the world, to feel the power and the preciousness of art simultaneously and let all of us breathe its importance for all nations of the World.”-IAA World President Rosa Maria Burillo Velasco.
Mangaluru: Sunday, 15 April is celebrated as “World Art Day”, an international celebration of the fine arts which was declared by the International Association of Art (IAA) in order to promote awareness of creative activity worldwide. A proposal was put forward at the 17th General Assembly of the International Association of Art in Guadalajara to declare April 15 as World Art Day, with the first celebration held in 2012. The date was decided in honor of the birthday of Leonardo da Vinci. Da Vinci was chosen as a symbol world peace, freedom of expression, tolerance, brotherhood and multiculturalism as well as art’s importance to other fields.
The first World Art Day on April 15, 2012, was supported by all IAA national committees and 150 artists, including those of France, Sweden, Slovakia, South Africa, Cyprus and Venezuela, but the intention of the event is universal. Since then, The World Art Day has been celebrated every year, and locally here too it was celebrated with enthusiasm- and one such art exhibition of Caricature and Nimmi Cartoons by Award Winning Artist John Chandran was displayed at Ideal Ice Cream Parlour, near Hampankatta Junction, Market Road-Mangaluru on Sunday, 15-which will be displayed until the parlour closes.
John Chandran, an Art Teacher At St Aloysius High School-Mangaluru- and Winner Of District level Best Teacher Award, and Nation Builder Award by Rotary Club-Mangaluru, is a versatile artist, and His repertoire of talent is varied. Though equally gifted as an Artist, Illustrator and Graphic Designer, it is for his Cartoons and Caricatures that John is best known. As a cartoonist, he is especially adept at drawing silent cartoons. His works have appeared in numerous newspapers and magazines and he has been selected thrice for the famous Hindustan Times Delhi cartoon exhibition. A high point in his life was when a leading newspaper chose to display his works alongside those of masters like R.K. Laxman and Ajit Ninan.
His work has adorned the pages of Kannada daily Udayavani, Janavahini, Sudha, Taranga, Tushara, E-Desha, Mangala, various web portals, DSERT Text Book, Orthodontics Text Book, Konkani Text Book etc. Born into a humble Mangalorean family on 24th October 1973, John Chandran became an artist by sheer grit and arduous effort. Graduating in Arts, John went on to acquire his DMC, AM degree from Mahalasa School of Art and Hampi University which qualified him to be an Art Master and since 1994, he has been employed as an Art Teacher at the century-old St. Aloysius High School, Mangaluru.
John Chandran’s Exhibitions/Credits so far include : 1996: “Anaka”, a solo exhibition of cartoons at Prasad Art Gallery; 1997: Hindustan Times Cartoon Exhibition, Delhi; 1998 : 7th National Cartoon Exhibition, Bangalore; 2000: Karavali Utsav Cartoon Exhibition; 2001: Kala Sangam State Art Festival 2007: State Cartoon Exhibition at CBOO Hall, Mangalore; 2008: Kudla Kalavali Painting Exhibition; 2009: “E Bhoomi Nammadu” Cartoon Exhibition on Global Warming; 2010: N20-Laughing Bomb! solo exhibition of cartoons at Prasad Art Gallery & St Aloysius High School, Mangalore; 2011: “Nimmi and Friends” Cartoon exhibition at Indian Institute of Cartoon, Bangalore Books Published “Anaka” : Collection of Cartoons Nimmi : Collection of Cartoons & Caricatures Awards 1996: JCI Outstanding Young Person Award 2001: Kala Utsava Award 2011: Noopura Kasturi Award.
Ideal Ice Cream Managing Director -Mukund Kamath
Proprietor of www.mangalorean.com (Mangalore Media Company)- Violet Pereira
At the inaugural ceremony of the Caricature and Nimmi Cartoons exhibition this morning, Retired Senior Art Teacher B Janardhan Achar speaking on the occasion said, “John Chandran is a man of artistic talents, where his caricatures, Nimmi cartoons and paintings have been published in various periodicals, newspapers and displayed at various exhibitions. He is a role model for youngsters to take up art. These days we see youth spending their precious time loitering in the shopping malls, or busy browsing through the Internet on their mobiles or other electronic gadgets. The display of few of his artistic creations is the proof as to how talented he is in this field. It’s time that the present generation follow in his footsteps and start the hobby of art and painting”.
During the occasion John Chandran handed over Caricatures, done on each of the recipients namely Mukund Kamath- Managing Director, Ideal Ice Cream; and Violet Pereira- Proprietor Mangalorean.com and on receiving the framed caricature {with the theme of ‘Pied Piper’} Mukund Kamath said, “In the 43 years of Ideal Ice Cream business, this is the First time that we are having an Art exhibition at our facility, and we are really overwhelmed to be part of it. My sincere thanks to John Chandran for creating a Caricature on myself, which is funny and in the same way very thoughtful- and this framed caricature will find a suitable place on the wall in my office, as a memory keepsake. I am not an artist but a singer, while my wife is an artist, and also a good cook. Hope someday my wife and John Chandran could plan a joint venture in having an art exhibition by a duo”.
Accepting the framed caricature on her, Violet Pereira said, “Once upon a time I too was a budding artist, where once I tried painting an image of Jesus Christ-but due to a slight error I noticed red color in the eyes of Jesus. I quit working further on that art, but I still do have that incomplete artwork with me. I am really thankful to John Chandran for thinking of me for his caricature creation, and also for making Mangalorean.com as part of his venture. In future too, we would like to associate with John in his projects, thereby give wide publicity to his artistic talents”.
With appreciation and thoughtfulness, John Chandran said, “I find great satisfaction in the artistic endeavour. Right from childhood, I had an inclination for art and I wisely used every opportunity that came my way. Today I try to encourage my students by creating the same type of opportunities. In order to promote awareness of creative activity worldwide, an international celebration of the fine arts is globally held on this day, and we artists take an active interest in celebrating World Art Day. The purpose of this “Day” is to unite all sections of visual artists and to create awareness among the masses about their roles and the importance of visual arts in our society.”
Cricketer K L Rahul
Former US President Barack Obama
Bollywood Actor Hrithik Roshan
Apple Founder Late Steve Jobbs
Tulu Actor Naveen D Padil
Yoga Guru Delampady
Sandalwood Actor Puneeth Raj
“We also want to raise our voice to include fine arts in the school syllabus. This will help the young generation know about our history of visual arts. We artists hardly get much of an opportunity to come together and discuss issues involving our fraternity. This occasion has given me a platform to do so, for which I am very grateful to Mukund Kamath for sponsoring the venue, and Mangalorean.com for giving wide publicity for this event. Thanks a million-looking forward for similar kind of help in my future endeavours” added John Chandran.
John’s mother Ms Jaya Chandran, Wife Sushma, Sister-Geetha and Son-Sarwin also graced the occasion. One of John Chandran’s paintings was also displayed at the Art Exhibition organized by Karavali Chitrakala Chavadi- Mangaluru at Ramakrishna Mission, Nandigudda, Mangaluru.
