Fine Arts In India

Are The Fine Arts Edging Towards An End In India?
 
                         
                        In the wake of commercialization, fine arts is being edged out by professional courses .Increasing number of people have begun abandoning their passions for the arts in order to pursue careers in professional fields. Despite having over 190 institutions across India which caters to the fine arts (which includes not just painting and sculpture but also performing arts like drama, music and dance), the future M.F.Hussains and Ravi Shankars are now found inside operation theaters or at construction sites or spending sleepless nights in front of a computer screen, frittering away their God-given talents.
           
                  Today the average fee for professional course like medicine or engineering comes up to 4.5 lakhs approximately, whereas the fees demanded by a specialized course in fine arts may begin at Rs.50,000 per annum. For an individual aspiring for a career in the field of fine arts, the issue of income may prove problematic because mere talent, perseverance and dedication is no longer sufficient to ascertain a comfortable lifestyle. Factors like luck, contacts and the right break at the right time plays an important role when it comes to securing a steady future as an artiste. In the present times, where an IT professional is given a firm assurance of an income higher than that of an arts-related person, demand for these jobs are reducing considerably.
         
                Even parents discourage their children from considering the possibility of a career in the fine arts field inspite of having pushed them into taking up painting, music or dance as a co-curricular activity throughout their school life. The fear of being cast as a social stigma attributes for this indifference. Noone is ready to attempt anything that will jeopardize the society’s opinion about them.

                      Unlike those residing abroad who thrive on creativity, here in India, right from he beginning, we are taught how to memorize not how to create. Only a very minimal number of schools have included any of the traditional arts under its normal curriculum. But what about all those students who graduate from the numerous colleges that specialize in fine arts? What has happened to those who aspire to be artists, sculptors, dancers, musicians and craftsmen? They evolve into graphic designers, photographers, animators, choreographers and sound engineers. Technology is the key word here. Traditional arts are being side-lined by its modern technology-driven forms. The emergence of reality singing and dance shows provide an opportunity for amateur singers or dancers to jump right into stardom, skipping the various levels of training in between that most of the veterans in the field have undergone.
         
                    Reforms must be taken for the rejuvenation of fine arts as a traditional if not a professional art form. However the positive side of relegating fine arts to sidelines is that in today’s age where everyone is thriving towards a technologically-rich tomorrow, the contributions by the fine arts to make the world more techno-savvy or futuristic is considerably meager. It can still be adopted as a soul soother amidst the dreary routine of the working class today. Hopefully in future, there will emerge a job which is related to fine arts that will arouse as much or even more demand as that of an IT-based job today.

                                                                                                   
                                                                                 
•          How is This for Inspiration?

The world’s most expensive painting sold to date, Jackson Pollock’s “No. 5 1948” was claimed to have fetched about $150 million (Rs. 5,600,000,000 approx.)

Brancusi's "Bird in Space",the world’s most expensive sculpture was sold for an amount of $27.45 million (Rs. 978,000,000 approx.), plus buyer's premium.

Kathak performing artist-teacher-choreographer Anjani Ambegaokar.was the first Indian dancer to be honored with the National Heritage Fellowship by the National Endowment for the Arts in Washington D.C.,which is the the nation’s highest honor in the folk and traditional arts, which includes a one-time award of $20,000 (Rs.800,000).

•          Courses catering to Fine Arts

Dance and Music

BA & MA Dance
BFA & MFA Dance
Course in Khatak & Bharathnatyam
BA & MA Music
BA Tabla & Sitar

Painting and Sculpting

BFA & MFA Painting
MFA Painting
BA & BFA Sculptor
Diploma in Sculptor