Defining good and bad art
By D.S. Gupt

CHANDIGARH, May 25 — “I want to create consciousness among the people of the City Beautifful to appreciate the work of art which should be good and not the bad one.” Elaborating his point of view, he explained that the barbed wire fencing in the Ieisure Valley by the Administration to spoil the beauty is a typical example of creation of bad art. “It creates misunderstanding among the people about the concept of good art,” observed Mr Shiv Singh, who has been appointed as Chairman of the Chandigarh Lalit Kala Akademy. Though Mr Singh has not yet taken over as the Chairman of the Akademy, he feels that much remains to be achieved because good textbooks are not available for the budding and young artists in the city.

Mr Singh, who has been elected as a member of the Central Lalit Kala Akademy, popularly known as the National Akademy of Arts, from among the members of north zone of the country was contacted in his studio where he was at work in Industrial Area Phase II. Mr Singh believes in creativity in its original form. It should be a work of art at a higher pedestal and not a imitative work, he explained.

Mr Singh said visual art is the most difficult one. It leaves a lot on the mind of the spectator. Coaching academies without trained teachers spoil the atmosphere, where young minds unlearn more. No one has tried to pass on the message to the public that art shops should be shunned, Mr Singh promised to take up the issue with the Chandigarh Administration for the creation of posts in schools & colleges in the teaching of arts.

Hailing from Hoshiarpur (Punjab), Mr Singh had his education at the Punjab College of Arts at Shimla and later on in Chandigarh.

He entered the profession in 1963 at Sainik School, Kapurthala, but later on he worked as a lecturer at the local Government Home Science College. Havving participated in the second national sculptor’s camp at Delhi, he went abroad for advanced studies and research in arts when he was offered a scholarship by the German Government. He organised 55 solo exhibitions of his works in India and abroad.

He got national award in 1979 and was bestowed with the President of India’s Silver Plaque for the best exhibit of the year 1982 at the All-India Art Exhibition in New Delhi, besides having been honoured by the Governor of Haryana and the Punjab government.

He said a budget of Rs 1 lakh was not enough to carry out the programme of higher standard. The Administration also passes it own programmes to be carried over. For visual art, money should be enough the matter for which he would take up with the appropriate authority. He plans to draw up a calendar to hold exhibitions, artists workshops, discussions with the artists and above all publications of good books as a study material.