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| Sunday, 25 January 2004 |
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Features |  |
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Kala Pola: Where aspiring artists show their colours by Farah Macan Markar
Sri Lanka's Open Air Art Market, Kala Pola completed its twelfth year on the Road, last Sunday, January 18, along the pavements of Ananda Coomaraswamy Mawatha, Colombo 7. It provided a platform for the meeting of minds and art forms, and opportunity for artists and the art loving public to view, appreciate, discuss and purchase the latest developments in contemporary and traditional art. Being open from 9.30 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. (though some say that some stalls were open till 9.00 p.m.), it was ceremonially opened by Minister of Economic Reforms, Science and Technology, Milinda Moragoda and Chairman of the John Keells Group Vivendra Lintotawela. Jointly organized by the George Keyt Foundation and John Keells Holding, who have financially supported the fair for 11 consecutive years, the first Kala Pola was held in 1993 by the George Keyt Foundation with the intent of providing an "Opportunity for Art and Artists". In 1994 the John Keells Holdings Group stepped in to finance the show.
The Kala Pola has since become the breeding ground for aspiring artists, as evidenced by its growing number of participants. From just 138 artists in 2000, the number of participants more than doubled to 328 in 2003, and rose to nearly 400 in 2004. This year for the first time, 19 artists travelled all the way from Jaffna to participate in the fair. Ananda Coomaraswamy Mawatha was a jumble of canvases, artifacts, tents, people and cars. With both sides of the pavement as well as the centre platform of the road being filled with paintings and other artwork, together with the odd food and ice-cream van or two, music blaring away, it was a day out for the people of Colombo. A male acquaintance of mine remarked not only was the artwork good, but "You should have seen the fashions as well. Those Colombo 7 girls." From water colours and oils, to sketches and line drawings, modern art, traditional art, scenery, figure drawings and abstract, the Open Air Art Market had it all. There were also sculptures, a children's art stall, and even artists drawing portraits of people on the spot and selling them. Tourists and resident foreigners too came for the event, as well as the Sun. According to most of the people I spoke to who had taken to the streets of Coomaraswamy Mawatha that day, it was "very hot", "stifling" and "boiling". So what do the artists themselves have to say about the Kala Pola? Palitha Gunasinghe is the first to speak. "The Kala Pola is good for low income artists because everything is free. They don't have to bear the cost of the hall or arrangements. It is also an opportunity for amateur artists to make a name for themselves; display their talents and get recognized. Speaking for myself I focused more on seeing how people reacted to my paintings than selling them. It is interesting seeing how different people react to just one art work. I like bringing out the beauty of what I draw, specially in context of dying cultures and traditions such as the bullock cart on the road, buffalo in the paddy field etc".
Says K. K. Rajitha Kamalnath, a water colour artist of landscapes and scenery "There were a lot of people. I sold about 15 paintings. The only problem in the Kala Pola is that people expect you to sell at really low prices, which is not fair to the artist. The artist should be able to sell his products at a reasonable price". Another traditional water colour artist on ancient monuments of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa, Prasana Goonatilake says, "In the Kala Pola artists get to sell their paintings at a low price which is good for the buyer. However some artists since they sell the paintings at low prices use cheap paints to cut their cost and also do not put in the effort a higher priced painting might have. Thus the quality of the picture might not be upto standard". Artist Ruwan Perera speaks of a different aspect of the Open Air Art Market, its social gathering and what he calls Arthood. "The Kala Pola is not only about buying and selling pictures. It is a get together and fellowship of all artists. A chance to mix and mingle, have discussions and exchange ideas". |
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