As Dr Bangdel started her presentation, she was quick to give the disclaimer that she “wouldn’t be talking about Nepali art but about artists in India so that I can show how Nepali art is as good as any South Asia’s, if not more interesting.” [break]
She talked about key artists in India like Bhupen Khakar, Manjit Bawa, Nalini Malini, Bharati Kher and Subodh Gupta, giving a sense of Indian art.
As she went through the artists’ works and their representations, she showed how “they did not reject tradition but reframed it to be contemporary”. She ended by claiming that art can be about anything and ultimately “it is about the common man”.
Samina Iqbal, a practicing artist from Pakistan, gave a quick look into the art scene of Pakistan and an idea of the works of art produced by artists from the year 2000 till today. She, however, made an exception of Zahoor-ul Akhlaq (1941-1999), the artist who shaped the art scene of Pakistan as it exists today.
Also speaking on the occasion was Owen Duffy, who specializes in contemporary art, and the talks were followed by a panel discussion moderated by Sujan Chitrakar, a contemporary artist and director of the Kathmandu University Centre of Arts and Design.
Many students attended the program which ended after the floor was opened to questions.
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