<p>Beauty. Utility. Disparate worlds indeed. But, while the accent is on utility today, art and beauty haven’t been consigned to the trash-bin. Not yet. So, in spite of our modern monsters of steel, glass and concrete, we attempt spicing it up through a sprinkling of aesthetics – landscaping, decorative architectural devices and yes – murals. The trend is to commission artistes to create murals on buildings’ walls, often with a theme reflecting the major activity/motto of the institutions housed therein. <br /><br />Of course, the magnitude of the cost, size and effort involved makes magnificent murals affordable by only the government/corporate-houses. <br /><br />What constitutes a mural?<br /><br />But, what actually constitutes a mural? Any piece of artwork painted directly on a wall/ceiling/other large, permanent surface. <br /><br />Doesn’t mural-like artwork, then, date back to paintings in pre-historic caves, temple-walls (ex. Kerala mural paintings) and frescoes depicting mythology/legends? Murals today enliven walls of corporate houses, apartments and even smaller, residential buildings. Materials as diverse as terracotta, granite, ceramic, mosaic-tiles, wood, fibreglass, enamel, metals can be used to make murals. The style? Abstract. Sometimes ethnic. <br /><br />How about tile murals? Artistically-arranged decorative tiles (ceramic/tumbled-marble/porcelain/glass/travertine) imitate famous, classical art-pieces or have contemporary themes (sports, holidaying, marine life, mermaids and ecclesiastical). <br /><br />Though tile murals have recently found favour with interior decorators the world over, it’s Portugal that has wholeheartedly embraced these. While the kitchen, bath-enclosure and such other spaces are commonly-preferred sites, Portugal generously splashes these tile murals just about everywhere – palaces, churches, shopping-centres, the Tube.<br /><br />While tile mosaic scores highest on the durability aspect, painted outdoor-wall murals demand careful maintenance effort. Dust-raising vehicular traffic, soot-spewing industries, moisture, sun-exposure and graffiti-engraving public are the major culprits undermining murals’ longevity. <br /><br />Usually, murals painted with house-paint begin to fade away after a few years. Good acrylic paint could last some decades. <br /><br />In fact, commercial establishments’ ads flaunt murals adorning their walls as their USP. The online-ad of Olde Bangalore Club on Utopia mentions with pride the ceramic mural behind the reception, depicting Bangalore’s history from Kempe Gowda’s times through Tipu Sultan’s anti-British years down to today’s flyovers! <br /><br />Mixed media <br /><br />Mixed media currently dominates our mural art scene. Yusuf Arakkal (primarily an excellent painter), Gurudas Shenoy and S G Vasudev are names that first come to mind. Yusuf Arakkal created India’s first contemporary granite mural for Brooke Bond’s Bangalore Corporate complex. <br /><br />A metal mural at Hindustan Aeronautics’ headquarters, the Central Silk Board Complex’s terracotta mural, stainless steel and Copper Base Wall mural at Syngene International, Biocon Park are some of his breathtaking mural artworks. Along with his ‘Genomic inspiration’ sculpture at Biocon India, Hebbagodi, the coloured mural there is an aesthetic portrayal of biotechnology’s importance in present-day life. <br /><br />Gurudas Shenoy’s mixed-media murals at ISRO Telemetry Tracking and Command Network, Intel (Marathhalli), BEL Corporate House and Ramaiah Medical Hospital are among his best-known ones. His 2002 mural at the Intel Office entrance foyer (Airport Road) re-created the landscape of the Western Ghats. <br /><br />Employing merely brushed stainless steel and copper, compressed etched glass, fibreglass and granite, he simulated a waterfall and birds in the sky with Ganesha’s face looming large amidst them. <br /><br />His giant terracotta and fibreglass ‘Surya’ on Tata Telecom Building’s (Hosur Road) outer wall is another mixed-media wonder. <br /><br /> S G Vasudev’s copper marvel at H M Geneva House (Cunningham Road) is another sterling example of Bangalore’s mural art. All these appear alien? Then perhaps, Pushpa Dravid’s Chinnaswamy Stadium mural of eighteen famous Karnataka cricketers is familiar? <br /><br />Murals at residences too<br /><br />Residential buildings are also eagerly embellishing walls with murals. <br /><br />Gurudas Shenoy’s ‘Tree of Life’ mural at a house in Vijayanagar is a beautiful illustration of mural artwork for residences. <br /><br />Today, more and more people are commissioning artistes to create murals for their houses’ outer-walls/dining-rooms/bathrooms/living-rooms. <br /><br />Often, there’s an outburst of creativity in children’s rooms, with murals re-creating forests/racing-tracks/cartoon-characters/fairy-tales. <br /><br />Bhuj artists who migrated to the city after the 2001 earthquake modelled exquisite, ethnic murals for houses, incorporating aabla work. <br /><br />Coiled clay on white background with glittering mirrors embedded in the motifs lent a bewitching touch to the walls. Flora and fauna and Ganesha are recurrent themes. They’ve also experimented with Maharashtra’s warli motifs.</p>
<p>Beauty. Utility. Disparate worlds indeed. But, while the accent is on utility today, art and beauty haven’t been consigned to the trash-bin. Not yet. So, in spite of our modern monsters of steel, glass and concrete, we attempt spicing it up through a sprinkling of aesthetics – landscaping, decorative architectural devices and yes – murals. The trend is to commission artistes to create murals on buildings’ walls, often with a theme reflecting the major activity/motto of the institutions housed therein. <br /><br />Of course, the magnitude of the cost, size and effort involved makes magnificent murals affordable by only the government/corporate-houses. <br /><br />What constitutes a mural?<br /><br />But, what actually constitutes a mural? Any piece of artwork painted directly on a wall/ceiling/other large, permanent surface. <br /><br />Doesn’t mural-like artwork, then, date back to paintings in pre-historic caves, temple-walls (ex. Kerala mural paintings) and frescoes depicting mythology/legends? Murals today enliven walls of corporate houses, apartments and even smaller, residential buildings. Materials as diverse as terracotta, granite, ceramic, mosaic-tiles, wood, fibreglass, enamel, metals can be used to make murals. The style? Abstract. Sometimes ethnic. <br /><br />How about tile murals? Artistically-arranged decorative tiles (ceramic/tumbled-marble/porcelain/glass/travertine) imitate famous, classical art-pieces or have contemporary themes (sports, holidaying, marine life, mermaids and ecclesiastical). <br /><br />Though tile murals have recently found favour with interior decorators the world over, it’s Portugal that has wholeheartedly embraced these. While the kitchen, bath-enclosure and such other spaces are commonly-preferred sites, Portugal generously splashes these tile murals just about everywhere – palaces, churches, shopping-centres, the Tube.<br /><br />While tile mosaic scores highest on the durability aspect, painted outdoor-wall murals demand careful maintenance effort. Dust-raising vehicular traffic, soot-spewing industries, moisture, sun-exposure and graffiti-engraving public are the major culprits undermining murals’ longevity. <br /><br />Usually, murals painted with house-paint begin to fade away after a few years. Good acrylic paint could last some decades. <br /><br />In fact, commercial establishments’ ads flaunt murals adorning their walls as their USP. The online-ad of Olde Bangalore Club on Utopia mentions with pride the ceramic mural behind the reception, depicting Bangalore’s history from Kempe Gowda’s times through Tipu Sultan’s anti-British years down to today’s flyovers! <br /><br />Mixed media <br /><br />Mixed media currently dominates our mural art scene. Yusuf Arakkal (primarily an excellent painter), Gurudas Shenoy and S G Vasudev are names that first come to mind. Yusuf Arakkal created India’s first contemporary granite mural for Brooke Bond’s Bangalore Corporate complex. <br /><br />A metal mural at Hindustan Aeronautics’ headquarters, the Central Silk Board Complex’s terracotta mural, stainless steel and Copper Base Wall mural at Syngene International, Biocon Park are some of his breathtaking mural artworks. Along with his ‘Genomic inspiration’ sculpture at Biocon India, Hebbagodi, the coloured mural there is an aesthetic portrayal of biotechnology’s importance in present-day life. <br /><br />Gurudas Shenoy’s mixed-media murals at ISRO Telemetry Tracking and Command Network, Intel (Marathhalli), BEL Corporate House and Ramaiah Medical Hospital are among his best-known ones. His 2002 mural at the Intel Office entrance foyer (Airport Road) re-created the landscape of the Western Ghats. <br /><br />Employing merely brushed stainless steel and copper, compressed etched glass, fibreglass and granite, he simulated a waterfall and birds in the sky with Ganesha’s face looming large amidst them. <br /><br />His giant terracotta and fibreglass ‘Surya’ on Tata Telecom Building’s (Hosur Road) outer wall is another mixed-media wonder. <br /><br /> S G Vasudev’s copper marvel at H M Geneva House (Cunningham Road) is another sterling example of Bangalore’s mural art. All these appear alien? Then perhaps, Pushpa Dravid’s Chinnaswamy Stadium mural of eighteen famous Karnataka cricketers is familiar? <br /><br />Murals at residences too<br /><br />Residential buildings are also eagerly embellishing walls with murals. <br /><br />Gurudas Shenoy’s ‘Tree of Life’ mural at a house in Vijayanagar is a beautiful illustration of mural artwork for residences. <br /><br />Today, more and more people are commissioning artistes to create murals for their houses’ outer-walls/dining-rooms/bathrooms/living-rooms. <br /><br />Often, there’s an outburst of creativity in children’s rooms, with murals re-creating forests/racing-tracks/cartoon-characters/fairy-tales. <br /><br />Bhuj artists who migrated to the city after the 2001 earthquake modelled exquisite, ethnic murals for houses, incorporating aabla work. <br /><br />Coiled clay on white background with glittering mirrors embedded in the motifs lent a bewitching touch to the walls. Flora and fauna and Ganesha are recurrent themes. They’ve also experimented with Maharashtra’s warli motifs.</p>
