8 APRIL 2022 /
FLOATING CLASS – INNOVATIVE CONCEPT IN PUBLIC ART AND MURAL PAINTINGS /
An innovative teaching practice initiated by the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) Professor Suresh K. Nair for the BFA students of Mural Arts at the Holy Ganges, Varanasi introduced history, legacy and lives of the people to the new generation students of the oldest University.
The Floating Class – the innovative concept – taking the students of Visual Arts along the Holy Ganges in a boat, visiting the Mural Paintings Museums, the precincts and walls of innumerable temples of this oldest city along the Ganges inspire the inner light, enlightenment and vision in the minds of young generation.
“But as soon as the journey on the boat started, our souls were filled with bliss. The sun rising slowly gave us a feeling of liberation and detachment from the worldly pleasures. The running yet calm waters felt like art which is endless and knows no boundaries. I felt so tiny in the vast water body and the timeless ghats of Banaras. It felt like a visual talk between my inner self and the majestic nature. As they say art washes away the dust from everyday life, this experience made me feel afresh and I was spontaneously carried away by an urge to paint more and more,” Arunima Mondal, BFA(Mural) student shared her picturesque experience.
“I take them to the Public Spaces… from the traditional class rooms sharing every aspects of the legacy and visual imagery of Kashi,” says the renowned artist and Professor, Department of Visual Arts, BHU.
“I studied in Visva Bharati University, I was inspired by the Great poet and Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore. He insisted that education should be imparted in natural surroundings. We should take our students to Nature to get a better understanding of the Universe.
There are four fundamental principles in Tagore’s educational philosophy; naturalism, humanism, internationalism and idealism. Shantiniketan and Visva Bharathi are based on these very principles,” Suresh K. Nair shared the rich ideals of the great Poet, Rabindranath Tagore.
Earlier in 2019, Suresh K. Nair and his students of BHU had undertaken the greatest Community Art Project on the walls of the Government Vocational Higher Secondary School, Cherpulassery, Kerala and recreated the history and message of Peace through mural paintings.
The Project – Mural City done with the students of BHU in Varanasi to clean it up and beautify after installing Mural Paintings on the walls of Varanasi has been appreciated by many and it was the first of its kind in the country.
“It was really a unique experience of displaying art in a public space and making it accessible to the people. In today’s consumerist era, people want everything according to their convenience. In such a situation, the Public Art Project is proving to be a new good medium,” says Rajat Kumar Pandey, M.F.A. Final Year student of BHU.
“During my bachelor’s program I worked with him in all Mural and Public Art Projects across the country; experienced freedom and rich traditions through Art,” says Nikhil Das who is currently doing Master of Fine Arts from Kala bhavan, Shantiniketan.
Suresh K. Nair has attended 182 Schools, Colleges, Universities and other Organizations for making innovative art workshops, camps and exhibitions in India and abroad. He has curated 2019-20 Students’ Biennale Kochi-Muziris representing the States of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa.
The Artist has done Public Art Projects in Nepal, Bangladesh and Portugal . He received Fulbright Fellowship to do a Project at Temple University, Philadelphia, USA in the year 2007.
Now Suresh K. Nair receives invitations across the world to share his innovative students participation initiatives to build a clean city and focuses people and environment harmoniously by his enlightened vision through ‘new three dimensional canvas and mural paintings’.
