National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi, (NGMA) in collaboration with Indira Gandhi National Centre of the Arts has organized seven days Workshop entitled ARAYASH: Great Tradition of Jaipur Fresco Painting at NGMA. This workshop is conducted by by Dr. Bhawani Shankar Sharma, Former Dean Faculty of Fine Arts & Prof. & Head, Department of Visual Art, Banasthali University, Rajasthan and Smt. Sashi Sharma, well know Arayash artist from Rajasthan. Dr. Bhawani Shanker Sharma has been instrumental in the revival and revitalization of Arayash Technique and has extensively organized workshops to popularize this art at various places including Delhi, Agra, Chandigarh, Chennai, Jaipur, Baroda and Canada. Workshop is going on up to June,16
This workshop was inaugurated on in the gracious presence of Smt. Jaya Jaitly, activist, author and Indian handicrafts curator and Art HistorianSmt. Alka Pande. It was also attended by the officials of IGNCA among other dignitaries and Participants. While speaking to participants and audience on this occasion Smt Jaya Jaitly and Alka Pande also expressed their views and both were of opinion that more youngsters should learn this art for preservation and continuity. Prof. (Dr.)Bhawani Shankar ji gave an overview of the techniques and presented a slide show related to his work and contribution of his family towards this art form.
Speaking at the event Shri AdwaitaGadanayak, Director General, NGMA Delhi, said that the workshop is the first step in collaboration with IGNCA and many more programs are in pipe line.
Fresco and other wall painting techniques have been a great means in our country for training the Indian mind appreciating art, acquisition of knowledge and inculcations of religious feeling. The wall painting of Ajanta, Bagh and Cochin are glaring examples of the same. Rajasthan proudly claim to have preserved and spread this antique art in a live form.This technique was most prevalent in Amer, Jaipur, Shekhawat, Alwar, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Nagaur, Kota, Bundi, Uniara and other places. It has been used extensively for drawing, decorating and simple plastering in ancient houses, temples, forts, palaces etc. But its usage has decreased drastically since past many years due to the increasing popularity of cement, synthetic colours and lack of skilled craftsman of fresco techniques.
The work of Arayash was a cheaper supplement of marble. Walls made up of Arayash are plane like marble and glossy like mirror. Arayash’s importance other than its permanency is that the floor and walls made of it remains cool in summer and warm in winter. Huge water tanks were prepared using these techniques to keep water clean and cool. This Lecture cum Demonstration is aimed to proffer capacity building on this technique for taking on the projects of conservation of wall paintings and revive this art form. The workshop is organized for young conservators and students of related academic discipline to make them understand the technique and material of wall paintings and create independence of individual in this technique so that they may find expression for their individual visions and realize their talents. In this practicum participants are encouraged to follow their own imaginative journey to explore and nurture ideas to experiment with the medium freely. This program consists of lectures and practical demonstration based on material and technique of wall paintings. The techniques covered during the workshops are Jaipur Wet Process, Italian Wet Process and Tempera process.
