Graphic art in india and abroad by Kanwal Krishna
Art&Deal reproduces the edited text of a talk given by Kanwal Krishna on November 26, 1959 at the Delhi Silpi Chakra Gallery in which he specifies how travel opened a new perspective for him as he explored the graphic opportunities abroad and expresses a need to open new avenues here in India.

Friends, I really feel very happy to be here this afternoon amidst these beautiful graphics which I believe you all have seen. I am expected to talk about the graphic art in India and abroad. Graphic is such a wide term that it is very difficult to cover the entire of graphics in such a short time. When people just walk on the ground and leave their footprints that is also a type of graphic art. That was the only print men had in the olden days. Later, to satisfy their aesthetic emotion men drew lines in their cave dwellings, over rocks and things like that. Some of these have come down to us through thousands of years and they provide a historical background in the field of graphics. Still later, when human beings had discovered many things, clay was put to use. Rotary seals were made and the potter, by rolling them over, gave certain impressions. This kind of graphic was purely decorative and was used for aesthetic reasons. To satisfy the emotions of human beings, to satisfy and develop their taste – that was the purpose. Then man discovered God and we had religion and we were keen to have the message of religion reach the largest numbers and may be this was the driving force behind the search for paper.