Vinita DasGupta We have delineated a series of interesting Essays that brood on different issues concerning sculpture
and public art. Sculpture could also be included under the broad category of public art for it awaits
and elicits a reaction from its spectators it interacts with. In this regard, we have examined sculptural
installations by G.R Iranna whose work represent the condition of humans in this industrialised/
military complex. His seminal sculptural figures ‘represent’ the ‘ideal’ by carving out a realistic
portrayal of the colonisation of the mind of masses at large by a higher authority or an institution. They
are bewildered, anxious, curious and more so vulnerable and submissive to any sort of ideological
reinstatement. The realm of sculpture is staggering as Banamili Sharma, an artist and sculptor from
one of the most conflicted and neglected areas of this nation, Manipur shares with us his life and work .
Anil Kumar explains the difference between public art and art in public and sketches a very
comprehensible and holistic picture of public art’s transitory nature due to its transformation into
a mere spectacle. The reason he puts forth is the museum culture (product of the colonial rule) that
is stagnant and ‘white cube spaces’ only available for the cultured and the elitist. Hence the public
is deprived of art and the visual culture in the country seems to be redundant. To make art more
accessible to the common man artists devise performative acts based around their installations thereby
making it a ‘spectacle’ which emerges from lack of information or knowledge.
Dhanya R reports about an interesting incident that took place in Bengaluru that will mirror the
negligence on the part of government to instil qualitative works of art in public and the nexus between
the government and organisations.