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Launched in 2014, PhotoSparks is a weekly feature from YourStory, with photographs that celebrate the spirit of creativity and innovation. In the earlier 600 posts, we featured an art festival, cartoon gallery. world music festival, telecom expo, millets fair, climate change expo, wildlife conference, startup festival, Diwali rangoli, and jazz festival.

Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath is host this weekend to the group exhibition by the Team Yuva Artists Collective 2022. Curated by Somesh Swamy, it features painting and sculptures of 16 artists of Karnataka.

Art and meaning

Art is a diverse range of human activity that involves creative or imaginative talent – it is an expression of technical proficiency,” explains Pratibha Hooli, a graduate of MMK College of Visual Art, Gulbarga, in a chat with YourStory.

“Art has beauty and emotional power. It evokes emotions, whether happy or sad. Art makes you feel, it makes you think,” she adds.

“If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. Success is continued growth, it means continually expanding ideas. For me, success as an artist means staying true to my values,” Pratibha affirms.

“There is a lot of suffering in society, particularly for children from families with financial and other problems. Some have skills but cannot apply them. Art helps move people about the plight of others and can create positive impact,” explains Chandan Singh.

He sees success in being able to continue to work hard on his art, and helping people who are less fortunate. “If you can support others and make a change in society, that is success in the life of an artist,” he adds.

“Art is where I find happiness, where I can find myself by getting lost in the creative process,” Tuhina Srivastava enthuses. Success comes when an artwork correctly portrays an artist’s thoughts and creativity – fame and money may come later.

“Art is a medium of expression for me to let my audiences also enjoy how I see beauty in the simple things of life,” Sudeshna Ukil explains. Success comes when audiences are able to connect with artworks and artists, and share views.

“Art can involve a highly diverse range of human activities in creating visual works that express technical or imaginative skill. It gives meaning to our lives, and helps us understand our world and our emotions,” Swathi PN explains.

“Art increases our self-awareness, and allows us to be open to new ideas and experiences. Art influences society by changing opinions, instilling values, and translating experiences across space and time,” she adds.

Research has shown art affects the fundamental sense of self. “Painting, sculpture and the other arts are often considered to be the repository of a society’s collective memory,” Swathi says.

“For me, success means that I have used all my capabilities to the fullest, and met my artistic and business goals,” she adds. For many artists, the mere fact they are acknowledged as artists is success in itself in addition to shows, critical reviews, and sales.

The journey of artworks

Some of Sudeshna’s water colour paintings depict sparrows. “Sparrows are nostalgic for me, they take me back to my childhood when they were all around us. Unfortunately, sparrows are vanishing fast in our cities, so capturing them in my paintings helps hold on to childhood memories,” she says.

Pratibha says she draws inspiration from her surroundings. “My paintings depict humans, birds, animals, plants, flowers, and much more. Human nature is the main emotion of my artwork,” she describes.

“I try to bring out the hidden face of society through my paintings. I experiment continuously with new techniques. I work on pieces that continually challenge and change me. Work pushes the boundaries of my practice and opens up new possibilities,” Pratibha adds.

“One of my paintings is Fertile, where I present women as the strongest creature of God. Pregnancy is a blessing, it is something that changes the mother’s life,” she says.

Tuhina’s paintings are inspired by Japanese traditional attire. “I like to showcase the beautiful delicate hair ornaments adorn on the women,” Tuhina says.

Swathi’s artworks are centred on eco-feminism and women empowerment. “As a nature lover, I also worked on the theme of naturalistic beauty. Nature is always fascinating and I aim to capture it in my works,” Swathi describes.

Chandan’s artworks depict the imagination of children playing with toys, and visualising actual tigers when riding toy tigers. “It also reflects the fact that sometimes poor people without access to what they want can only dream about it,” Chandan signs off.

See also the YourStory pocketbook ‘Proverbs and Quotes for Entrepreneurs: A World of Inspiration for Startups,’ accessible as apps for Apple and Android devices.