Shantha K. Herath is a veteran painter, cartoonist, illustrator and book cover designer. He has published two monographs of his cartoons, titled Sathas and Säkku Cartoon Chithra Ekathuwak. He will publish his third monograph of cartoons as Idykllic soon. The Sunday Observer met him to discuss his cartoons and his views on Sri Lanka’s visual art and visual art literacy.
Excerpts
Q. As an art instructor, you say that one should learn the art of painting. What do you mean by that? Could someone teach the art of painting to someone else?
A. One should have an interest in art and learning the art of painting. But when I say one should not go after art schools or visual art universities, there emerges a question. It is whether these visual art institutes are not providing art education for students. In my view, they aren’t.Those who receive classical education at these universities don’t widen their scope in art.
Q. Are these art exhibitions organised by professors, lecturers or art students?
A. Yes. But they are imitations of Western art or ideologies. The only thing lacked in their exhibitions is art. For instance, art exhibitions by Prof Chandraguptha Tenuwara are not for entertainment. The reason is clear. He tries to establish a Western theory or ideology in this ground, but it has failed.
Q. But art has no fixed definition, art can be non-art?
A. No. You cannot enjoy art without aesthetics. This is a wrong path which affects other strata in society too. For example, when I attended a function at a hotel in Negombo recently, I saw colourful Western style paintings on the walls of the hotel.
When I was looking at them, the hotel manager came towards me and said, “Sir, you are the only person who looked at them so long.”
I thought those paintings were drawn by a foreign artist who visited Sri Lanka. But they had been created by a Sri Lankan painter. Then, I realised why the foreigners who visit Sri Lanka never enjoy them. They don’t need to see imitations of their art in Sri Lanka when they can enjoy the originals in their countries. Professors and critics try to implant Western ideologies here. Barrelism by Thenuwara is one example.Though they say barrels are symbols of militarisation, they are not.
When I walk on the road and see barrels with soldiers by the road, I feel no danger. I feel safe, because soldiers are the ones who protect us from terrorism. The concepts they try to establish, cannot be planted here in this soil. This is why I, as a non-institutional artist, advise the young generation not to imitate others.
Q. You think that genuine painters or artists in Sri Lanka are non-institutional?
A. Yes, of course. The ‘43 Group’ which rendered a memorable service to art in Sri Lanka, was non-institutional. Solius Mendis, George Keyt, Lional Wendt, Tissa Ranasinghe, Manju Sri, H.A. Karunarathne and Tissa Gunawardhane were self-learned artists and not from universities. They were engaged in art for enjoyment, not for any political or petty personal objectives. Lionel Wendt, with his commitment, built the only art gallery in Sri Lanka.
Q. Should we revise the educational system to create genuine artists?
A. Definitely. Arts subjects are regarded as petty subjects in Sri Lankan. After their preliminary education, students have no opportunity to study arts in our schools, because children have to select subjects, such as Science, Maths and Commerce to pass the GCE Ordinary Level examination and select subjects for the A/L examination to become doctors, engineers and managers. Art is ignored in that competition. I, as a student, had to face serious issues. When I was schooling, we had no art teacher in our school for the Ordinary Level classes. When I asked, the Principal said, “Shantha, we cannot get a teacher for a single student.”
When I was in the Advanced Level class, the same thing happened. We couldn’t select a subject. When I was at the doorstep of the university, I was unable to enter it because of the new educational reforms.
I was not given an opportunity to receive higher education in art to protect the rules of the university system. I have become a professional artist not because of receiving university education, but because of self-study.
I am still suffering from this initial drawback. I am conducting art classes for students. When I went to register my art school as a semi-governmental institution at Samagam Medura, they said according to the rules, the art school cannot be registered as a semi-government centre, because I have no university degree.
Q. You always say financial support is vital in developing high art?
A. We still don’t know the artists behind Sigiriya frescoes.
They wouldn’t have created Sigiri art without the support of the king. The Avukana statue wouldn’t have been crafted unless those artists hadn’t received royal patronage.
Even the Pujävaliya, a classical literary work was written under the patronage of the king. However, after the industrial revolution, this custom had changed, especially for European artists.
They had an opportunity to engage in the art of painting without others’ support, because they could sell their paintings to others, conduct their own galleries for tickets and give paintings to somebody as a gift. But such a custom or system never evolved in our country.
Our rulers’ duty is to create a social system that a painter or any other artist can stand on his own. You might have seen people selling paintings on the pavement of the Vihara Maha Devi Park, Colombo 7.
Could you say there is art in that place? If people, such as George Keyt had been alive, they would have opposed to this place and Kalä pola.
Instead of encouraging selling low level paintings, we should provide facilities, including low price materials for artists to engage in their art and to open art galleries to exhibit their work and provide every student a space to obtain his higher education in arts by reforming the educational system.