Bengaluru, 30 May(HS): The University College of Visual Arts, Davanagere is observing its diamond jubilee this year and has drawn up year-long programs to celebrate the accomplishment. However, little is known about the background of establishing this six-decade-old institution, which specialises in courses related to fine arts. Dr Satishkumar P. Vallyapure, an Assistant Professor of Fine Arts at the University College of Visual Arts, Davanagere, for the past six years, sheds light on this aspect in an informal interaction. Excerpts of the same:
Q: What is the background of setting up of the University College of Visual Arts, Davanagere?
Dr Satishkumar P. Vallyapure: I would like to dwell upon the five-year plan conceived by late Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and as part of the same he had planned for an institute to impart fine art education in Karnataka. Then S R Kanthi was the Education Minister and S Nijalingappa was the Chief Minister. It was also at this juncture that M V Minajagi had just returned completing his Post Graduate degree in Fine Arts from London and had started Art Schools at Huballi and Bengaluru...
...Visionaries envisaged building the nation: During the early sixties, there were many illustrious personalities in public life envisaging huge dreams of building the nation. S R Kanthi and S Nijalingappa were close friends, visionaries and partners in the path of progress. It is in this light that M V Minajagi drew ambitious plans for the development of the Arts Institute and several veteran artists were roped in to be part of the committee to give their valuable opinions and suggestions. Based on the overall opinion of the experts in the field, the art school came into being in 1964...
Intended to cater for the whole state: As Davanagere is located in a central region to both, North and South Karnataka regions S Nijalingappa forethought that the institute would cater to the aspirations of enthusiasts of both the geographical areas. Then Davanagere was also part of Chitradurga, which also incidentally happened to be the native district of the chief minister...
...On the models of national-level reputed art institutes: While starting this institute, S Nijalingappa had in mind the national-level art institutes like the Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy School of Art affiliated with the University of Mumbai, the Faculty of Fine Arts, Maharaja Sayajirao University of Vadodara in Gujarat and the Visva-Bharati University at Shantiniketan in West Bengal. He dreamt of building and developing the Davanagere Fine Art Institution also on the same models in the state and allocated around 16 acres of land for a sprawling campus...
...15 faculty members appointed: Keeping the high aim in mind, 15 faculty members were appointed to start the college. To start with, the Painting and Applied Art Departments were opened and the faculty members did a good job of promoting the interests of the unique organisation in the whole state...
S Nijalingappa was a fine landscape artist: Another interesting and worth-mentioning revelation that can be made here is that S Nijalingappa was also a landscape artist. He was a very good artist with a penchant for natural scenic beauty as he was in touch with several artists including veteran artists like P R Tippeswamy. According to his contemporaries, S Nijalingappa was a talented landscape artist...
...Need for preserving his landscape paintings: The state government has purchased his house to convert the same into a national museum. However, not many people know that he was also a gifted landscape artist hence the grave necessity of preserving all his landscape paintings in the would-be museum would only add value to the heritage building, felt Dr Satishkumar P. Vallyapure.
Hindusthan Samachar / Manohar Yadavatti
