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Vivarana 2006 Capturing Lanka's beauty on canvas ART: An exhibition of paintings organized by the Siththaraneni Art Forum of Ananda College, Colombo will be opened at the Lionel Wendt Art Gellery Colombo 07 on March 27. The exhibition will conclude on March 29. The chief guest will be Prof. J. B. Disanayaka. Kalakeerthi Edwin Ariyadasa will participate as a guest of honour.
The majority of the paintings in the exhibition are those done by the students of the upper classes who offer art as a subject for the G.C.E (Adv. Level) examination. One would be surprised to notice that this exhibition includes paintings done by the students of the Mathematics Department too a rare incident. This indicates that the subject art is favoured by students other than those of the art unit. This we admire and appreciate for it is the expression of a new turning point indicative of inter-faculty brotherhood or in other words spiritual harmony, which according to Victor Lowenfeld, Professor of Art Education, the Pennsylvania State University, is one of the basic aspects of education. This also indicates that art is a recognized subject. In fact it should be so, since art is responsible for our emotional and spiritual needs, the lack of which is at the root of the prevailing social unrest all over the world.Therefore, it is important that even a student of science is provided with an opportunity to be enlightened at least in one of the aesthetic subjects. A leading school like Ananda College to facilitate this branch of education and to encourage and stimulate the students in their striving for higher achievements in the field of art, is, of course a privilege for those who are gifted.
These students are very fortunate to get the services of Mrs. Thamara Damayanthi, an eminent water-colourist as well as an experienced teacher on the subject. During the period of her three-year service in this school, her students have won a fair number of Island's best awards for art, including a scholarship to an Indian university - the Rabindranath Tagore Scholarship. A high taste for transparent water colour is noticeable in "Vivarana 2006" since the majority of the paintings are in this difficult medium. They depict studies of landscapes, most of which are attempts at capturing fascinating beauty of Sri Lanka's rural environment. There are studies of busy streets, religious edifices, and scenes from folk life. Both opaque water colour and oil are attempted at. There are also paintings showing attempts at experimenting traditional styles. Lastly, I must say that Mrs. Thamara Damayanthi is extremely pleased at the co-operation extended by B. A. Abeyratne the principal and patron and Mrs. Manel Abeywickrama the head of the art unit, whose constructive suggestions have proved very fruitful. She also appreciates the co-operation extended by the members of the staff and the response paid by the students to make this programme a success. |
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