Kanaka Murthy
{{Short description|Indian sculptor and author (1942–2021)}}
{{EngvarB|date=April 2022}}{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
Kanaka Murthy (2 December 1942 – 14 May 2021) was an Indian sculptor, working primarily in stone. She received several awards in India for her work, including the Jakanachari Award in 2011, and the Rajyotsava Award in 1996. A number of her sculptures were commissioned and installed in public places in India, particularly in temples for worship, as well as public installations in the city of Bengaluru. She also wrote several books about Indian art and sculpture.
Biography
Murthy was born in a brahmin family{{Cite web |date=20 May 2018 |title='People refused to believe in my talent since I am a woman': Sculptor Kanaka Murthy |url=https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/people-refused-believe-my-talent-i-am-woman-sculptor-kanaka-murthy-81624 |access-date=23 April 2022 |website=The News Minute |language=en}} on 2 December 1942 in Tirumakudal Narsipur, Mysore district, in the state of Karnataka, in India.{{Cite news|last=Ahuja|first=Simran |title=Kanaka Murthy was a pioneer: Former UNESCO ambassador Chiranjiv Singh|url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/lifestyle/fashion/2021/may/15/kanaka-murthy-was-a-pioneer-former-unesco-ambassadorchiranjiv-singh-2302621.html|date=15 May 2021|access-date=29 November 2021|website=The New Indian Express}} Murthy attended college in Bengaluru, where she earned a Bachelor in Sciences, and later studied at Kalamandira, an arts college, where she trained in painting, drawing, and sculpture. She also studied sculpture with D Vadiraja, a well-known local sculptor. She married Narayana Murthy and they had a son, Rumi Harish. On 14 May 2021, she died of COVID-19 at the age of 79, in Bengaluru.{{Cite web|date=13 May 2021|title=Renowned sculptor Kanaka Murthy dies of COVID-19 in Bengaluru|url=https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/renowned-sculptor-kanaka-murthy-dies-covid-19-bengaluru-148780|access-date=29 November 2021|website=The News Minute|language=en}}
Career and works
Murthy worked primarily in stone, using sandstone, shell stone, and granite. Although trained in the Hoysala style of sculpture, she explored other schools and forms of sculpture.{{Cite web|last=V|first=Ram Rakshith|title=A spirited sculptress|url=http://nsoj.in/stories/a-spirited-sculptress|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210612233338/http://nsoj.in/stories/a-spirited-sculptress|archive-date=12 June 2021|access-date=29 November 2021|website=nsoj.in|language=en}} She also sculpted in bronze, fibreglass, and clay.{{cite news |last1=Jayaram |first1=Suresh |title=What you see when you see: Kanakamurthy: A sculptor between tradition and modernity |url=https://bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com/bangalore/others/what-you-see-when-you-see-kanakamurthy-a-sculptor-between-tradition-and-modernity/articleshow/56722972.cms |access-date=2 December 2021 |work=Banaglore Mirror |date=23 January 2017}} She has also worked with schist, despite the fact that it is easily split, in consonance with sculptural tradition in the state of Karnataka.{{Cite web |last=Srinivasaraju |first=Sugatha |date=2022-02-03 |title=Kannada Schist, Tamil Granite |url=https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/kannada-schist-tamil-granite/265695 |access-date=2022-11-01 |website=Outlook India |language=en}}
Murthy was known for her sculpted stone portraits, primarily busts. She notably created busts of several classical Carnatic and Hindustani musicians, including Gangubai Hangal, Doraiswamy Iyengar, T Chowdiah, Mallikarjuna Mansur and Bhimsen Joshi. A number of her stone portrait busts were commissioned and are installed in public places in Bengaluru, Karnataka. These include a bust of the poet and writer Kuvempu, located at the west gate of Lalbagh Park, and a fibreglass statue of the Wright brothers at the Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum.{{Cite web|title=Indian sculptor Kanaka Murthy applies the finishing touches to a...|url=https://www.gettyimages.in/detail/news-photo/indian-sculptor-kanaka-murthy-applies-the-finishing-touches-news-photo/2801412|access-date=29 November 2021|website=Getty Images|language=en-gb}} In total, 200 of her sculptures have been installed in public spaces in India.{{Cite news|last=Bengaluru|first=Staff Reporter|date=15 May 2021|title=Kanaka Murthy passes away|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/kanaka-murthy-passes-away/article34561711.ece|access-date=29 November 2021|issn=0971-751X}}
Murthy spoke in several interviews about the challenges of breaking into the profession of sculpture, which was traditionally male-dominated, as a woman.{{Cite web|last=Khandelwal|first=Priyasha|date=29 April 2019|title=Celebrated Sculptor Kanaka Murthy Shares How She Made Her Way Into The Male-Dominated Field|url=https://www.indianwomenblog.org/celebrated-sculptor-kanaka-murthy-shares-how-she-made-her-way-into-the-male-dominated-field/|access-date=29 November 2021|website=Indian Women Blog - Stories of Indian Women|language=en}} She was one of the few women in Karnataka to create sculptures for religious worship in temples.{{Cite web|date=22 May 2021|last=Harish|first=Rumi|title=How Kanaka Murthy chiselled a daring life|url=https://www.deccanherald.com/spectrum/spectrum-top-stories/how-kanaka-murthy-chiselled-a-daring-life-988644.html|access-date=29 November 2021|website=Deccan Herald|language=en}} Murthy has also stated that her inspiration to take up sculpting was from visiting temples containing religious sculptures in Mysuru.{{Cite web|date=20 May 2018|title='People refused to believe in my talent since I am a woman': Sculptor Kanaka Murthy|url=https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/people-refused-believe-my-talent-i-am-woman-sculptor-kanaka-murthy-81624|access-date=29 November 2021|website=The News Minute|language=en}} A number of her sculptures of Hindu idols are installed in places of worship, including an eight foot high idol of the Hindu god Ganesha, commissioned for a religious foundation dedicated to spiritual leader Sathya Sai Baba at Puttaparthi.
She also wrote four books, including an autobiography. One book, titled Shilpa Rekha, is an account of traditional line drawings in Karnataka. She also wrote a biography of her guru Devalakunda Vadiraj.{{cite news |last1=Prasad |first1=lPreeja |title=Female sculptor to release biography of her guru |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/bengaluru/2018/may/16/female-sculptor-to-release-biography-of-her-guru-1815561.html |access-date=2 December 2021 |work=The New Indian Express |date=16 May 2018}}
Honours and awards
Murthy won a number of state awards for her work, including the Karnataka Jakanachari Award, State Shilpakala Academy Award (1999), the Rajyotsava Award (1996){{cite news |title=Celebrated sculptor and Rajyotsava awardee Kanaka Murthy succumbs to Covid-19 |url=https://www.deccanherald.com/state/top-karnataka-stories/celebrated-sculptor-and-rajyotsava-awardee-kanaka-murthy-succumbs-to-covid-19-985483.html |access-date=2 December 2021 |work=Deccan Herald |agency=Press Trust of India |date=13 May 2021}} and Suvarna Karnataka Award.{{Cite web|date=14 May 2021|title=Sculptor Kanaka Murthy passes away|url=https://starofmysore.com/sculptor-kanaka-murthy-passes-away/|access-date=29 November 2021|website=Star of Mysore|language=en-US}} She is the only woman to have received the Janakachari Award.
References
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Category:21st-century Indian sculptors
Category:Artists from Karnataka
Category:Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in India
Category:21st-century Indian women writers
Category:20th-century Indian sculptors