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Kanayi Kunhiraman

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Kanayi Kunhiraman
Kunhiraman in 2019
Born(1937-07-25)25 July 1937(age 87)
Kuttamath,Kasaragod district,Kerala,British India
OccupationSculptor
Years active1960–present
Notable work
  • Tamilnadu Woman
  • Malampuzha Yakshi
  • Sagarakanyaka
  • Mukkola Perumal
SpouseNalini
Awards
  • Raja Ravi Varma Award
    2005
  • ThikkurissyAward
    2006
  • MS Nanjunda Rao National Award
    2018
Websitewww.kanayikunhiraman.com

Kanayi Kunhiraman(born 25 July 1937) is an Indian sculptor, best known for his outsize sculptures such asYakshiofMalampuzha Dam Gardens,SagarakanyakaatShankumugham BeachandMukkola Perumaltrinity inKochi.Taught byK. C. S. Paniker,[1]he is a former chairman of theLalit Kala Academy,India's national academy of fine arts. The Government of Kerala awarded him the inaugural Raja Ravi Varma Award in 2005. He is also a recipient of theThikkurissyAward and the inaugural MS Nanjunda Rao National Award of theKarnataka Chitrakala Parishath.In 2022, he was honoured withKerala Sree Award,third highest civilian award given by theGovernment of Kerala.[2]

Biography

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Government College of Fine Arts, Chennai

Kunhiraman was born on 25 July 1937 at Kuttamath inHosdurg TalukofKanhangadinKasaragod Districtof the south Indian state ofKerala.[3]After early schooling at the local schools in Kuttamath and Puthaott, he joined Raja's high school,Nileshwaramto pass theSecondary School Leaving Certificateexamination in 1957.[4]A teacher at his school, by name Krishnan Kutty, encouraged him to pursue his artistic interests but he did not get encouragement from his family which forced him to flee home toChennaiwhere he studied sculpture at theGovernment College of Fine Arts, Chennai.[5]It was during his days here, Kunhiraman had the opportunity to come in contact withK. C. S. Panikerwho was a faculty and later, the principal of the institution.[citation needed]After completing the course, he worked as a part-time teacher atEthiraj College for Womenfrom 1961 but when he received theCommonwealth Scholarship,he moved to England to study at theSlade School of Fine Art[1]in 1965; he spent three years at the school. On his return to Kerala, he undertook a number of assignments and in 1976, he was invited to head the department of sculpture of theCollege of Fine Arts Trivandrum;he would also serve the institution as its principal until 1978 when he was nominated as the chair of theKerala Lalithakala Akademi;he would also chair the academy again in 2001.[3]

Kunhiraman is married to Nalini.[6]

Legacy

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Mukkola Perumalin front ofGCDAbuilding

On his return to Kerala from Chennai, Kunhiraman was commissioned by the irrigation department of Kerala, on recommendation from K. C. S. Paniker,[7]for an art work to be installed at theMalampuzha dam gardenand he createdYakshi,a 5.5-metre (18 ft) statue of a naked woman, sitting on the lawns; the sensuality of the sculpture drew protests from traditionalists.[5]Two years later, he was invited by theGreater Cochin Development Authority(GCDA) for two sculptures in the premises of their new office inKadavanthraand he createdEnvironmental PiecesandMukkola Perumal,both concrete sculptures.[8]He also created a sculpture,FertilityatAmbalamedupremises of theFertilisers and Chemicals Travancore.In 1990, he completed theJalakanyaka(Mermaid), a 23-metre (75 ft) sculpture atShankumugham Beach,inThiruvananthapuram;[9]The beach also has another of his sculptures titled,Snake.[8]

The bronze bust ofK. P. P. Nambiar,thePadma Bhushanwinning technocrat,[10]and the bust ofK. C. Mammen Mappillaiare two conventional sculptures created by Kunhiraman.[6]AmmainPayyambalam,Akshara ShilpaminKottayam,[11]Conch,Seats,NandiandEmbraceatVeli Tourist Village,[12]are some of his other works.[8][13]MelatharaandKalithara,dedicated to public with the accompaniment from aviolinconcert byL. Athira KrishnainKollamin 2008.[14]and theAksharashilpam,at the premises of the public library inKottayamfeature among his more recent works.[15]He has also published on poetry anthology, titled,Kānāyi Kuñhirāmant̲e Kavitakaḷ.[16]

Awards and honours

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Kunhiraman, who has designed many of the statuettes for various awards in Kerala,[17]was selected byKerala Lalithakala Akademifor their annual award, Raja Ravi Varma Award, in 2005, making him the first sculptor to receive the honour.[18]He received theThikkurissyAward in 2006[19]andKarnataka Chitrakala Parishathawarded him the inaugural MS Nanjunda Rao National Award for Art in 2018.[20]Lalit Kala Akademi,the national academy of India for fine arts, published a book on Kunhiraman's works in 2008.[21][22]In 2011, he received theT. K. Ramakrishnan Award instituted by Abu Dhabi Sakthi Theatresfor his overall contribution.[23]He was conferred theKerala Sreeaward instituted by Government of Kerala in 2022.[24]

Selected works

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Year Work Medium Venue Place
1953 Mother and Child Concrete Payyambalam,Kannur
1957 Beggar Plaster of Paris Government College of Fine Arts Chennai
1957 Jawaan Bronze State Bank of India Chennai
1958 A figure Bronze Victoria and Albert Museum London
1958 Mother and Father Concrete Government College of Fine Arts Chennai
1958 Portrait of the Painter Rani Poovaiah Concrete Government College of Fine Arts Chennai
1964 Amma (Mother) Granite Private Collection New Delhi
1969 Yakshi Concrete Malampuzha dam garden Malampuzha
1971 Fertility Concrete FACT Ambalamedu
1972 Environmental Pieces Concrete GCDA Complex Kochi
1973 Mukkola Perumal Concrete GCDA Complex Kochi
1975 Horse Junk sculpture National Gallery of Modern Art New Delhi
1976 Relief Concrete Mullakkal Temple Alappuzha
1985 Kengal Hanumanthaiah Bronze Vidhana Soudha Bengaluru
1986 Embrace Concrete Veli Tourist Village Thiruvananthapuram
1986 The Conch Concrete, Veli Tourist Village Thiruvananthapuram
1986 Aattam Concrete Veli Tourist Village Thiruvananthapuram
1990 Relaxation Concrete Shankumugham Beach Thiruvananthapuram
1990 Sagarakanyaka (The Mermaid) Concrete Shankumugham Beach Thiruvananthapuram
1992 Snake Concrete Shankumugham Beach Thiruvananthapuram
1998 Nandi Concrete Veli Tourist Village Thiruvananthapuram
2001 Infinity Bronze
2001 Labour's Hand Bronze
2001 Seats Concrete Payyambalam Beach Kannur
2001 Thai (Mother) Concrete Payyambalam Beach Kannur
2008 Melathara and Kalithara Concrete Sopanam Complex Kollam
2015 Aksharashilpam Concrete Public Library Kottayam
2018 Reclining figure Concrete Mahakavi Kumaranasan Memorial Thonnakkal
2018 Kumaran Asan Bronze Mahakavi Kumaranasan Memorial Thonnakkal
2018 Vikram Sarabhai Bronze Indian Space Research Organisation Bengaluru

Books on Kanayai Kunhiraman

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  • Puṣhparāj, Nēmaṃ (2012).Kānāyi Kuñhirāman: Br̥hadākāraṅgaḷuṭe śhilppi.Kerala: State Institute of Languages.ISBN9788176381284.OCLC869823336.
  • Vijayakumār Mēnōn (2008).Kanayi Kunhiraman.New Delhi: Lalit Kala Akademi.ISBN9788187507345.OCLC289070886.
[edit]
  • Mermaid (Jalakanyaka) at Shankumugham Beach, Thiruvananthapuram.
    Mermaid (Jalakanyaka) atShankumugham Beach,Thiruvananthapuram.
  • Yakshi at the Malampuzha dam garden
    Yakshi at theMalampuzha dam garden
  • Kanayi with the photo of Jalakanyaka in the backdrop
    Kanayi with the photo of Jalakanyaka in the backdrop
  • Another sculpture at Shankumugham Beach
    Another sculpture at Shankumugham Beach
  • The sculptor and Yakshi
    The sculptor and Yakshi
  • Kanayi Kunhiraman at Thiruvananthapuram
    Kanayi Kunhiraman at Thiruvananthapuram
  • Kumaran Asan Smarakam at Thonnakkal
    Kumaran Asan Smarakam at Thonnakkal
  • Aattam at Veli Tourist Village
    Aattam at Veli Tourist Village
  • Kanayi Kunhiraman

References

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  1. ^abManu, Meera (4 February 2013)."High on art".The New Indian Express.Retrieved16 January2023.
  2. ^"Kerala declares 1st-ever Padma-inspired awards; MT gets highest honour".The New Indian Express.November 2022.Retrieved21 January2023.
  3. ^ab"Biography".Web archive.11 March 2019. Archived fromthe originalon 25 August 2011.Retrieved11 March2019.
  4. ^"Kanayi Kunhiraman - Veethi profile".veethi.com.11 March 2019.Retrieved11 March2019.
  5. ^ab"Men-o-pause".Times of India Blog.17 October 2015.Retrieved11 March2019.
  6. ^ab"Our culture is colossal, so are my sculptures".OnManorama.Retrieved12 March2019.
  7. ^Sandy (13 February 2018)."Malambuzha's own Yakshi turns 50 this year. Do you know her story?".My Words & Thoughts.Retrieved11 March2019.
  8. ^abc"Sculptures of Kanayi Kunhiraman".b3.zcubes.com.Retrieved12 March2019.
  9. ^"The Jalakanyaka Mermaid statue in Thiruvananthapuram, India".Mermaids of Earth.11 March 2019.Retrieved11 March2019.
  10. ^Staff Reporter (29 June 2018)."Of bonds with a trailblazer technocrat".The Hindu.Retrieved11 March2019.
  11. ^"A visual journey through the life of the master sculptor".The New Indian Express.4 April 2018.Retrieved12 March2019.
  12. ^"Top 10 Magnificent Statues and Sculpture in Kerala".walkthroughindia.com.14 April 2016.Retrieved12 March2019.
  13. ^"Kanai Kunhiraman - Works of Art".23 September 2011. Archived fromthe originalon 23 September 2011.Retrieved11 March2019.
  14. ^"AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS".Athira. Archived fromthe originalon 15 August 2014.Retrieved23 June2014.
  15. ^"Article about Kanayi Kunhiraman by Fr. Dr. K. M. George".Malankara Orthodox TV.12 March 2019.Retrieved12 March2019.
  16. ^Kanayi Kunhiraman (2009).Kānāyi Kuññirāmant̲e kavitakaḷ.Ḍi. Si. Buks.ISBN978-81-264-2323-1.
  17. ^"Kerala News: Raja Ravi Varma award for Kanayi".The Hindu.30 April 2005. Archived fromthe originalon 13 January 2016.Retrieved12 March2019.
  18. ^"Raja Ravi Varma Puraskaram - Kerala Lalithakala Akademi".lalithkala.org.12 March 2019.Retrieved12 March2019.
  19. ^"Kanai Kunhiraman Awards".23 September 2011. Archived fromthe originalon 23 September 2011.Retrieved11 March2019.
  20. ^Govind, Ranjani (4 January 2018)."Sculptor Kanayi Kunhiraman honoured with Nanjunda Rao National Award for Art".The Hindu.Retrieved12 March2019.
  21. ^Govind, Ranjani (4 July 2017)."Iconic sculptor to receive first ever Nanjunda Rao Award today".The Hindu.Retrieved12 March2019.
  22. ^Vijayakumār Mēnōn (2008).Kanayi Kunhiraman.New Delhi: Lalit Kala Akademi.ISBN9788187507345.OCLC289070886.
  23. ^"അബുദാബി ശക്തി അവാര്‍ഡ് സമര്‍പ്പണം വ്യാഴാഴ്ച".ePathram. 18 October 2012. Archived fromthe originalon 7 July 2014.Retrieved5 January2023.
  24. ^"M T Vasudevan Nair chosen for Kerala's first highest state-level award".Press Trust of India.PTI.Retrieved1 November2022.
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