Imaging 12 - Fujifilm Graphic Systems

REVIEW graphics in India
Indian summer
THE DIVERSITY AND INVENTION OF INDIAN COMMERCIAL GRAPHICS
ARE REFLECTED IN A NEW BOOK.
iven the current popularity of
all things Indian in the
entertainment world, from
The Kumars at no 42 to
Bollywood-inspired musicals on the West
End stage, it’s both timely and illuminating
to find a book about commercial art in the
sub-continent.
Written and designed by Keith
Lovegrove and photographed by Andrew
Hasson, Graphicswallah covers the gamut
of Indian graphics from enamel street
signs to political posters, humble shopfronts
to huge hoardings for the latest
cinema releases. As with many other
aspects of India, it presents an intriguing
mix of ancient and modern – high
powered ad agencies in ultra modern
premises in Mumbai churn out Photoshop
work to match the West, while the handpainted
figures and letters in film posters
are an accepted art form in their own
30
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Imaging 12 autumn 2002
right, with some celebrated masters crossing
into the ‘real’ art world.
While posters for major cinema releases
are painted in studios – with apprentices
of ascending experience and seniority
laying down a grid, sketching charcoal
outlines and painting backgrounds before
the master artist paints the faces – other
types of advertisement tend to be painted
in situ, on canvas, vinyl, wood or even
sheet metal hoardings. Working from
postcard-sized originals, a team of
hoarding painters can produce a major
piece equivalent to a Western 48-sheet
poster in two or three days.
Those fed up with corporate sponsorship
in the West would do well to take a
look at some of rural villages in the state
of Tamil Nadu where every house is
painted with the Ramco Cement logo –
the product might not be used in the
houses, but it’s certainly all over them. ■
Graphicswallah: Graphics in India will be published
in Spring 2003 by Laurence King Publishing.
Andrew Hasson can be reached on 01273 557965,
www.andrewhasson.btinternet.co.uk.