Pandemic, politics and restoration in the world of art

A SUMMARY OF THE MOST EXCITING ART NEWS FROM AROUND THE GLOBE

While we focus on Indian art, we can’t obviously function in a vacuum. It’s a small world and everything is connected, especially on the web. So, let’s train our spotlight across the world map to see what’s going on — from art trends to socio-political issues to everything that affects the great aesthetic global consciousness. Or, let’s just travel the world and have some fun!

Sketchbook healing

Ultimately, it was his own art that got prolific UK illustrator Chris Riddell through the year that was 2020. For the Observer’s cartoonist, who has collaborated with names like Paul Stewart and Neil Gaiman in literature, this daily pictorial record of events was “the only way to make sense of last year”. And now, the amalgamated sketches will be in a new book demanded by fans, titled ‘Five Years… A Sketchbook of Political Drawings volume one, 2020’. The Guardian shares his thoughts.

Discussing censorship

Taking a bird’s eye view of developments over recent years, Delhi-based architect, writer, artist and columnist Gautam Bhatia has opined that with censors tightening their grip, Indian art is becoming more and more mediocre. According to his new blog, the art world in India has a “shameful history of repression”, leading to Indian artists beginning to self-censor into tame and acceptable themes or neutral territory for fear of hurting sentiments. The Times of India Blogs puts forth his views.

An Etruscan restoration

Using a new technique called multi-illumination hyperspectral extraction (MHX), scientists seem to have uncovered the colorful and once-hidden scenes in paintings of ancient Etruscans. This colorful community was a group of people who flourished on the Italian peninsula around 2,500 years ago, at a time before Rome became powerful. Live Science delves in.