#memory
Artist Namboothiri.
7 July is the death anniversary of
Artist Namboothiri ( 1925-2023).
Namboothiri was the undisputed king of illustrations. The characters in most of the famous novels in Malayalam in his period are remembered as portrayed in the sketches of Namboothiri. It was VKN who described him as the Paramasivan of sketches.
Karuvattu Vasudevan Namboothiri had the good fortune of studying art under giants like DP Roy Chowdhury and KCS Panikkar in the Madras School of Art.
After living in the Chozhamandalam Artists Village founded by KCS Panikkar, he joined Mathrubhumi weekly in 1960 in the vacancy of M V Devan. A S was an esteemed colleague. He soon established himself as the foremost illustrator in Malayalam. He continued his artistic persuits in Kala Kaumudi weekly from 1982, and later in the Samakalika Malayalam weekly.
His association as Art Director with the famous film director Aravindan earned him a State Award. He was also a famous sculptor and painter.
– Joy Kallivayalil.
“Line drawings came naturally to me ; lines can bring about a three dimensional character to structures on flat surface unlike other drawings.
Line drawings have their own rhythm and elegance. They are dynamic,they embody the telling of tales . When I draw lines it has a literary context but also has a historical flavor. I believe when we draw we must be honest and truthful to the narrative that we are creating.
When I created line drawings for characters in stories I was going beyond mere illustration. I was giving life to an expression born out of cultural and human emotions.”
– Artist Namboothiri.
