The Primal Imperatives

K. G. Subramanyan (1924–2016) was one of India’s most eminent artists who worked with diverse media and materials, and exhibited extensively both within and outside the country. He was known as much for his wide-ranging scholarship as for his artworks which are full of wit, subversion, folklore and critical social commentary. Member of the arts faculty at M. S. University, Baroda, he was professor emeritus oat Kala Bhavana, Visva Bharati, Santiniketan. In 2012, he received the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second-highest civilian award, for his outstanding contribution to the arts.

In this lecture delivered in 1999, the artist explores in detail the relationship between culture and time, especially in terms of the postmodern situation.