Olympiados at 09:17, 27 March 2025

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{{Short description|Indian sculptor and author (1942–2021)}}
{{EngvarB|date=April 2022}}{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
[[File:Kanaka Murthy 2019.jpg|thumb|Murthy in 2019]]
'''Kanaka Murthy''' (2 December 1942 – 14 May 2021) was an [[Indian people|Indian]] [[Sculpture|sculptor]], working primarily in [[stone]]. She received several awards in India for her work, including the [[Jakanachari Award]] in 2011, and the Rajyotsava Award in 1996. A number of her sculptures were commissioned and installed in public places in India, particularly in temples for worship, as well as public installations in the city of [[Bangalore|Bengaluru]]. She also wrote several books about Indian art and sculpture.

== Biography ==
Murthy was born in a [[brahmin]] family<ref>{{Cite web |date=20 May 2018 |title='People refused to believe in my talent since I am a woman': Sculptor Kanaka Murthy |url=https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/people-refused-believe-my-talent-i-am-woman-sculptor-kanaka-murthy-81624 |access-date=23 April 2022 |website=The News Minute |language=en}}</ref> on 2 December 1942 in [[Tirumakudal Narsipur]], [[Mysore district]], in the state of [[Karnataka]], in India.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|last=Ahuja|first=Simran |title=Kanaka Murthy was a pioneer: Former UNESCO ambassador Chiranjiv Singh|url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/lifestyle/fashion/2021/may/15/kanaka-murthy-was-a-pioneer-former-unesco-ambassadorchiranjiv-singh-2302621.html|date=15 May 2021|access-date=29 November 2021|website=The New Indian Express}}</ref><ref name="Jayaram 2017" /> Murthy attended college in Bengaluru, where she earned a Bachelor in Sciences, and later studied at Kalamandira, an arts college, where she trained in painting, drawing, and sculpture.<ref name=":0" /> She also studied sculpture with D Vadiraja, a well-known local sculptor.<ref name=":0" /> She married Narayana Murthy and they had a son, Rumi Harish.<ref name="Harish 2021"/> On 14 May 2021, she died of [[COVID-19]] at the age of 79, in Bengaluru.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|date=13 May 2021|title=Renowned sculptor Kanaka Murthy dies of COVID-19 in Bengaluru|url=https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/renowned-sculptor-kanaka-murthy-dies-covid-19-bengaluru-148780|access-date=29 November 2021|website=The News Minute|language=en}}</ref>

== Career and works ==
Murthy worked primarily in stone, using sandstone, shell stone, and granite. Although trained in the [[Hoysala architecture|Hoysala]] style of sculpture, she explored other schools and forms of sculpture.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|last=V|first=Ram Rakshith|title=A spirited sculptress|url=http://nsoj.in/stories/a-spirited-sculptress|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210612233338/http://nsoj.in/stories/a-spirited-sculptress|archive-date=12 June 2021|access-date=29 November 2021|website=nsoj.in|language=en}}</ref> She also sculpted in bronze, fibreglass, and clay.<ref name="Jayaram 2017">{{cite news |last1=Jayaram |first1=Suresh |title=What you see when you see: Kanakamurthy: A sculptor between tradition and modernity |url=https://bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com/bangalore/others/what-you-see-when-you-see-kanakamurthy-a-sculptor-between-tradition-and-modernity/articleshow/56722972.cms |access-date=2 December 2021 |work=Banaglore Mirror |date=23 January 2017}}</ref> She has also worked with [[schist]], despite the fact that it is easily split, in consonance with sculptural tradition in the state of Karnataka.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Srinivasaraju |first=Sugatha |date=2022-02-03 |title=Kannada Schist, Tamil Granite |url=https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/kannada-schist-tamil-granite/265695 |access-date=2022-11-01 |website=[[Outlook India]] |language=en}}</ref>

Murthy was known for her sculpted stone portraits, primarily [[Bust (sculpture)|busts]]. She notably created busts of several classical [[Carnatic music|Carnatic]] and [[Hindustani classical music|Hindustani]] musicians, including [[Gangubai Hangal]], [[Doraiswamy Iyengar]], [[Chowdiah|T Chowdiah]], [[Mallikarjun Mansur|Mallikarjuna Mansur]] and [[Bhimsen Joshi]].<ref name=":0" /> A number of her stone portrait busts were commissioned and are installed in public places in Bengaluru, Karnataka. These include a bust of the poet and writer [[Kuvempu]], located at the west gate of [[Lal Bagh|Lalbagh]] Park, and a [[Fiberglass|fibreglass]] statue of the [[Wright brothers]] at the [[Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum]].<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=Indian sculptor Kanaka Murthy applies the finishing touches to a...|url=https://www.gettyimages.in/detail/news-photo/indian-sculptor-kanaka-murthy-applies-the-finishing-touches-news-photo/2801412|access-date=29 November 2021|website=Getty Images|language=en-gb}}</ref> In total, 200 of her sculptures have been installed in public spaces in India.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Bengaluru|first=Staff Reporter|date=15 May 2021|title=Kanaka Murthy passes away|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/kanaka-murthy-passes-away/article34561711.ece|access-date=29 November 2021|issn=0971-751X}}</ref>

Murthy spoke in several interviews about the challenges of breaking into the profession of sculpture, which was traditionally male-dominated, as a woman.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web|last=Khandelwal|first=Priyasha|date=29 April 2019|title=Celebrated Sculptor Kanaka Murthy Shares How She Made Her Way Into The Male-Dominated Field|url=https://www.indianwomenblog.org/celebrated-sculptor-kanaka-murthy-shares-how-she-made-her-way-into-the-male-dominated-field/|access-date=29 November 2021|website=Indian Women Blog - Stories of Indian Women|language=en}}</ref> She was one of the few women in Karnataka to create sculptures for religious worship in temples.<ref name="Jayaram 2017" /><ref name="Harish 2021">{{Cite web|date=22 May 2021|last=Harish|first=Rumi|title=How Kanaka Murthy chiselled a daring life|url=https://www.deccanherald.com/spectrum/spectrum-top-stories/how-kanaka-murthy-chiselled-a-daring-life-988644.html|access-date=29 November 2021|website=Deccan Herald|language=en}}</ref> Murthy has also stated that her inspiration to take up sculpting was from visiting temples containing religious sculptures in Mysuru.<ref>{{Cite web|date=20 May 2018|title='People refused to believe in my talent since I am a woman': Sculptor Kanaka Murthy|url=https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/people-refused-believe-my-talent-i-am-woman-sculptor-kanaka-murthy-81624|access-date=29 November 2021|website=The News Minute|language=en}}</ref> A number of her sculptures of Hindu idols are installed in places of worship, including an eight foot high idol of the Hindu god [[Ganesha]], commissioned for a religious foundation dedicated to spiritual leader [[Sathya Sai Baba]] at [[Puttaparthi]].<ref name=":2" />

She also wrote four books, including an autobiography.<ref name=":0" /> One book, titled ''Shilpa Rekha'', is an account of traditional line drawings in Karnataka.<ref name=":1" /> She also wrote a biography of her guru Devalakunda Vadiraj.<ref name="Prasad 2018">{{cite news |last1=Prasad |first1=lPreeja |title=Female sculptor to release biography of her guru |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/bengaluru/2018/may/16/female-sculptor-to-release-biography-of-her-guru-1815561.html |access-date=2 December 2021 |work=The New Indian Express |date=16 May 2018}}</ref>

== Honours and awards ==
Murthy won a number of state awards for her work, including the Karnataka [[Jakanachari Award]], State Shilpakala Academy Award (1999), the [[Rajyotsava Award]] (1996)<ref name="PTI 2021">{{cite news |title=Celebrated sculptor and Rajyotsava awardee Kanaka Murthy succumbs to Covid-19 |url=https://www.deccanherald.com/state/top-karnataka-stories/celebrated-sculptor-and-rajyotsava-awardee-kanaka-murthy-succumbs-to-covid-19-985483.html |access-date=2 December 2021 |work=[[Deccan Herald]] |agency=[[Press Trust of India]] |date=13 May 2021}}</ref> and Suvarna Karnataka Award.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web|date=14 May 2021|title=Sculptor Kanaka Murthy passes away|url=https://starofmysore.com/sculptor-kanaka-murthy-passes-away/|access-date=29 November 2021|website=Star of Mysore|language=en-US}}</ref> She is the only woman to have received the Janakachari Award.<ref name=":2" />

== References ==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Murthy, Kanaka}}
[[Category:1942 births]]
[[Category:2021 deaths]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian sculptors]]
[[Category:Artists from Karnataka]]
[[Category:Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in India]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian women writers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian sculptors]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian women sculptors]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian women sculptors]]

Kanaka Murthy - Revision history

Olympiados at 09:17, 27 March 2025