Essence of Art & Photography
Art is a therapeutic expression that has the power to showcase an individual’s imagination and emotions. It allows people to communicate in an artistically imaginative manner. Photography on the other hand captures moments and evokes emotions.
About MAP
Located in the cultural precinct of the garden city Bangalore, the Museum of Art and Photography stands as a post-industrial structure. MAP plays on the tensions between the idea of collecting and showcasing artwork that would naturally bring engagement among people creating a cultural community. It lies at the intersection of art and technology, with digital integrations supporting the exhibits on display. As Orhan Pamuk once said, “Real museums are places where time is transformed into space,” and the Museum of Art and Photography certainly lives up to this idea.
“Tanki” is a local water tank and is what inspired the architects – Soumitro Ghosh and Nisha Mathew envisioned this museum as a box resembling a water tank structure. The five-story building is elevated from the ground, with all functional spaces embedded below the ground and upper levels defining the language of the museum.Covering an area of around 296 acres, the museum houses over 18,000 works donated by founder Abhishek Poddar, a philanthropist and collector. The museum’s collection brings together history and creative approaches from India’s globally renowned Bollywood industry. The aim to safeguard the marvelous artworks and artifacts from ultraviolet rays led the architects to showcase them in an opaque enclosure along with temperature and humidity control.
Visual transparency being a key element of the structure’s design demonstrates that all public spaces are important while looking out. This feature is present at the ground level, where an outdoor sculpture courtyard and lobby open up to public spaces. The lower levels of the building house public spaces such as an art gallery, museum shop, and an open-air courtyard cafe. The first floor is home to an auditorium, a curated screens gallery, and a visual gallery. The conservation laboratory is open to the public and located on the second floor with the library and workspace. The conservation laboratory is open to the public and located on the second floor with the library and workspace. The third and fourth floors are used as galleries – including a connected passage gallery on the fourth floor which makes it a large singular gallery when desired. To dilute museum fatigue intermittently as one of the essential features for places of art, the lobbies create breaks between the galleries on the upper levels. Finally, the terrace offers a breathtaking view of Cubbon Park and UB City, as well as some public facilities such as a quiet room and a dining area.
Materials and Technology go hand-in-hand Traditionally associated with post-industrial metal panel water tanks, the facade is clad with stainless steel panels that are embossed with a cross pattern. Ghosh explains that art has the ability to generate a force on society and culture, leading to introspection, transformation, and progress. This comparison highlights the growing significance of art, similar to the value of water stored in a stainless steel container.
The basement being constructed of reinforced concrete contrasts with the studio and creates column-free spaces for the galleries – which in turn is worked out as a box compared to traditional columns that are built in mild steel framing and cantilever slabs at each level. “This surface of the structural exterior therefore reiterates the idea of the shell / the skin of the box with a water tank-like appearance,” Ghosh added.
The collection of photographs available are among the most extensive in India. It mainly focuses on the period from the mid-nineteenth century, which marked a turning point in the history of Britain’s colonial relationship with the region and includes photographs up until the present day.MAP has a collection of over 60,000 artworks that emphasize modern and contemporary art through paintings, sculptures, graphics, textiles, tribal art, etc. The ground-floor reception features a sculptural commission – Rock Formation Tower and a welcome desk. MAP aims to become the most inclusive museum in India by providing special integrations for people with disabilities.
The virtual reality experiences, artist talks, keynote conversations, and other events on offer all rely on the city’s advanced technologies to create a digital format that is continuously evolving and supported by the city. MAP Academy is the first online resource putting forward South Asian Art histories and also offering online courses.
The museum aims to promote the cultural value of visual arts and put forward the initiative to
form a new wave of museums for the arts in India. Today’s museums play a crucial role in educating people and bringing in diverse narratives to form a sense of community. It’s important to strike a balance between tradition and technology and to re-establish the connection between culture and people for the younger generation. By educating themselves on history, they can better navigate and contribute to today’s rapidly advancing technological world.
REFERENCES:
Murthy, YK. 2023. YK Antiques. journaling the museum interjections. https://ykantiques.com/2023/07/journaling-the-museum-interjections/.html
Contents, WA. 2022. World Architecture Community. Mathew & Ghosh Architects reveals details about museum of art and photography in Bangalore. https://worldarchitecture.org/article-links/emfvp/mathew-ghosh-architects-reveals-details-about-museum-of-art-and-photography-in-bangalore.html
MAP. 2023. Mathew & Ghosh Architects’ Museum of Art and photography in Bangalore photographed by Iwan Baan. https://map-india.org/press/mathew-ghosh-architects-museum-of-art-and-photography-in-bangalore-photographed-by-iwan-baan/
Mathew and Ghosh Architects. 2023. The Museum of Art and Photography Bangalore. https://architexturez.net/doc/az-cf-232175
Dezeen. 2023. Mathew & Ghosh Architects encloses Bangalore Art Museum in stainless steel “water tank”. https://www.dezeen.com/2023/02/08/museum-art-photography-bangalore-mathew-ghosh-stainless-steel/
Shankar. A. 2022. The Hindu. Bengaluru: The Museum of Art and photography is breaking the White Cube. https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/art/museum-of-art-and-photography-map-bangalore-bengaluru-abhishek-poddar-kamini-sawhney-digital-ai/article66306398.ece
IMAGE REFERENCES
https://map-india.org/about/the-museum/
http://www.mathewghosh.com/instu-map.html
