Public art to beautify central Delhi

By Ruhi Bhasin, TNN

NEW DELHI: With New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) planning to install works of public art, roads in the New Delhi area are set to get an aesthetic facelift. 

The civic body has come up with a policy on public art which is likely to be approved in its council meeting in Wednesday. Areas like CP, Shanti Path, NDCC-II complex — Commonwealth Games organising committee headquarters — have been shortlisted as the sites where the civic body will install public art. Sources said artists like Subodh Gupta, Latika Kat, Aneesh Kapoor are likely to be roped in for the project. 

Sources said Subodh Gupta's "The Tree" is likely to be installed in the lawns of the NDCC-II complex. A meeting on public art for Commonwealth Games was held by DUAC on April 11, 2009 where officials also discussed installing sculptures of R K Laxman's 'Common Man' at several spots. 

Said an NDMC official: "Three of Subodh Gupta's proposals were discussed and the members liked the idea of "The Tree" the most. Two locations — Central Park in Connaught Place and courtyard of NDCC II building — were suggested as probable site. Taking into account the security and visibility of the steel sculpture, we have finalized NDCC-II complex." The cost of this sculpture would be Rs 3 crore. 

The tentative date for commissioning of this project is July 2010 and it is likely to be completed by February 2011. "The public art project has not been planned just because Delhi is going to host the Commonwealth Games. We feel the city needs a more distinctive look and by using public art in New Delhi we plan to give it an aesthetic makeover," said an official. 

"Currently, the only examples of public art in the city are India Gate, Teen Murti, Dandi March, Yaksh and Yakshini, RBI head office and the stainless steel sprout structures at the AIIMS crossing," added the official. 

According to NDMC, seven artists have been shortlisted for the project. Most of them have done public art abroad. "The proposal of Kuldeep Singh in consultation with artists from Tamil Nadu was discussed under which stylized lions known as Yalis were to be erected (approximately 30-40 feet high) on Shanti Path. The idea was to position them as dwarpals (gatekeepers) for entry into the New Delhi area," said an official. 

"During installation of public art, two things should be kept in mind. One, its scale in relation to its surroundings to ensure its visibility and the other is to ensure high public movement in the area," said Kuldeep Singh. 

The council meeting on Wednesday will look into financing of the project. PWD and MCD too are planning to install work of public art in their areas and meetings on the matter are expected to take place next week. In a meeting on public art in April 2009, some officials suggested installing sports-related cartoons and building facilities like Park Guell of Barcelona, Spain in the capital.