Early Life
Born to late Vakkom K.Lakshmanan and K.Krishnamma in Vakkom
in 1969, JohnyML started writing poetry at an early age and got his first poem
published when he was thirteen. His father being one of the founder members of
the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) in Kerala, JohnyML developed an
interest in politics and started following his father’s footsteps in village
reformation. Reading collected writings by Karl Marx and Frederick Engels in
his teens left a deep impression in him and guided by his mother he started
reading poetry and literature avidly. Artist Shibu Natesan who is his first
cousin, initiated him into art history.
Education
JohnyML finished his school education in Government High
School, Vakkom. He took science stream for his Pre-Degree and spent two years
in the Sree Narayana College, Sivagiri, Varkala. During those years he spent a
lot of time in Sivagiri, the death shrine of Sree Narayana Guru and studied his
works deeply. In 1987, he joined the University College, Thiruvananthapuram and
completed his BA and MA in English Language and Literature in 1992. In 1993, he
joined the Fine Arts Faculty, MS University, Baroda and took MFA in Art History
and Criticism in 1995. In 2003, with the support of the Charles Wallace India Trust
he took MA in Creative Curating from the Goldsmiths College, University of
London, UK. Though he enrolled for a PhD in the IIT Hyderabad, he decided to
discontinue it after a year.
Career
After working as a Junior Lecturer in a higher secondary
school in Kerala, JohnyML opted to become an art historian and writer. He
started off as an art critic in 1995 with Hindustan Times and Indian Express.
He went on contributing art columns in all the New Delhi based dailies. His
column in the Hindu Business Line in late 1990s consolidated his position as an
art critic in Delhi. He has been having his short and prolonged stints as a
political journalist since 1997. He became a senior correspondent with the
Malayalam Vaarika and in Tehelka.com. He was with Malayala Manoram for a year
in 2005.
JohnyML is the founder editor of India’s first online art
magazine, mattersofart.com. He also founded and edited one of the most popular
online art journals, artconcerns.com (now defunct). He has been an editor of
the Art and Deal magazine also has guest edited Art Etc. He contributes to Art
India Magazine, Creative Minds, Art Journal and many other exclusive art
magazines. Currently he writes in www.stanacemagazine.in
and naradanews.com.
As a Blogger
Starting a blog in 2008 was a turning point in JohnyML’s
career. As an avid reader and writer, JohnyML started making independent blog
entries on art, culture, cinema and life. He named it after the famous
statement of Malcolm X, ‘By All Mean Necessary’. This popular blog is largely
followed by the art and cultural communities from all over the world. JohnyML
is quoted widely in the news reports abroad based on his blog entries. His
autobiography ‘To My Children’ is a series of thirty blog entries done between
2010 and 2012.
Curatorial Practice
JohnyML is one of the pioneering curators in India who
worked towards bringing respect to curatorial practice, which in India is
largely dominated by self-designated people with no academic or practical
qualifications. He has curated path breaking shows like ‘Small but Significant’
(2000), ‘Dreams: Projects Unrealised’ (2003), ‘Twilight Zone of the Great
Indian Digital Divide’ (2004), ‘Compensation for What has been Lost’ (2006),
‘Video Wednesdays @ Gallery Espace’ (2008-2009), ‘Lensing-it’ (2011), ‘Thekkan
Kaattu’ (47th Annual Exhibition of the Birla Academy, Kolkata),
‘LoC- Line of Control’ (49th Annual Exhibition of the Birla Academy,
Kolkata) and currently working on the Golden Jubilee Exhibitions of the Birla
Academy, Kolkata. The other important exhibitions include ‘Cartist Project’
Jaipur, ‘Goa Reloaded’, ‘R.A.P.E –Rare
Acts of Political Engagement.’
In 2009 he conceptualized and curated one of the largest
murals projects in India. Titled ‘Vibrant Gujarat,’ it was done in a factory
interior in Baroda by a team of artists. In the same year he undertook a 3000
kilometer journey across India to research on how art and art history are
taught in small town art colleges. JohnyML’s writings on this journey is
available on artroutes.in and in his blog.
JohnyML was the Project Director of the United Art Fair
(2012) and Pune Biennale (2015)
Books
JohnyML has authored eight independent books so far and has
contributed to various volumes. K.S.Radhakrishan (a monograph co-authored with
R.Sivakumar), By All Means Necessary (a collection of essays from his blog
published by the Kerala Lalitha Kala Academy), The Circle of Life –the Art of
Siddharth (Prakriti, Chennai), B.D.Dethan and his Distinct Style (Suryakanthi,
Thiruvananthapuram), Straight from Life –animal and bird imageries in Ram Kinkar
Baij (Musui Foundation, New Delhi), In the Open (Ojas, New Delhi), Timeless
Bronze (Uttarayan, Baroda), Biography of Arvind Kejriwal-India
Janadhipathyathileykku (Malayalam published by DC Books), A Pilgrim with a
Camera on the Ramp (on the works of Prabuddha Dasgupta published by Ganjam,
Bangalore)
Translation
JohnyML is a well known translator who has translated
thirteen books so far. He translates international literature into Malayalam.
‘Mistress’ by Anita Nair, ‘Eleven Minutes’ by Paulo Coelho,
‘Embers’ by Sandor Marai, ‘Distant Star’ by Roberto Bolano, ‘I Married a
Communist by Philip Roth, ‘Famished Road’ by Ben Okri, ‘Black Book’ by Orhan
Pamuk, ‘New Life’ by Orhan Pamuk, ‘Inferno’ by Dan Brown, ‘Brave New World’ by
Aldous Huxley, ‘Lost Symbol’ by Dan Brown, ‘Strangeness in my Mind’ by Orhan
Pamuk, ‘Astonishing the Gods’ by Ben Okri (all for DC Books, Kerala) and
‘Ramkinkar and His Works’ by K.G.Subramanyan (Musui Foundation, New Delhi),
Miscellaneous
JohnyML has travelled in seven countries. He travels all
over India to attend seminars and also to teach short terms courses in the
universities. He has taught in the National Institute of Design and many other
fine arts faculties. He has also directed three documentaries on artists: On
Jeram Patel, On N.N.Rimzon and on Sanjeev Sinha. He worked as a campaigner for the
Aam Aadmi Party in his village for six months in 2015. However, he does not
want to be identified as a hardcore political activist and prefers to be known
as a politico-cultural critic. He lives and works from Delhi.
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