{"title":"Lionel Wendt","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/lionelwendt.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eArtist's website\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLionel Wendt (1900-1944), a barrister by profession, was a pianist who played Bach, Bartok and Jazz and a photographer whose work was exhibited in 1938 in London by the makers of Leica cameras, a rare distinction accorded to few. Yet, he was much more than a brilliant artist. Widely read and having being exposed to the arts of the West, he shared his enormous knowledge with all he came into contact with, not so much as a teacher but as a mentor who strongly advocated the shedding of fixed ideas and the facades of the colonial mentality, and of looking at indigenous culture, not only of Sri Lanka but also of the east and the modern, breakaway trends of the west, and encouraged art that was born of one’s individualistic creativity rather than notions and norms. Within a short span of twenty years, he changed the course of the art and architecture, music and drama in this country. He is “The Father” of modern and contemporary art in Sri Lanka.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[],"url":"https:\/\/twelve-books.com\/collections\/lionel-wendt.oembed","provider":"twelvebooks","version":"1.0","type":"link"}