Analysis Of Truck Art In India

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In the case of India, the vernacular that is everywhere and well versed with the local people is Truck art. Truck art is the artwork that is done on the sides and back of the truck and lorries which is bright and colourful. It is a regional and cultural form of India by which one can connect with the rural people of India. This concept of painting trucks was born in Pakistan in 1920 when the idea of using the local art to decorate the truck was though of by the transportation companies. Although truck art in India is very different from that of Pakistan’s and the natural boundary that exists between the states does not allow the art both the countries to mix around.

The difference between India’s truck art and Pakistan’s truck is that they …show more content…

A young truck artist named Sadiq explains the meaning and purpose that is to inform the drivers behind to honk before they overtake the truck. Thus the design should be eye catching and the result is better with more extraordinary designs. The reason for the warning to honk is because most of the times the trucks do not have a side view mirror and in India the rule to follow lanes is hardly maintained. But what is the reason for ‘OK’ in the middle? There are numerous theories behind this as well, but the most interesting of all stories is the one that originated in 1940s when the trucks ran of Kerosene and not Diesel. The Kerosene trucks could easily explode if they were hit, so OK was the initials for warning the people that the truck was On Kerosene. That is the reason why they were painted on the rear to inform the …show more content…

As he grew up in a small city in India, he was subjected to a different kind of a advertising world. The most common things that dominated the streets were various depictions of the most popular themes of that time like commercial advertisements, political messages and also celebrations of religious festivals. He noticed that almost all the works on the streets were hand painted by local painted than the digitally designed designs or vinyl. Also travelling within India from one part to another revealed the variety in style and technique. He also mentions that he had always been fascinated by the street art like shop signage or hand made type. Truck art also belongs to that same culture of hand painting, which inspired him to take up this project.
In 2011 he started his research on the Indian truck art. As he started the research he realized that truck art had not been documented in the form of books or publications. That’s when he decided to conduct his own research, so in 2012 he travelled to various parts in India to conduct his own research. He travelled for nearly 45 days to the different cities and villages in India to collect all the information about truck art in the form of interviews, video footage and numerous photographs. After the research all the information that was needed was compiled and edited into a documentary film called

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