I first saw Patachitra when I was in Orissa and participated in a collaborated workshop between five women artists and artisans of this art held at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. Initially, as I drew on the special leaf like paper it was difficult, but I did enjoy it, and by the end of the workshop, the results were astounding. Since then, Patachitra has influenced me in my own work much more than I realise. Often, I find myself painting within small spaces on the canvas, and the forms made by Patachitra artisans like blocks, fish, and stylised human figures inspire me tremendously. I also use the Patachitra technique to decorate the border of my paintings, and in this sense, it is like mixing and matching the old with the new and creating new forms out of traditional art. In my Nathwara Paintings, I have drawn inspiration from traditional art, hence traditional concepts are seen in my present body of art. As far as categorisation is concerned, Patachitra art can be placed in the genre of contemporary Indian art, since various elements of it can be picked up from the traditional corpus and incorporated into contemporary art. It is always old traditions that pave a way for new trends, be it in embroidery or Patachitra. In this context, there is a continuity of traditional art in the contemporary art scene. While the style may have changed, and newer mediums like oil paints, acrylics, and watercolours have been introduced in place of the traditional natural pigments, the basic elements are the same even today—sky, trees, human figures, and others like them. For me, our traditional Indian artists were craftsmen rather than artists. But that is not to say that I consider them to be inferior in talent in any way; ... ... middle of paper ... ...who would perform the Chakshudanas ,i.e that is, the restoration of the eyes by filling in the iris of the eyes on the painting. This becomes really interesting and we find that from the funeral themes from the Jadupatua paintings could also be found in Santal tribal art. In these Jadupatvas paintings that deeply influenced Santal art, one finds a sense of sheer abandon, which, in turn, enables the artist to play with form, and give expression and colour to the dramatic and poetic purposes of the form. What is really encouraging is that the tradition of Patachitras is still a growing and thriving one. They are a part of what we call the memento culture of the tourist industry. The Patachitras still beckon and, still seduce viewers in picking them up. They are easy to understand, they touch the heart, and are embedded in cultural ethos of the state.
Douglas, Frederic. “Symbolism in Indian Art and the Difficulties of its Interpretation.” Denver: Denver Art Museum,1934.
I learned about many significant artwork and artist in this class. This class provided me with a better understanding of the history of the world Art, but also helped me understand the development of art style. However, among all of these precious pieces of artwork, there are two special ones that caught my attention: The Chinese Qin Terracotta Warriors and The Haniwa. Each of them represents the artist’s stylistic characteristics and cultural context. Although they represented different art of rulers, historical values, and scenes, there were visible similarities.
Secondly, the art of India fascinated me a lot especially the 13th Century art of “S...
Multiplicity has always been a prominent theme in the iconography of Hindu art, and its importance could be seen by the vast prevalence of the images of deities with multiple heads, arms, eyes, and other bodily parts. Such multiplicity convention could be traced back to the Vedic period, where there were textual references that support the existence of the phenomenon then. However, the first recognizable iconographical representation of the gods with their multiple appendages did not seem to appear before the pre-Kusana period. While the early viasnava art, saiva art, and the representation of what Doris Meth Srinivasan calls, “Warrior Goddess”, emerged from the pre-Kusana period and developed throughout the Kusana period onto the Gupta period,
Frascina & Harris (eds), Art in Modern Culture: An anthology of critical texts, Phaidon, 1992
Painting in the 19th century, still highly influenced by the spirit of Romanticism, proved to be a far more sensitive medium for the kind of personal expression one should expect from the romantic subjectivity of the time. At the very beginning of the “modern period” stands the imposing figure of Francisco Goya (1746-1828), the great independent painter from Spain. With much indebtedness to Velazquez, Rembrandt and the wonders of the natural world, Goya occupies the status of an artistic giant. His artistic range goes from the late Venetian Baroque through the brilliant impressionistic realism of his own to a late expressionism in which dark and powerful distor...
A massive range of motifs and designs is seen in the bandhani work of Gujarat. The designs commonly associated with the bandhanis from Bhuj are figurative and floral. Common animals motifs are Chita, popat, Hathi, vagh, Mor, Vagh Kunjar (tiger interlocked with elephants) (Anand, 1991).
A live example of the finest art, tradition & culture is known as Shital Pati . Shital Pati is a kind of mat which are thin & smooth and feels cold by nature because it is made from murta plants (also called as cool mat). These mats are produced in many north-eastern parts of India like: Tripura, Assam, West Bengal and as well as in Bangladesh. Shital Pati produced in these areas because Murta Plants Stem (which is the essential part of Shital Pati) are grown in marshy and water logged areas.
In the occupational history of Bengal, it is mostly the potters who were engaged in the making of ordinary clay items, who then shifted to idol-making. But, at the same time not all potters are idol-makers, because it requires a certain level of artistic talent regarding the ability to create human forms and life like models. Also, it requires the patronage of the aristocrats, since they were the willing consumers of the art, and these classes are not found in all localities. On the other hand, traditionally in Bengal, it is not only the potters who were engaged in idol-making. In different localities, individuals or groups from other castes were also skilled in idol-making. In the area called Rarh (parts of West Medinipur, Purulia, Burdwan and Birbhum). In Kolkata, Nadia, Murshidabad and North 24 Parganas it is the caste potters or Pals who are engaged in clay modelling and idol-making. These Pals are also residing in Ghurni, Krishnanagar and involved in the occupation of clay idol and image
The Balinese artists are renowned for their skills in wood and stone carving and painting representations of the local mythical beings. They have traditionally been featured largely in temples and palace architectures for hundreds years. Most of the artists – wood and stone carver, art painter, Balinese dancer, traditional musical player, etc. - work without any prior education as it runs in their blood either from their parents or ancestor. When Balinese people do not work in the field, they are doing and creating some arts. They are really capable of giving shape to their thoughts and creativity through arts. The view of people carving the wood or stone, painting, dancing, and playing music is easily to find in Ubud, my favorite place and the heaven place of art lover. The carved door, window, mirror, and coffee table are usually used to furnish hotels, villas, or other residential places. The wood will bring a sophisticated smell in the room. The performance of Balinese dancing, playing gamelan - a traditional Indonesian ensemble typically incl...
Motifs Used: The motifs are sacred or floral. Some of the most common motifs used for Gujarati work are peacock, garba dancing couple, elephant, and all traditional motifs. For Kutch and Katyawadi work motifs of birds, animals, flowers with the use of mirror work are very famous. Book covers mostly show the Fourteen Auspicious Dreams which are dreamt by the mother of each Tirthankara as she lies in a state between sleeping and waking’. In the centre is the four-armed Goddess Mahalakshmi. Below her is the dream of the ocean, usually represented by a ship in full sail. The elephant, the bull, the lion, the vase, the lotus lake, the Rosary, the moon, the sun, the celestial mansion, the heap of jewels and flames are depicted in different ways.
Asia is such a large area of the world and it happens to hold a lot of history of Chinese and Indian cultures. Through this essay I will discuss early art forms and how it reflects on the Indian and Chinese values and cultures. I will also discuss China’s first four Dynasties as well as the origin of Indian culture.
India is marked by its rich traditional heritage of tribal arts and culture. Since the days of remote past, the diversified art and cultural forms generated by the tribal and rural people of India have continued to evince their creative magnificence. Apart from outstanding brilliance from the perspective of aesthetics, the tribal art and cultural forms have played
Indian traditional art and craft are age old practices by different craft-guilds all over India. Though they are the manifestation of cultural heritage of this country, gradual seclusion from the larger population and the craft-guilds will affect the cultural sustainability of the country. Initially many of the traditional painters were associated with social ceremony and used to paint on façade of village houses or on scrolls as part of a traditional gesture of the ceremony (Ranjan and Ranjan, 2007).
Artists are accorded-important in the society. The enormous temples, temple sculptures, murals, paintings, rich tradition of poetry and literature, vibrant dance forms and music in almost every small village and town throughout India stands as a testimony. In the south of India alone, we have many dynasties from the earlier Śatavāhana’s to the latest Royal Mysore Province which patronized art and artistes. In fact, it was a matter of prestige to patronize arts, artistes and to host foreign artistes. Internal evidence shows that there was occasional exchange of artists between royale to imbibe and learn the techniques of other artistes and other art forms. In this exchange programme, art not only aggrandized itself in terms of form and content but also it grew in