INDIA

BY LAUREN STEVENS
Year Level: 10 .. In this presentation we will be looking at the culture and art of India and more specifically the paintings of Indian artists. By considering the culture of a different country we are able to appreciate the diversity of our own multicultural community and determine how this influences and affects our own art identity .

INDIAN FLAG

INDIA
PEACOCK

TIGER

- The Republic of India is a country with one of the largest populations in the world, totalling 1,014,003,817, with an enormous variety of racial types, cultures and languages. - India has an area of 3.3 million sq. km and is separated from mainland Asia by the Himalayas that are the highest mountain ranges in the world. - Hindi is considered the national language and English is used mainly as a language for official communication. - The Hindu religion is the major religion of India and evolved more than 4,000 years ago.

LOTUS FLOWER

LION OF SARNATH BANYAN TREE

- The Indian flag was designed as a symbol of freedom. The saffron stands for courage and sacrifice and the spirit of renunciation, the white, for purity and truth and the green for faith and fertility. - The National emblem of India is a replica of a statue called the Lion of Sarnath. The lions portrayed symbolise power, courage and confidence. The national bird of India is the Peacock, the national flower is the Lotus and the national animal is the Tiger. - Art is important to Indian culture, as it has been used throughout history to RUPEES pass on the traditions and folk stories of the past to all people, not just those (INDIAN MONEY) who are literate.

BATIK PAINTINGS
Batik is a painting style commonly used in Indian Art. These paintings usually tell traditional stories. When a Batik painting is made, hot wax is first applied to the fabric in a design of the artist choice. The fabric is then either dipped in ink or painted with ink over the wax. The wax acts as a resistant, preventing the dye from reaching the fabric where it has been applied. This technique can be applied in layers with different colours.

EXAMPLES OF INDIAN BATIK PAINTINGS

This is a typical example of a Batik painting. It portrays a traditional Indian theme and references to the Indian lifestyle, for example the position the woman sits in is a yoga pose also the woman is seated on a lotus flower, a symbol used repeatedly in classical Indian art, representing such things as purity and peace.

Sculpture is often used in Indian culture as a means of depicting various gods (for example Ganesh) worshiped within the religions of India, e.g. Hindu and Buddhist religions.

TRADITIONAL SCULPTURE

ORNATE ALTER

EXAMPLES OF TRADITIONAL SCULPTURE

5 HEADED HUNAMANA

GANESH THE SCRIBE

EXAMPLES OF MENONS PAINTINGS

ANJOLIE ELA MENON

Anjolie Menon is one of India's most accomplished painters. Her paintings show a deep awareness of the human condition. This is expressed through her portrayal of Indian people and the human figure generally, which is a reoccurring theme in her work. Through such paintings Anjolie Menon also explores feminine consciousness and the position of women in Indian society.

GAMES - OIL PAINTING

FISHERMAN A dominant feature of Menons work is also her strong use of STORIES - OIL colour. It is through the use of colour that she is able to PAINTING express emotional qualities, for example she says "It is with colour that one sings, with colour that one plummets to the depths of sorrow and pain." (www.artsindian.com/anjolieelamenon/pipc/interview1.shtml). Menon has lived in and been influenced by many countries other than India, such as England, France and Russia.

ANJOLIE ELA MENON

BRIEF ANALYSIS OF MENONS PAINTINGS

MAGICIANS STORY - OIL PAINTING In this painting we can see many references to India. Some of these include the tiger, which is the national animal of India and also the body of the man in the background that is painted purple, a reference to the many different colours gods are portrayed as in traditional Indian art. Both the men are placed in boxes, which could be a comment on people being categorized by their race, as one is clearly Indian and the other is Anglo-Saxon.

FESTIVAL - OIL PAINTING This painting consists of three large triangular shapes on a bright textured, purple surface. The triangle shape moves across the canvas as though it is one shape depicted as it falls. The background of this painting is textured through a series of gestural marks, which consist of dots, squiggles and sections of colour. As is suggested through the title 'Festival' this painting makes reference to the nature of the many festivals that take place in India, e.g. the feelings created by these festivals, as it captures their bright, swirling and energetic nature.

HORSES - OIL PAINTING

M.F.HUSAIN
COMPLAMENTRIES OIL PAINTING M.F.Husains paintings have been influenced by his many different interests. These include rustic Indian folk art, calligraphy and commercial cinema. Also many artists have influenced Husains painting style and selected themes. For example his confident lines and pure colours come from his admiration of Expressionist painters like Oskar Kokoschka and Emil Nolde. Husain is also influenced by Picasso in his choice of themes. This is apparent in Fifth Arrival where the horses depicted resemble those used by FITTH ARRIVAL - OIL PAINTING Picasso in a painting called Gurnica. In Fifth Arrival horses race across the canvas and we are left with the impression that they may not still be their if we look away. This impression is created through the expressions and body language of the horses and the woman and also through Husain expressive lines, for example in the horses legs. A sense of movement is also achieved through the blurred background, where all that remains defined is the horses shadows. M.F.HUSAIN B.1915

LAXMAN SHRESHTHA
I want to understand each one of these hues and have the intelligence and strength to use each one of them. Shreshtha.
interview with Adhay Sardesai.Art In India Magazine

UNTITLED WATERCOLOURS Abstract painter Laxman Shreshtha principally explores colour and geometrical shapes, for example the windows and triangles used in the examples shown. Many other painters have influenced him, most significantly though, the abstract expressionist painter Rotho. Rotho inspires Shreshtha through his use of colour and his removal of unnecessary forms. Shreshtha artworks have evolved from using a variety of colours on a canvas, to one colour per artwork, where all the hues and tone of that colour are explored.

UNTITLED OIL PAINTINGS

The painting shown above is Shreshthas reaction to his environment, specifically the Himalayan ranges. Through the potential colours have to express emotions and the purity of geometrical shapes, this landscape describes a sense of spiritual awareness of the land. The colours in this painting, as in many other paintings of Shreshtha describe not only the physical nature of the land but more so the feeling the land leaves with its viewer.

The major theme of Vamas work is female portraiture, illustrated in the examples shown. The majority of these women are Indian, but are not always depicted in traditional Indian attire or environments. Often they are portrayed as wealthy European or English women through their poses and the activities they are depicted as being involved in, e.g. a woman sitting on a sofa fixing her B. 1848 D.1906 hair. Also the the colours used in Vamas paintings are reminiscent of traditional European artworks, e.g. glowing muted hues. Most noticeably these paintings lack the influence of traditional Indian folk art, e.g. symbols of mythology and religion. Instead they capture the traditions of the Western world, e.g. women as the passive EXAMPLES OF VARMAS homebody, as opposed Indian art where woman would be used in OIL PAINTINGS artwork to symbolise fertility, etc.

RAVI VARMA

EXAMPLES OF OIL PAINTINGS BY RAZA

S.H.RAZA
Raza integrates signs and symbols of Indian mythology, for example the significance of certain colours like red, black and yellow and seeks to capture the essence of India. His themes also explore the traditions of Hindu philosophies and the traditional artworks used to represent these. CONVERSATION OIL PAINTING Fertility, an oil painting by Raza, is a strong, abstract image. It concentrates on solid geometrical shapes and colours which include black, green, blue and white. As with traditional Indian paintings this artwork incorporates a painted frame, which becomes the art also. The center of the painting is clearly defined and all the lines in the painting emerge from this point. Considering the title FERTILITY - OIL PAINTING Fertility, the solid spine could represent a starting point of life from which all other life emerges.

99
GHDF

KALIYAN - OIL PAINTING

EXAMPLES OF ROYS PAINTINGS JESUS - OIL PAINTING

CHRIST OIL PAINTING

The art of Roy is inspired by both traditional Indian folk and village arts & Western methods of painting. These examples illustrate this appropriately, e.g. many of his themes are around Jesus JAMINI ROY who is a Christian icon in Western B. 1887 D.1972 society, however Roy applies aspects of traditional Indian arts, e.g Christ where he has incorporated a mosaic texture and Indian symbols. Swaana Yanesha typifies Jamini Roys painting style. It is again a combination of Western and Eastern ideas. The subject matter depicts a traditional Indian god & the colours used are also reminiscent of those used in traditional Indian painting. However the style Roy has selected to portray this theme in is styalised and abstract in nature, typical of modern, Western paintings. SWAANAYANESHA OIL PAINTING

JAMINI ROY

SEATED WOMAN OIL PAINTING

WOMAN - OIL PAINTING

Lotus sellers is a classic example of Bendres technique. In this painting three women sit dressed in traditional Indian clothing selling lotus flowers (national flower of India). This scene is typical of the streets of India, where traders sit along the streets edge selling their goods. The colours in this painting are highly representative of India also and mimic the colours used in traditional Indian paintings. Interestingly though this artwork is painted in a technique developed in EXAMPLES OF Europe, namely Expressionism, where BENDRES OIL colours are used to express emotions. PAINTINGS

N.S.BENDRE
B.1910 D.1992

Bendre is an artist who is a pioneer of Indian modern art. His painting style is influenced by Cubism, Expressionism and Abstraction and various other trends in mainstream European Modernism. However the themes of his paintings explore everyday situations of Indian life.

LOTUS SELLERS - OIL PAINTING

VILLAGE GIRLS OIL PAINTING

BOOKS

RESOURSES

CULTURES OF THE WORLD - Edited by Melvin Ember and Carol R Ember. MacMillian
Compendium. Published by MacMillian Library Reference 1996.

ETHNIC DRESS - Written by Frances Kennet & Caroline MacDonald Haig. Published by Reed
International Books Limited 1995)

IMAGES OF INDIA - Written by Sophie Baker, Introduced by Dervla Murphy. Published by the
Hamlyn Publishing Group Limited 1989.

INDIA LIBRARY OF NATIONS - Published by Time-Life Books B.V all rights reserved 1986. ASIAN ART - An Illustrated History of sculpture, painting and architecture. THE ART OF INDIAN ASIA (VOL 1&2) - Written by Joseph Campbell. Published by Princeton
Uni Press 1955.

India - Art and Culture 1300-1900- Written by Stuart Cary Welch. Published by Holt, Rinehart &
Winston.

The flame and the lotus - Written by Martin Lerner. Published by Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
Publishers.

INTERNET
MODERN INDIAN ART, Contemporary paintings/sculptures http://theory.tifr.res.in/bombay/leasure/art/index.html. ARTISTS ARTS & CULTURE, Indian Artists - http://dir.123india.com ART IN INDIA - http://www.artindiamag.com/index.html ARCHIVE OF PROFILES, INDIAN ART CIRCLE - http://www.indianartcircle.com

ART RESPONSE
1.
Research five different Indian gods and collect visual references. Look at the way the Indian artists combine different forms together, e.g. animals with people. Referring to these, invent your own "God." That is, a merger of different things you believe in, e.g. your favorite animal combined with your favorite movie star, sitting on your favorite armchair. Paste your references in your journal and after completing a series of sketches, complete a finished drawing in gray-lead pencil on A3 paper.

SHIVA

GANESH

GAYATRI

EXAMPLES OF INDIAN GODS DIPICTED IN INDIAN ART

2. Research and collect examples of traditional Indian sculptures. Using these, the references found for the previous task and your final drawing for task one, create a three dimensional sculpture. As in task one, this sculpture will depict a god you have invented. Place the reference material for the sculpture in your journal and complete relevant sketches in you journal also. The finished sculpture is to be completed in clay and stand between 20-30cm high.

EXAMPLES OF TRADITIONAL INDIAN SCULPTURE

3. Research and collect 5-10 different portraits of Indian people (photographs and/or paintings). Look at the markings they have on their faces and bodies, e.g. bindies, jewelry and tattoos. Look at different ways they dress, e.g. turbans and saris. Paste these references into your journal. Using these to help you, draw a self-portrait of what you would look like adorned as an Indian. Leave your facial structure as it is, but add accessories to it. You will need to complete several sketches of your self-portrait showing different Ideas about what you will add to and around your face. The finished piece can be sketched out in pencil, but is to be rendered with coloured pastel on an A3 sheet of paper.

EXAMPLES OF PHOTOGRAPHS AND PAINTINGS SHOWING INDIAN DRESS AND DECORATION

4. Research and retain an example of both an Indian and an Australian traditional landscape.

For each example:

Give the title, artist, medium (materials), date the work was produced and state which country it was produced in. Write 200 words describing the subject matter (what you can see), any influences you can determine, the style it is painted in (I.e. realistic, abstract), state if the painting is religious, mythical, symbolic, narrative. At the end of these two descriptions... Write one paragraph of approximately 100 words stating the overall differences between the two landscapes. Compare the differences between what each artist has concentrated on, the differences between the painting styles of the artists, the differences between the types of perspectives used, etc..

5. Find at least 5 examples of portraits portrayed in Indian paintings that are painted in a traditional technique an paste these into your journal. Find a photograph from a magazine of a person you would like to draw and paste this into your journal. Looking carefully at the traditional Indian portraits and apply this technique to your photograph. Some things you might add could be patterns, black outlines, brighter colours, etc. You can sketch this artwork out in pencil on A2 paper, but it must be finished as a coloured painting.