Abstract
In this chapter, Indian artist Samit Das discusses the need for archives in Indian art by exploring the idea of Modernity and Modernism in Indian art. Das argues that it is important to analyze Indian art in an Indian context instead of judging it in light of Western worldviews in the name of globalization. He uses “new art of Bengal” as an example to reevaluate the works of artists such as Sir Rajendralal Mitra, Akshay Kumar Maitra, Swami Vivekananda, Abanindranath Tagore, and Rabindranath Tagore in Indian art history. Through his own research and practice, Das attempts to reconsider the glory of Indian art beyond Western lens, emphasizing the importance of artistic-research-based archives from the point of view of a contemporary artist.
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Notes
- 1.
The Swadeshi movement was part of the Indian independence movement and the developing Indian nationalism was an economic strategy that aimed to remove the British Empire from power and improve economic conditions in India by boycotting British products and the revival of domestic products and production processes.
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Kalighat painting or Kalighat Pata originated in the nineteenth-century Bengal, near Kalighat Kali Temple, Kalighat, Kolkata, India, and from being items of souvenirs taken by the visitors to the Kali temple, the paintings over a period of time developed as a distinct school of Indian painting. From the depiction of Hindu gods, god, and other mythological characters, the Kalighat paintings developed to reflect a variety of themes.
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Dalit, meaning, “oppressed” in Sanskrit and “broken/scattered” in Hindi, is a term for the members of lower indigenous aboriginal communities in India that have been converted from a tribe to a caste by Sanskritisation. The term is mostly used for the ones that have been subjected to untouchability. Dalits were excluded from the fourfold Varna system of Hinduism and thought of themselves as forming a fifth Varna, describing themselves as Panchama. Dalits now profess various religious beliefs, including Buddhism, Christianity, and Sikhism.
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Annie Besant, née Wood (1 October 1847–20 September 1933) was a British socialist, theosophist, women's rights activist, writer and orator and supporter of Irish and Indian self-rule.
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Das, S. (2024). The Need of Art Archives in India. In: Pan, L. (eds) The (Im)possibility of Art Archives. Contemporary East Asian Visual Cultures, Societies and Politics. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-5898-6_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-5898-6_7
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