Overview

Many studies on material culture have considered the aesthetic criteria of either artists or their critics, while a few have explored the opinions of artists, critics and others involved with arts or crafts. In this innovative study, the author develops a theory of art worlds that argues for the need to consider the different discursive formations and related strategic practices of an art world. In so doing, she explodes the common notion of 'art world' into a plurality of worlds. The author develops this argument by exploring the art worlds of the Orissan patta paintings, an Indian art form that has seen a great revival since the early 1950s - due partly to increased national pride after independence and partly to the rise of mass tourism. Locally, the increasing popularity of these paintings has led to - and is reinforced by - a village in the district of Puri being designated a 'Crafts Village' by the states government. Here, the author examines the consequences of this increased popularity, paying particular attention to the encompassing local, regional and national discourses involved. In so doing, Clashing Indian Art Worlds demonstrates that, while painters' local discourses are characterised by pragmatism, the discourses of regional and especially national elites are concerned with the exegesis of local paintings and their association with the great Sanskrit tradition. A central theme of the study focuses on the awards given for skill in craft making and their changing significance as they pass from national and regional elites to local painters. It is shown how certain key actions by local painters result from a clash between local discourses on the one hand and regional and national discourses on the other. This beautifully illustrated book will be of interest to all art-lovers and anyone interested in India generally. But the study will be of particular interest to anthropologists working in the sphere of material culture and may well prove to be an essential reference for specialists (such as art historians, art critics and administrators) involved with the production of art and crafts in India.

Full Product Details

9780700709861

Table of Contents

Reviews

Author Information

Helle Bundgaard

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available