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Title:
Volume 06 - Issue 4
Date:
1953
Table of contents:
- p. 2-7: Norman, Dorothy, Conversation with Stella Kramrisch | Reproduced here is the substance of an interview which Dr. Stella Kramrisch gave to the American writer and connossieur, Dorothy Norman. Stella Kramrisch explains her interpretation of the essential meaning of the great periods of Indian art, and her impressions of American art.
- p. 8-9: Doshi, Balkrishna, A Note on Le Corbusier | Le Corbusier's contribution to the revolution in contemporary architecture is known throughout the world. This is an encapsulation of Le Corbusier's principles of architecture and town planning, his researches, and major projects. He insists on pure forms, which are mainly functional and not decorative. For him, architecture and town planning -- as also the major arts of architecture, painting, and sculpture -- are inseparable. In planning dwellings, he searched for a common unit of measure. In 1942, he invented, with the collaboration of ASCORAL (Assembly of Constructors for an Architectural Renovation), the CIAM grid, which has made the analysis of contemporary town planning easier. He applied all his researches in the planning of Chandigarh.
- p. 10-18: Le Corbusier, Urbanism | An exposé of urbanism is developed in the following order, as expressed by C.I.A.M. (International congress of Modern Architecture): (1) the gift of technique; (2) the housewife; (3) the family shelter ("the fire"; "the hearth"); (4) sociability; the unalienable individual and the productive group; (5) assemblage -- collectively of individuals; (6) reappearance of the proportioned commune; (7) irrigation of the territory by 7 roads; (8) appearance of a modern urban pattern; (9) urbanism in three-dimensional town planning; (10) statement of the density and function of the dwelling; (11) the 4 functions of town planning (habitation, work, cultivation of mind and body, and circulation); (12) the 3 human institutions (unity of agriculture, linear-city, and radio-concentric city of exchanges); (13) adaptation to geography. Each of these features is elaborated, with the aid of diagrams.
- p. 19-23: Drew, Jane, On the Chandigarh Scheme | This is report of a talk delivered by Miss Jane Drew (Mrs. Maxwell Fry) at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (London) on the Chandigarh plan. She details the rationale behind the creation of a new capital for the Punjab, the site and its populace, and the master-plan.
- p. 24-25: Koenigsberger, Otto, Chandigarh -- The First and the Revised Projects | This first plan was prepared by Albert Mayer and Mathew Noviezki in 1949-50, and the revised project (1951) by Le Corbusier, Albert Mayer, Maxwell Fry, Pierre Jeanneret, and Jane Drew. The revisions include a shifting of the site to the north-west to ensure sufficient water, simplification of the road system, and a more compact neighbourhood pattern.
- p. 26-29: Khandalavala, Karl, The Laud Ragamala Miniatures | This set of 18 pictures illustrating "the Garland of Songs" is named after Archbishop Laud because it was through him that the Bodleian Library, Oxford, was donated the set in 1640. In the face of various theories on the provenance and date of the paintings, it is maintained that they were painted in the Deccan. This conclusion is based on stylistic parallels between these paintings and the Deccani style. The considerable Mughal influence helps date the miniatures to 1620 at the earliest, possibly 1625. The article also contains a leaflet with explanatory notes and sketches on the illustrations.
- p. 30-44: Randhawa, M.S., Guler: The Birth-place of Kangra Art | The four phases of Guler painting under the Rajas of Haripur were 1661-1730 -- the age of experimentation in the Mughal style with Hindu spirit under Bikram Singh and Dalip Singh; 1730-73 -- the birth of Kangra art under Gowardhan Chand; 1773-90 -- the "spring" of Guler art under Parkash Chand; and 1790-1878 -- the Sikh style during the reigns of Bhup Singh, Shamsher Singh, and Jai Singh; and the final period of decay. Gowardhan Chand married a rani from Basohli. Painters who came with the rani to Guler met artists painting in the Mughal style; this combination resulted in the Kangra style. The art received liberal patronage under Parkash Chand and Bhup Singh. Art at Guler ceased to be practised seriously after 1890 due to changed social conditions and values. The artists were carpenters by caste, and their descendants still live in Haripur. An editorial note by Karl Khandalavala is appended. This is a comment on the dates of the Haripur Rajas with reference to their depiction in portrait miniatures examined in Randhawa's article, and three additional painitings showing Rajas Jagdish Chand, Bikram Singh, and Dalip Singh.
- p. 45-46: Auboyer, Jeannine, An Old Indian Swing | The depiction of a swing in a set of sculptured ivory plates -- of Indian origin and dated as far back as the 2nd century CE -- from the Begram-Kapishi excavations (1937) is significant. It is of celestial character, and linked to symbols of fertility as elucidated in vedic literature and rituals. The makara adornment of its seat confirms this character of fertility.
- p. 47-52: Hall, Fernau, Nritya Darpana - A Study in Modern Choreography | There are two main trends in Indian dancing in the 20th century -- rehabilitation of the 4 classical dance styles, and development of a new tradition of ballet. Rabindranath Tagore, Uday Shankar and Menaka (1930s) and their pupils (1940s) played significant roles in the development of these trends. The major development in Indian ballet took place in Bombay. Nritya Darpana came into existence as a result of the creative vision of Mulk Raj Anand, who brought together the leading dancer-teacher-choreographers of Bombay -- Shirin Vajifdar and Krishna Kutty -- and wrote ballet scripts. The company was strengthened in London with the addition of distinguished artists, and the ballets performed there left a powerful impression with their choreography and clear characterization.
- p. 53-72: Fischer, Klaus, The Calcutta Group | The principles underlying ten years of work by the Calcutta Group (formed in 1943) are examined in the context of the Eastern and Western background. The artists of the Calcutta Group were sculptors and painters with different origins, temperaments, and education. They chose to imitate "naturalistic" models (plants, animals, human beings), and rejected any "realistic similarity " which went against the image in their minds. No fixed style was adhered to. They did not follow Western trends blindly, but believed that the heritage of the East and trends of the West are inter-dependent. Today – in the rigours of the machine age -- there is a decay in artistic taste: empty imitations of the past are appreciated instead of experimentation with fresh trends. The artist can solve conflict with the Eastern public by adding new 'moderns'. He can also best serve his country by devoting himself to art for art's sake, and by developing his own forms, and not by producing obtrusive works of religious or social content. This new meaning of contemporary Indian art is represented here by nine members of the Group: Prodosh and Kamala Das Gupta, Sunil Madhav Sen, Prankrishna Pal, Rathin Mitra, Gobardhan Ash, Hemant Misra, Nirode Majumdar, and Paritosh Sen.