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Title:
Volume 07 - Issue 1
Date:
1953
Table of contents:
- p. 2-4: Anand, Mulk Raj, The Dust of Prejudice [Editorial] | The failure of our people to absorb the age-old traditional art and create a new high pressure art is because of a break in cultural traditions through the British conquest, imposition of alien ideas, sense of inferiority about everything "Indian" (and sense of superiority thereafter), and emphasis on contrarities -- rather than universal aspects -- of art. It is now necessary to strike a balance in the appreciation of Indian art, and stay clear of the prejudice of the Victorians and the chauvinism of scholars against Indian art about the superiority of our native tradition. The recent researches of a generation of European and Indian critics have enabled us to come through the bitterness of racist opinions. Certain necessary workable hypotheses for popularising knowledge about our artistic heritage are: acceptance of any consideration that helps enhance knowledge; an attempt to study the inspiration behind each work and relate it roughly to chronological evidence; and a direct experience of the rhythm or vitality of an artistic work.
- p. 5-10: Wayne, Andrews, The Recent Work of Frank Lloyd Wright | A supreme individualist trained in the drafting room of Louis Sullivan, Wright earned an international reputation for his skyscrapers, and also for the houses he built in the Chicago suburbs. His recent designs are the V. C. Morris' gift shop in San Francisco with a windowless facade, the campus of Florida Southern College at Lakeland built out of reinforced concrete blocks, Johnson Wax Company at Racine (Wisconsin), and "Taliesin Wast", his winter home in Arizona. Some of these are illustrated.
- p. 11-16: Mookerjee, S., The Temples of Eastern Bengal | Clay, brick, and mortar were important in building the temples of Bengal, unlike in the massive stone temples of north and south India. According to Fergusson, the Bengal style was the only one wholly of brick in India. In the char-bangla, Bengali masons developed a pointed arched brick style and introduced a new form of roof suited to the local climate where rainfall is often heavy. The elasticity of the bamboo, universally used in constructing dwellings, helped to give curvi-linear form to the roof. This influenced both Hindu and Mohammadan styles in later times, particularly in Delhi (17th century) and Lahore. However, climate and changing path of river-systems are inimical for preservation of architectural remains in Bengal.
- p. 17-22: Fabri, Charles, Ballet Costume in Akbar's Time | The dancer's costumes, as evident in various miniatures, show that the short-lived staggered multiple ballet skirt (similar in structure to the tutu) in the time of Akbar gave way to a diaphanous skirt soon after Jehangir's accession. The Akbari ballet-tutu is seen in a miniature from the Akbar-nama in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum and a Rajasthani miniature illustrating the Raga Megha, but it is an oddity. The completely transparent skirt of Jehangir's time is evident on a leaf of the Rasikapriya and as late as 1750 in Lady Rothenstein's miniature. The dancers' costumes help in the dating of miniatures -- thus, the Rasikapriya leaf is dated here closer to 1620 than 1610, while Archbishop Laud's miniatures are tentatively put 10 years earlier than Karl Khandalavala's date of 1625. It is also suggested that the diaphanous skirt was worn only by dancers in the 18th century.
- p. 23-26: Irwin, John, The Mogul Gallery at the Victoria & Albert Museum | Besides paintings, the gallery holds jade and crystal (including an inscribed wine cup dated 1613, believed to be of Jahangir, and a ruby pendant), from Akbar's time, ivory carvings, glass huqa bowls, and arms and armour. The textiles include 2 datable woollen carpets, 2 velvet carpets of the periods of Akbar and Jahangir, a satin coat of Jahangir's period, a set of girdles (patkas) of late 17th century Golconda origin, and embroideries and painted cottons.
- p. 27-32: Jayakar, Pupul, Some Terracotta Figurines from Tribal Gujerat | The Rani Paraj areas of Surat district produce clay images linked with their myths, rituals, and superstitions, and specimens from the villages of Valod and Madhi are examined here. The terracottas are made solely for the tribal people of the area, and are never sold at local fairs. The subjects include animal and human figures, and the latter are never meant to represent deities. They are used as offerings in rituals, which mostly centre around tree worship: the samar tree is associated with a benevolent spirit; the vad (banyan) tree with a form of ancestor worship; and the samadi tree with the worship of Babruvahan, the son of Bhima by a Rakshasa mother. Other trees worshipped are the peepul and mango, while the stone cave Goval Dev appears to be the tribal deity. They resemble the figurines of Harappa and Sunga terracottas of Mathura, but they are most closely comparable with the clay figures of Toda cattle cults of the Nilgiris in south India.
- p. 33-37: Tucci, G., Indian Sculpture in Bronze and Stone | Indian art has travelled through Central Asia, China and the southern seas. It has steadily developed through the centuries, and continues to inspire the creation of new forms of beauty. The note and plates are reproduced from "Indian Sculpture in Bronze and Stone", and the photographs are by Madanjeet Singh.
- p. 38-39: Deva, Krishna, An Indian Theatre 2200 Years Old | Ramgarh hill, in the Surguja district of Madhya Pradesh, has the remains of the only ancient Indian theatre dating from roughly the 3rd century BCE. The theatre is rock-cut in the form of a peculiar cave called Sita Benga or Sita Bengra ("abode of Sita"). It contains two elements -- an oblong rectangular cave chamber and a theatre cut respectively on the higher and lower slope of a massive rock. A fragmentary two-line inscription at the entrance to the cave chamber throws light on the period and significance of the cave. Contrary to the view of Dr. Bloch, who discovered the cave, it is concluded that the theatre is of indigenous type, and uninfluenced by a foreign prototype (ancient Greek theatre).
- p. 45-53: Pereira, Joseph, A Report on Modern Religious Art | Like every other art, Christian art, has two elements: the relevant and irrelevant. In the relevant, beauty is related to the idea being expressed; in the irrelevant, beauty is independent of any such relation. Following a complete degradation of Christian art in the 19th century, modern Christian art has restored the relevant expression to Christianity. Jose Clemente Orozco restored the integrity of mural painting as a medium of expression, and helped its establishment in social institutions. The movement begun by Orozco gradually concerned itself with religion, and Christian mural painting became universally practised. Another kind of "mural" was stained glass. Easel paintings too recovered their relevance. Christian art was now established outside the church.