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Title:
Volume 35 - Issue 4
Date:
1982
Table of contents:
- p. 1 [Advertisements]: [Photographs - Continuity and Change - Festival of India in Great Britain] | Lacquerwork, playing cards, and boxes from Sawantwadi Orissa, and Andhra Pradesh.
- p. 1 [Also in - Pageant of Indian Art: Festival of India in Great Britain; Pages - 5-6; Ed. Dr. Saryu Doshi]: Doshi, Saryu, Introduction | The Festival of India in Great Britain was inaugurated in London on March 22, 1982. The Festival received an enthusiastic response in both countries during the planning and presenting stage. The article is an introduction to a volume that provides vivid glimpses of the pageant of Indian art presented during the Festival and is intended to serve as a companion to some of the major exhibitions held during that period.
- p. 1 [Letters from the Prime Ministers - Indira Gandhi and Margaret Thatcher Also in - Pageant of Indian Art: Festival of India in Great Britain; Ed. Dr. Saryu Doshi]: Festival of India [Great Britain 1982] | Art Exhibitions, India, London
- p. 1-8 [Also in - Pageant of Indian Art: Festival of India in Great Britain; Pages - 161-172; Ed. Dr. Saryu Doshi; Bk contains more illus.]: von Leyden, R., Ganjifa - The Playing Cards of India | The main development of ganjifa and the cards with which it was played appears to have taken place in India. By the 16th century several different types of ganjifa games had already been developed. During the 17th and 18th century, card playing became an accepted and very popular pastime at the innumerable Indian courts. Two systems became popular in India -- the Mughal system and the Hinduized dashavatara system. The structure and rules of play of both systems were essentially the same. Traditional ganjifa cards were handmade and hand-painted, each single card being a work of art. As the demand for playing cards grew and spread, chitrakars (painter-craftsmen) in numerous centres took up the challenge and produced cards in diverse styles catering to every local taste. With the coming of the European colonists, the ganjifa gradually fell into disuse.
- p. 9-14 [Also in - Pageant of Indian Art: Festival of India in Great Britain; Pages - 9-14; Ed. Dr. Saryu Doshi]: Vatsyayan, Kapila, In the Image of man - The Indian Perception of the Universe through 2000 Years of Painting and Sculpture | The theme of Indian art, in essence, is the universe in all its abundance and multiplicity of life and form. Nature is indispensable to the human world -- the two are interrelated, interdependent, and always transmutable. The world of vegetation has inspired a great variety of motifs throughout Indian art. This rich abundance of nature, its manifold creation and organic coherence, logically culminates in the universal fertility theme known to all religions, with the primary symbolism being of the mother goddess. From the 4th century onwards, Indian art depicts through an extensive body of mythology, the 3 principal deities of Hinduism: Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva.
- p. 15-18 [Also in - Pageant of Indian Art: Festival of India in Great Britain; Pages - 15-18; Ed. Dr. Saryu Doshi]: Maxwell, Thomas Stuart, In the Image of man - The Indian Perception of the Universe through 2000 Years of Painting and Sculpture - Concept and Installation | The exhibition "In the Image of Man" was conceived, planned, and as far as possible mounted in a thematic manner. This was a major exhibition at the Festival of India, Great Britain in 1982. This concept presented difficulties in the translation from idea to reality, such as few exhibition organizers have previously had to confront. These problems are discussed in this article. A special catalogue was prepared, also along thematic lines, which dwelt more upon the cultural background from which the exhibits emerged, rather than upon the technicalities of chronology and stylistic development.
- p. 19-28 [Also in - Pageant of Indian Art: Festival of India in Great Britain; Pages - 19-28; Ed. Dr. Saryu Doshi]: Michell, George, In the Image of man - The Indian Perception of the Universe through 2000 Years of Painting and Sculpture - Sculpture | The superb collection of sculpture assembled for the Hayward Gallery exhibition, "In the Image of Man," was one of the glories of the Festival of India in London, 1982. It provided a unique opportunity for appreciating the genius of the Indian sculptor as expressed in a wide range of techniques and styles arranged in a thematic progression of ideas. The selection committee in Delhi and London considered seriously only top-quality sculptures from collections in India and Great Britain. Differences in technique and material, too, were stressed in the exhibition. This article gives an overview of the sculptural section of the exhibition with the following subjects being depicted: the natural world, man in the cosmos, the world of man, particularly sculptures concerning devotion, the subject of enlightenment as realized in the arts of Buddhism and Jainism, and the mythological realm of the gods and goddesses of Hinduism.
- p. 29-42 [Also in - Pageant of Indian Art: Festival of India in Great Britain; Pages - 29-42; Ed. Dr. Saryu Doshi]: Leach, Linda, In the Image of man - The Indian Perception of the Universe through 2000 Years of Painting and Sculpture - Painting | The remarkable variety of Indian painting, emphasized in each of the thematic sections of the "In the Image of Man" exhibition, was suggested by the wide range of miniatures displayed at the Hayward Gallery for the Festival of India, Great Britain in 1982. Since there is no single stylistic factor that links the numerous symbolic and naturalistic manners of painting, artistic themes are a means of comprehending the differences between schools as most artists illustrated common subjects. This article gives an overview of the different schools of paintings, subject matter, and styles on display at the exhibition.
- p. 43-58 [Also in - Pageant of Indian Art: Festival of India in Great Britain; Pages - 43-58; Ed. Dr. Saryu Doshi]: Crill, Rosemary, The Indian Heritage - Court Life and Arts under Mughal Rule | The aim of the "Indian Heritage" exhibition at the Festival of India, Great Britain, in 1982 was to evoke, within 553 square metres of exhibition space 3 centuries of the artistic patronage of the Mughal emperors and to gather the artefacts and trappings of everyday life at the Mughal court in a way that would place the decorative arts of the period in a social context. Although the Mughals held nominal sovereignty over much of India, many areas remained virtually independent under local rulers. The artistic and cultural influence of the Mughal court on these states was strong, but they maintained their own identities, and had their own court painters and craftsmen. The exhibition was conceived as a series of separate but linked areas, each representing a different aspect of the ruler's daily life and of the court activities. This article presents an overview of the exhibition.
- p. 59-64 [Also in - Pageant of Indian Art: Festival of India in Great Britain; Pages - 103-108; Ed. Dr. Saryu Doshi]: Kapur, Geeta, Six Indian Painters - Rabindranath Tagore, Jamini Roy, Amrita Sher-Gil, M.F. Husain, K.G. Subramanyan, Bhupen Khakhar | The 6 Indian painters selected to show at the Tate Gallery, during the Festival of India, Great Britain, in 1982, reflect the specific sensibility of Howard Hodgkin -- the British painter who put together the show. Therefore, it would be artificial to build a little history of modern Indian art on this basis. However, the exhibition spanned a period of 50 years and inevitably a kind of perspective opened up before the viewer. A few important aspects of Indian art could be glimpsed at this exhibition. The writer also decribes the work of the 6 painters namely: Rabindranath Tagore, Jamini Roy, Amrita Sher-Gil, M. F. Husain, K. G. Subramanyan, and Bhupen Khakhar.
- p. 65-69 [Also in - Pageant of Indian Art: Festival of India in Great Britain; Pages - 89-93; Ed. Dr. Saryu Doshi]: Pria Devi, Sethi, Rajeev, Aditi - A View Point | A sense of the forces that inform life from birth to birth inspires Indian craft activity at its finest. The exhibition "Aditi", held in London during the Festival of India, Great Britain, in1982, attempted to put together a simple display on the child and the cycle of life as an inspiration for handicrafts in India. It was conceived in several sections, each concerned with a different aspect of the life cycle. Most of what "Aditi" presented is still part of the living tradition in India, or that which is within easy recall.
- p. 70-78 [Also in - Pageant of Indian Art: Festival of India in Great Britain; Pages - 94-102; Ed. Dr. Saryu Doshi]: Pria Devi, Aditi - An Introduction to "Aditi" | The seeds of the 1982 exhibition "Aditi" (held in London during the Festival of India, Great Britain) were sown somewhat earlier in the Year of the Child. The child, ideally, signifies renewal. "Aditi" attempted to catch something of the quality of the people through the quality of what they had made at their finest and what they enjoy. The people of traditional societies often express themselves through craft activity. "Aditi" traces one complete life-cycle; it does not track the individual from birth to death, but slices across a spiral from the coming of age of one generation to the coming of age of the next. This article describes the different stages in that cycle.
- p. 79-84 [Also in - Pageant of Indian Art: Festival of India in Great Britain; Pages - 125-130; Ed. Dr. Saryu Doshi]: Prakash, Swatantrata, The Living Arts of India Craftsmen at work | The "living arts" in India are the expression of a whole way of life, a whole philosophy of tolerance, acceptance, hope, and devotion. The exhibition of the "Living Arts of India" was conceived in 1980 and held at the Festival of India, Great Britain in 1982. The exhibition was to portray a living vibrant scene of art and craft activity, where visitors could watch the emerging shapes and forms, meet the craftsmen and grasp how in India the aesthetic sense always merges with the symbolic meaning. The craftsmen invited to participate in the exhibition not only represented the best skills and techniques in the country but also demonstrated how, within the framework of forms and images which are inherited through centuries of tradition, they add to their work their own unique touch and give it vitality. The statements of 9 craftsmen invited to the Festival are also recorded in the article.
- p. 85-86 [Also in - Pageant of Indian Art: Festival of India in Great Britain; Pages - 131-132; Ed. Dr. Saryu Doshi]: Ford, Colin, The Living Crafts | In India, craftsmanship is omnipresent in the enormous patchwork of peoples, cultures, and landscapes that is India. It is a present-day manifestation of an ancient tradition. Indian craftsmen learn their skills from a master (guru), and study the classic manuals of art (shilpa shastras). The guru may have started by teaching the pupil the craft. But as a wise teacher and a responsive pupil establish a rapport, knowledge is added to practical information, and wisdom added to knowledge. Through this growth to maturity, the craftsman learns the supreme importance of working in a tradition and of keeping within its limitations. In India, some crafts are beginning to break away from the original traditional craft norms, and the perfect marriage of appearance and function has begun giving way to the arty-crafty.
- p. 91: Harle, James C., The Festival of India in Oxford - The Visual Arts | This note gives an overview of the exhibitions held in Oxford, during the Festival of India, Great Britain, 1982. The exhibitions included a showing of photographs of India by Sunil Janah at the Old Fire Station Arts Centre. At the Museum of Modern Art, an exhibition of contemporary photography as well as an exhibition of the works of a broad selection of living Indian artists were shown. A third exhibition, entitled "Gods of the Byways", consisted of actual examples of the ritual arts of wayside shrines. The Ashmolean Museum put on a small exhibition of paintings illustrating themes from the Krishna story, titled "Krishna in Oxford".
- p. 92: Falk, Toby, India Image: London Art Galleries | In the spring of 1982, encouraged by the Festival of India, many of the private and commercial galleries in London mounted exhibitions of Indian art. The items gathered were often loaned from well-known collections, but the commercial galleries had the major part of their exhibitions for sale. This note presents an overview of some the exhibitions held by galleries in London. The galleries and dealers included the Artemis Group at David Carritt Ltd., Colnaghi Oriental, Tooth Paintings, Spink & Sons, and Eyre and Hobhouse. Maggs Brothers issued an illustrated issue of the Bulletin to mark the Festival of India.
- p. 93-102, 105-112, 114-115 [Also in - Pageant of Indian Art: Festival of India in Great Britain; Pages - 141-160; Ed. Dr. Saryu Doshi]: Jain, Jyotindra, The Master Weavers | "The Master Weavers" exhibition in London on the occasion of the Festival of India, Great Britain, 1982, was a display of high-unit-value textiles, fabrics of such splendid quality as were seen, not long ago, in royal and aristocratic circles. The organizers of the exhibition, after exploring, absorbing, and considering the constraints of the contemporary context, identified the master weavers and employed their expertise in the creation of the highest expressions in traditional textiles of all types. The sari served as the focal point of this exhibition. Martand Singh, the director of the exhibition discusses the concept, objectives, and scope of the show with Jyotindra Jain, the author of the catalogue.