Folk and Minor Art in India

• Indian folk artistry is uniquely recognized all over the world not only for richness of aesthetics but also as indicators of age-old habitual belief.
• They comprise of tacit knowledge that is protected by passing on through generations.
• Having said that one must also consider the folk artists as creative individuals with adequate freedom of expression to keep the tradition alive and going.
• In India, the mainstream academic style of art synergized with the principle of vernacular art and culture to boost ‘Nationalistic’ idea as well as ‘Modernism’ since pre-colonial era.
• The course traces the journey of an array of indigenous art styles from traditional to contemporary and comments on sustainability of culture through preservation, conservation and paradigm shift.

INTENDED AUDIENCE: Students and researchers of Fine Arts, Design, History of Art, Performing Art, Visual Culture, Museology, Archeology, Sociology

PREREQUISITES: Bachelor Degree in Humanities

COURSE LAYOUT

Week 1: Changing definition of Folk and Minor ArtTimeline and Regions: General MappingTraditional Roots: Elements and PrinciplesTimelessness : Primitive ConnectionEvolution in Purpose: Ritualistic to PropagativeContemporary PracticeWeek 2: Classification and Connections: Traditional RootsAvailable literary recoursesMythical AssociationsIdea of Nationalism in the Context of Folk artIdea of Modernism In the context of Folk ArtRelevance of the Art PracticeWeek 3: Contextualization and DecontextualizationConcept of Communication for Social PurposeAesthetic PerspectiveSecularity and Religious PluralityEthnographic perspective on the study of Folk Art and CultureAbout the Exponents who brought the culture under the limelightWeek 4: Contextualization and DecontextualizationSchool of Art in Madhubani PaintingArt as a Feminine Preserve vs the Male painters of MadhubaniYamapata, Pytkar and other art practice of Jharkhand Yamapata by the JadopatiasSohari Painters and their ArtPatachitra of Bengal and OdishaWeek 5: Continuum of the Practice: Ancient Centres and ContemporaryCase study 1 Stylistic Variety in BengalCase study 2 Stylistic Variety in OdishaCase study 3 Stylistic Variety in Andhra PradeshExponents and their ContributionsHypothesis on Possible Stylistic influencesWeek 6: Characteristics of Contemporary CollectionThematic AnalysisIconic AnalysisSemiotic AnalysisEffect of narratives: Qualitative EvaluationIndividual Expression in Contemporary ArtWeek 7: Cultural Condition: Colonial and Post colonial IdeologiesSocial Formation during PreindependenceNew Aesthetics: early Prints and Battala PrintsArtist Block Makers and Hybrid Aesthetics of Urban Folk ArtKalighat Painting to Haripura Posters: A synergyJamini Roy: Accommodating Vernacular Idiom in Academic PracticeWeek 8: Coexistence and Collaborations with Mainstream ArtStrategies for Future and Sustainability: Vision and RevisionAlternative Context: place of folk art in Contemporary LifestyleAncient literary sources and canonization: Scholarly CommentsNeed of Paradigm ShiftConclusion