chitralakshana, all about indian art and artists.

Background for the conference: Indian Painting: the lesser known traditions
(Write up provided by Dr. Anna Dallapiccola)

The last few decades have seen a flourishing of outstanding scholarship in the areas of courtly painting such as Mughal, Rajasthani, Pahari and Deccani. India, however, has an astonishing wealth of diverse painting tradition. These have not been as widely studied as they deserve, but have generally been considered and classified as ‘folk’. Thus they have tended to be neglected by mainstream scholarship. The aim of this Conference is to bring together scholars who have devoted much of their attention to such lesser known traditions. These are now beginning to be recognized as of pivotal importance for our understanding of the social setting in which they have evolved and play an important factor in the development of post-Independence Indian painting. The Conference has been convened to bring together original scholarly research into wide areas of ‘lesser known’ tradition of Indian painting. It focuses mainly on the narrative painting of two cultural areas of India: Eastern and Southern India.

The introductory key-note lecture will address the long debated issue of the changes which have affected the ritual-bound visual culture, such as the patua scroll painting and other expression of folk and tribal artistic production, now that these have entered the sphere of established ‘art’ exhibited in museums and galleries, detached from their traditional context and purpose.

Two contributions will explore the rich heritage of story telling in Bengal, one discussing in detail 19th century material, and the other presenting works of the late 20th century dealing with contemporary issues such as politics, public health, education etc. A third paper will show how traditional ‘folk’ art subjects have influenced the work of Jamini Roy, one of the most influential 20th century painters.

The South Indian group of papers will consider paintings on paper and cloth, and murals. Paper manuscripts from 17th and 18th century, of the epics and other literary works in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, will be discussed here for the first time. These will be followed by a study of a group of large painted textiles (kalamkaris) from 19th century Andhra. Finally, a 20th century painted scroll from Telangana will offer the opportunity to analyze the relationship between oral and painted narrative.

The section on murals will introduce the paintings on the walls of the Sri Varadarajasvami temple, one of the three most important Vaishnava temples in Southern India, at Kanchipuram. This will be followed by a survey of 18th and 19th century mural painting in Karnataka, discussing both religious and courtly imagery. In conclusion, a new interpretation of the famous Ramayana murals in the Mattancheri Palace at Kochi will highlight the perception of kingship and authority in 16th century Kerala.

Conference at a glance

Welcome reception/ banquet on Friday March 7, 2008. Madras Pavilion, Sugarland, Tx.

Conference opens on March 8, 2008 at 10.00 a.m. at Museum of Fine Arts Houston.

Day 1 of the conference lunch at the beautiful sculpture garden across from museum.

Reception at the end of day 1 at Mfah lobby to honor the delegates of the conference.

Cultural program at Kaplan Theater, Jewish Community Center, 7:00 p.m., March 8,08

Display of books on Indian paintings and display of paintings by commissioned artists

Opportunity to buy newly created, original art work

Cultural program on March 8, 2008

Chathura- Cultural program consisting of Indian music and select forms of dances will be presented on Saturday, March 8, 2008 starting at 7.00 p.m. at the Kaplan Theater, JCC,
5601 S.Braeswood, Houston, Tx. 77096.

The remaining 2 days of the conference will be held at the Brown Auditorium, located in the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, 1001 Bissonnet, Tx, 77005. Museum’s ph number 713.639.7300

Inauguration of the Conference on March 8, 2008 by Ms. Martha Blackwelder

Martha Blackwelder was named Executive Director of Asia Society Texas Center in Houston, TX, in July of 2007. Blackwelder served as Coates-Cowden-Brown Curator of Asian Art at the San Antonio Museum of Art (SAMA) from June 2000- June 2007.

During her time in San Antonio she made numerous acquisitions and was responsible for several major gifts of Asian art to the institution. In May 2005, she opened the new 15,000 square foot Lenora and Walter F. Brown Asian Art Wing, the largest and most comprehensive display of Asian art in the Southern half of the United States. In addition to directing the five-year project, she raised over $9.6 million to complete the Asian Wing Capital Campaign.
Seventy-three of the works of art from the SAMA Asian Art collection are presented in Blackwelder’s book, At the Edge of the Sky: Asian Art in the Collection of the San Antonio Museum of Art, (November 2006, Paragon Book Gallery).
Born in North Carolina Blackwelder received her B.A. in Art History from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1990, M.A. in Asian Art History from Florida State University in 1999.

Unveiling of the commissioned paintings

Ms. Terrie Sultan will unveil several paintings created by local artists exclusively for this conference and its theme. Ms. Sultan was appointed Director of Blaffer Gallery in June, 2000. She came to Houston from Washington, D.C. where she had worked for the previous twelve years as Curator of Contemporary Art at the Corcoran Gallery of Art. Ms Sultan received a BFA in Fine Arts from Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York, and an MA from the Center for Museum Studies at John F. Kennedy University in San Francisco, California.

Continuing the conference on March 9, 2008
The conference will continue on March 9, 2008. Please note the starting time of the conference is 1.00 p.m. at the Brown Auditorium, located inside Mfah.

Conference schedule

March 7, 2008 Reception/banquet starting at 7.00 p.m. at Madras Pavilion, Sugarland, Tx.
March 8, 2008 inauguration at 10.00 a.m. March 9, 2008 conference starts at 1.00 p.m.

Conference format: Th-e conference will follow the pattern of a university seminar. The segment coordinator will introduce the speakers briefly. Speakers are allotted45 mts for their presentation, 10 mts for Q&A followed by 5 mts to wrap up.

Website and upto date Information on the conference will be maintained on web site www.samskritihouston.org and will be constantly updated as new information becomes available. For additional information or if you have any questions regarding the conference, please contact Vatsa Kumar by phone (979)240-9496 or via e mail vatsakumar@att.net . You may also contact Dr. Rathna Kumar by phone at (281)265-2787 or via e mail anjali@wt.net



	Background for the conference: Indian Painting: the lesser known traditions (Write up provided by Dr. Anna Dallapiccola) The last few decades have seen a flourishing of outstanding scholarship in the areas of courtly painting such as Mughal, Rajasthani, Pahari and Deccani. India, however, has an astonishing wealth of diverse painting tradition. These have not been as widely studied as they deserve, but have generally been considered and classified as ‘folk’. Thus they have tended to be neglected by mainstream scholarship. The aim of this Conference is to bring together scholars who have devoted much of their attention to such lesser known traditions. These are now beginning to be recognized as of pivotal importance for our understanding of the social setting in which they have evolved and play an important factor in the development of post-Independence Indian painting. The Conference has been convened to bring together original scholarly research into wide areas of ‘lesser known’ tradition of Indian painting. It focuses mainly on the narrative painting of two cultural areas of India: Eastern and Southern India. The introductory key-note lecture will address the long debated issue of the changes which have affected the ritual-bound visual culture, such as the patua scroll painting and other expression of folk and tribal artistic production, now that these have entered the sphere of established ‘art’ exhibited in museums and galleries, detached from their traditional context and purpose. Two contributions will explore the rich heritage of story telling in Bengal, one discussing in detail 19th century material, and the other presenting works of the late 20th century dealing with contemporary issues such as politics, public health, education etc. A third paper will show how traditional ‘folk’ art subjects have influenced the work of Jamini Roy, one of the most influential 20th century painters. The South Indian group of papers will consider paintings on paper and cloth, and murals. Paper manuscripts from 17th and 18th century, of the epics and other literary works in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, will be discussed here for the first time. These will be followed by a study of a group of large painted textiles (kalamkaris) from 19th century Andhra. Finally, a 20th century painted scroll from Telangana will offer the opportunity to analyze the relationship between oral and painted narrative. The section on murals will introduce the paintings on the walls of the Sri Varadarajasvami temple, one of the three most important Vaishnava temples in Southern India, at Kanchipuram. This will be followed by a survey of 18th and 19th century mural painting in Karnataka, discussing both religious and courtly imagery. In conclusion, a new interpretation of the famous Ramayana murals in the Mattancheri Palace at Kochi will highlight the perception of kingship and authority in 16th century Kerala. Conference at a glance Welcome reception/ banquet on Friday March 7, 2008. Madras Pavilion, Sugarland, Tx. Conference opens on March 8, 2008 at 10.00 a.m. at Museum of Fine Arts Houston. Day 1 of the conference lunch at the beautiful sculpture garden across from museum. Reception at the end of day 1 at Mfah lobby to honor the delegates of the conference. Cultural program at Kaplan Theater, Jewish Community Center, 7:00 p.m., March 8,08 Display of books on Indian paintings and display of paintings by commissioned artists Opportunity to buy newly created, original art work Cultural program on March 8, 2008 Chathura- Cultural program consisting of Indian music and select forms of dances will be presented on Saturday, March 8, 2008 starting at 7.00 p.m. at the Kaplan Theater, JCC, 5601 S.Braeswood, Houston, Tx. 77096. The remaining 2 days of the conference will be held at the Brown Auditorium, located in the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, 1001 Bissonnet, Tx, 77005. Museum’s ph number 713.639.7300 Inauguration of the Conference on March 8, 2008 by Ms. Martha Blackwelder Martha Blackwelder was named Executive Director of Asia Society Texas Center in Houston, TX, in July of 2007. Blackwelder served as Coates-Cowden-Brown Curator of Asian Art at the San Antonio Museum of Art (SAMA) from June 2000- June 2007. During her time in San Antonio she made numerous acquisitions and was responsible for several major gifts of Asian art to the institution. In May 2005, she opened the new 15,000 square foot Lenora and Walter F. Brown Asian Art Wing, the largest and most comprehensive display of Asian art in the Southern half of the United States. In addition to directing the five-year project, she raised over $9.6 million to complete the Asian Wing Capital Campaign. Seventy-three of the works of art from the SAMA Asian Art collection are presented in Blackwelder’s book, At the Edge of the Sky: Asian Art in the Collection of the San Antonio Museum of Art, (November 2006, Paragon Book Gallery). Born in North Carolina Blackwelder received her B.A. in Art History from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1990, M.A. in Asian Art History from Florida State University in 1999. Unveiling of the commissioned paintings Ms. Terrie Sultan will unveil several paintings created by local artists exclusively for this conference and its theme. Ms. Sultan was appointed Director of Blaffer Gallery in June, 2000. She came to Houston from Washington, D.C. where she had worked for the previous twelve years as Curator of Contemporary Art at the Corcoran Gallery of Art. Ms Sultan received a BFA in Fine Arts from Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York, and an MA from the Center for Museum Studies at John F. Kennedy University in San Francisco, California. Continuing the conference on March 9, 2008 The conference will continue on March 9, 2008. Please note the starting time of the conference is 1.00 p.m. at the Brown Auditorium, located inside Mfah. Conference schedule March 7, 2008 Reception/banquet starting at 7.00 p.m. at Madras Pavilion, Sugarland, Tx. March 8, 2008 inauguration at 10.00 a.m. March 9, 2008 conference starts at 1.00 p.m. Conference format: Th-e conference will follow the pattern of a university seminar. The segment coordinator will introduce the speakers briefly. Speakers are allotted45 mts for their presentation, 10 mts for Q&A followed by 5 mts to wrap up. Website and upto date Information on the conference will be maintained on web site www.samskritihouston.org and will be constantly updated as new information becomes available. For additional information or if you have any questions regarding the conference, please contact Vatsa Kumar by phone (979)240-9496 or via e mail vatsakumar@att.net . You may also contact Dr. Rathna Kumar by phone at (281)265-2787 or via e mail anjali@wt.net

Martha Blackwelder was named Executive Director of Asia Society Texas Center in Houston, TX, in July of 2007. Blackwelder served as Coates-Cowden-Brown Curator of Asian Art at the San Antonio Museum of Art (SAMA) from June 2000- June 2007.