INDIAN MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY ART

The course is one of the educational activities of the degree course in Languages and Civilizations of Asia and Mediterranean Africa, characterizing for the students of the Indological area, Near and Middle East and South-East Asia, but since it focuses on the South Asian modern and contemporary historical and artistic scene, it can be useful for those students whose course of study range from history to history of art, from conservation to cultural anthropology and ethnology. The course aims in fact to introduce students to the main artistic movements in the region between 19th and 21st centuries, to the poetics of the art scene's main protagonists through the analysis of their works, and by reflecting on their perception on part of the critics and the wider public.
On the one hand, this focus intends to build and consolidate the student's knowledge of modern and contemporary India and help him to relate the South Asian artistic productions to the broader global scenario, but at the same time it aims to make students understand how the visual study can constitute a crucial support in the analysis of the modern and contemporary historical, political, religious and social phenomena of the region.

The course will provide the necessary critical instruments to understand the various aspects and issues related to the modern and contemporary artistic productions of India Subcontinent, starting from the analysis of specific areas as case-studies.
The student will be able to understand and describe tendencies and artistic dynamics from the second half of the XIX century to the opening of the XXI century and the underpinning ideologies; he will be able to recognize and analyze works of art within their historical and cultural context. Furthermore, he will be able to comprehend the role of the museum collections of modern and contemporary art in the promotion of artists and movements. The student will be requested to reflect on the political, social and religious implications of movements and tendencies development as on the exhibition policies of galleries and museums. He will be able to comprehend the importance of the visual production for the study of societies and historical periods, and deepen issues and themes in relation to the knowledges acquired during his studies; he will be also required to critically approach the theories formulated by critics and art historians.

The course does not require specific competences, the necessary background for the comprehension of the proposed analysis will be provided. Nevertheless, a good knowledge of the English language in order to access autonomously to the bibliography is necessary.

This year the course will focus on modern and contemporary artistic production from the Himalayan regions of the Indian subcontinent, especially Ladakh, Nepal, Mustang, and Bhutan. The meanings and perception of art in Himalayan cultural contexts will be analyzed, starting with traditional painting and sculpture. Techniques and materials, symbolic and religious language of Buddhist and Hindu art will be explored. The figures of some of the leading traditional Himalayan artists will be presented. Subsequently, the emergence and development of contemporary secular art, untethered from traditional and religious contexts, will be analyzed, delving into the work of internationally recognized artists, also investigating the socio-cultural aspects of their success and the dissemination of their works to international galleries and museums. Among others the course will discuss themes such as the decline of 'Oriental art', the emergence of feminine voices, problem, trends and tendencies concerning the musealization of modern and contemporary Himalayan art, conservation and restoration of artworks, and issues related to exhibition and conservation ethics. The issue of so-called 'fakes' will also be analyzed, exploring the concept of 'authentic,' 'original,' and 'copy,' while also learning some rudiments of how to contextualize and date an object.

Essential readings:
Course notes and slides
Selected chapters from:
- Shimkhada, Deepak (ed. by). Nepal, Nostalgia and Modernity. Marg Foundation, 2011
- Bangdel, Dina. Jewels of Newar Art. Selections from the collection of Purna and Anjana Shakya. Bodhisattva Gallery, 2011.
- Mathur, Saloni e Kavita Singh, No touching, no spitting, no praying. The Museum in South Asia. Routledge, 2015.
- Sullivan, Bruce M. (ed. by). Sacred Objects in Secular Spaces. Exhibiting Asian Religions in Museums. Bloomsbury, 2015;
- Mitter, Partha. Much maligned monsters: A history of European reactions to Indian art. University of Chicago Press, 1992;
- Mitter, Partha. The Triumph of Modernism: India's Artists and the Avant-garde, 1922-47. Reaktion Books, 2007;
- Original - Copy - Fake?: International Symposium. Bochum, Stiftung Situation Kunst. Philipp von Zabern, 2008;

Selected articles from:
- Tythacott, Louise and Chiara Bellini. “Deity and Display: Meanings, Transformations, and
Exhibitions of Tibetan Buddhist Objects”. Religions 2020, 11, 106.
- Bagdel, Dina. “Packaging the Naked Buddhas. Authenticity, Innovation, and Cultural Imaginings in the Tourist”. Ateliers d'anthropologie. 43 | 2016 : L'habillage des choses de l'art.
Art of Nepal
- Bellini, Chiara. “Pönpo and Buddhist Art in 20th-Century Lo (Mustang)” in Wonders of Lo: The Artistic Heritage of Mustang a cura di Erberto Lo Bue, 2010, Mumbai: Marg Publications.
- Bellini, Chiara. “Examples of beauty at the court of Seng ge rNam gyal: the style of painting in Ladakh in the 17th and 18th centuries”, in E. De Rossi Filibeck (a cura di), Tibetan Art between past and present: studies dedicated to Luciano Petech, Proceedings of the Conference held in Rome on the 3rd November 2010. Supplemento n.1 alla Rivista degli Studi Orientali Nuova Serie, volume LXXXIV, Pisa - Roma 2012: Fabrizio Serra Editore.
- Bellini, Chiara. “Tradition and Innovation. Western Influences in the artistic production of the Nepali Painter Mukti Singh Thapa”, in H. Fujita (a cura di), Art and Aesthetics in the Age of Globalization. Italy/Japan Research Workshops in Bologna 26-27 marzo 2012, Bologna, Osaka University: 2012.

Further readings will be indicated during the course.

Complementary readings:
A series of scientific writings useful to examine in depth the topics discussed in class and to carry out the assignments will be indicated during the course and made available on the university e-learning platform moodle.unive.it.

During the course, the student will be asked to prepare a short essay on a topic related to the course contents (agreed with the teacher); a summary of this work will be presented to the class in order to foment the discussion and will be evaluated; it will then be presented by each student during the final examination. Assessment will be by means of a final oral examination on the approached themes, and of the assigned works; great importance will be given to the students' attendance and active participation to lessons and discussions. The acquired knowledge, the appropriate use of technical vocabulary, the ability to critically approach the proposed readings and themes and bring them in relation to the acquired knowledges will be assessed during the final examination.

Frontal classes, complemented by lectures and conferences, students' presentations and the discussion of issues raised during the classes. The course will adopt a thematic approach. Through the analysis of movements, art objects and poetics, discussions and a critical approach will be ecouraged.

English

Students unable to regularly attend classes are asked to contact the professor at the beginning of the course in order to discuss the examination program.

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