What is Art?
It is a natural human
instinct to want to share his experience, wisdom, and emotions. When that instinct
results in a beautiful creation, it is acknowledged as 'Art'. The artist's
power of imagination, sensibility, state of emotion, and his skills are the
crucial factors at the root of artistic creation.
Visual Arts and
Performing Arts:
Artistic creations are of
two types, 'Visual Arts' and 'Performing Arts'. The Sanskrit term for the first
type is Drik Kala and for the second type, Lalit or Aangik Kala. Many examples
of Prehistoric rock art have been discovered at many sites in the world. It
proves that the origin of visual arts is as old as the stone-age man.
Folk Arts and Classical
Arts:
There are two distinct
traditions of art, 'Folk Art' and 'Classical Art'. Folk art is a tradition that
has continued from prehistoric times. The expression of folk art is a natural
part of people's way of living. Hence its expression is spontaneous. Folk art
is created by collective participation of the members of a social group.
Classical art, on the other hand, is expressed within an established frame of
consistent rules. It needs prolonged training to master any form of classical
art.
Style in Art:
Artists tend to have
their own methods of working. It is known as the style of the artist. When a style
is adopted by many artists over a prolonged period of time, it may become a
tradition. Such tradition gets established as an 'art style'. Various art
styles develop in every culture, which are characteristic of a certain period
and region. Such styles are helpful in studying art history.
Indian Traditions of
Visual Arts (Drik Kala)
Maratha Style of Painting:
Maratha painting is an
example of an art style. The style known as Maratha paintings began to develop
in the latter half of the 17th century C.E. This style consists of coloured
paintings and they occur as murals and also miniatures used in manuscripts.
Murals of Maratha style can be seen in the old wadas at places like Wai,
Menavali, and Satara in Maharashtra. The Maratha style was influenced by the
Rajput and European styles of painting. Painting styles help us understand
various things about the times in which it was developed such as the lifestyle,
attires, customs, etc.
Art of Painting:
Paintings are
two-dimensional, for example, sketches or paintings of nature, objects, and individuals.
They are done on various surfaces, such as rocks, walls, papers, canvas of
different types, and earthen pots. The mural of Bodhisattva at Ajanta Caves is
one of the finest examples of the art of painting.
Folk Styles of Paintings:
Rock paintings dating to
the Stone Age have been discovered in many countries. In India, there are rock
painting sites in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar,
Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The rock paintings in the
caves at Bhimbetka are famous. Bhimbetka is a World Heritage site. Rock
paintings usually depict human, animal, and geometric figures.
However, the style of
rock paintings seems to be changing according to the cultural changes from the
Stone Ages to the beginning of agriculture. The change is visible in the
depiction of flora and fauna or it may be evident in the style of portraying
various figures and also in the colours that were used. Black, red, and white
colours were used in the rock paintings, which were made from natural substances.
With the help of rock paintings, we can understand the knowledge of ancient
people about their natural surroundings and also the way they exploited
available natural resources. The tradition of folk style of paintings closely
resembles the style of rock paintings. Customs such as decorating the house
walls and courtyards (Rangawali) by drawing various figures and symbols or using
panels of paintings to narrate stories helped to develop regional styles of
folk paintings.
The traditions of Warli
painting and Pingul or Chitra Katha in Maharashtra are among the finest examples
of folk-style of paintings. Jivya Somya Mashe, the artist in Thane district has
played a great role in making the Warli style of paintings very popular. He has
been honored with a number of national and international awards for his
paintings. In the year 201 1, he was awarded 'Padmashree'.
The tradition of
Chitrakathi is mentioned in 'Manasollas', a book written by the Chalukya king Someshvara
in the 12th century C.E. It confirms the antiquity of this tradition. The
tradition of narrating stories from Ramayana or Mahabharata with the help of
wooden puppets and paintings is known as, Chitrakathi or Pinguli tradition. The
people who still practice the art of Pingul live in a village called Pinguli.
They belong to the Thakar tribal community. It is located in the Konkan region,
near Kudal. The Chitrakathi pictures are drawn on paper and painted in colours
made from natural substances. It takes 30-50 pictures to complete the narration
of a single story. These pictures are preserved very carefully and handed down
from one generation to another. The artists and the government are trying to
preserve the tradition, which is on the verge of extinction.
Classical Styles of
Painting:
The ancient Indian texts
have explained various aspects of art in great detail. There are altogether 64
arts mentioned in these texts. The art of painting is mentioned as alekhyam or
alekhya vidya in these. It is said to have six main aspects (Shadange). The
ancient Indian scholars studied these six aspects very minutely. They include
Roopbheda (Different shapes and forms), Pramana (Proportionate depiction of
various features of an image), Bhava (Expressions), Lavanyayojana (Aesthetics),
Sadrushyata (A resemblance to reality), Varnikabhang (Colour composition).
Agama texts of various religious sects, Puranas, and Vastushastra texts explain
the arts of painting and sculpting in the context of temple architecture.
No comments:
Post a Comment