Title: Indian art worlds in contention : local, regional and national discourses on Orissan patta paintings /
Authors: Bundgaard, Helle; Nordic Institute of Asian Studies.
Publisher: Curzon,
Year: 1999
Subjects: Painting India Orissa.; Painting, Indic.; Art, Indic; Art and society India.; Art and state India.; Painting India Odisha.
Abstract: "In this study, the author develops a theory of art worlds that argues for the need to consider the different discursive formations and related strategic practices of an art world. In so doing, she explodes the common notion of 'art world' into a plurality of worlds." "The author expands this argument by exploring the art worlds of the Orissan patta paintings, an Indian art form that has seen a great revival since the early 1950s - due partly to increased national pride after independence and partly to the rise of mass tourism. She examines the consequences of this increased popularity - paying particular attention to the local, regional and national discourses involved - and demonstrates that, while painters' local discourses are characterised by pragmatism, the discourses of regional and especially national elites are concerned with the exegesis of local paintings and their association with the great Sanskrit tradition." "This beautifully illustrated book will be of interest to all art-lovers and anyone interested in India generally. But the work will be of particular interest to anthropologists working in the sphere of material culture and may well prove to be an essential reference for specialists (art historians, art critics and administrators) involved in the production of art and crafts in India."--BOOK JACKET.
Contents: 1. Patta Paintings and Their Institutions -- 2. The 'Revival' of Patta Chitras -- 3. A Crafts Village and Its Making -- 4. Painting for Ritual Purposes -- 5. Local Discourses on Patta Chitras -- 6. Elite Discourses on Patta Chitras -- 7. The Changing Significance of Awards -- 8. Cooperation and Conflict amongst Patta Chitra Painters -- 9. Analytic Discourse and Lived Practice -- 10. Contesting Art Worlds: Conclusion.