Shahzia Sikander
Shahzia Sikander, Afloat, 2001, silkscreen, gift of Sandy Lipson '71, Tang Teaching Museum 2009.5
Shahzia Sikander presents a group of works from the Tang Teaching Museum collection and on loan from the artist on the Tang’s mezzanine and second-floor bridge. Sikander, an internationally acclaimed Pakistani-born artist and MacArthur Fellow, studied the techniques of Persian and Mughal miniature painting as an undergraduate at the National College of Arts in Lahore, before coming to the U.S. and attending the Rhode Island School of Art and Design, where she received an MFA.
In her artistic practice she has taken traditional miniature forms and techniques and imbued them with personal content and global history to deconstruct cultural and political boundaries, including that of Hinduism and Islam, East and West, and the tension between traditional form and contemporary experience. Her experimentation and disruption of historical Indo-Persian painting styles results in a hybrid of cultural iconographies and works dense with multivalent imagery and concepts. Sikander works in numerous media, including miniature painting and watercolor, large wall murals, installation, prints, digital animation, and performance. Shahzia Sikander is presented in conjunction with the exhibition Realms of Earth and Sky: Indian Miniatures from the Fifteenth to the Nineteenth Century.
Shahzia Sikander will lecture on Thursday, February 5, 7:30 pm, Payne Room, Tang Teaching Museum. This event is presented by the Department of Art History and the Tang Teaching Museum and supported by the Alfred Z. Solomon Residency Fund.
Shahzia Sikander will lecture on Thursday, February 5, 7:30 pm, Payne Room, Tang Teaching Museum. This event is presented by the Department of Art History and the Tang Teaching Museum and supported by the Alfred Z. Solomon Residency Fund.
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Grand themes on a small scale
Exhibit at Tang features Indian miniatures depicting gods, rulers and more
By Amy Griffin
Published 1:59 pm, Wednesday, February 4, 2015
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| Unknown Artist, A Ruler Worshiping Rama, Sita, Lakshmana, and Hanuman, 18th-19th century, India, Rajasthan, Bundi, Opaque color and gold on paper, 11 11/16 x 9 in, 26.69 x 22.86 cm, Fralin Museum of Art at the University of Virginia, Gift of Sanjay Guha () |
"Realms" is a traveling exhibit, and the Tang is the second stop on its tour. It originated at the Fralin Museum of Art at the University of Virginia. The exhibit has a Skidmore connection in Krista Gulbransen, assistant curator of the exhibition. Gulbransen, who now teaches at Whitman College, is a former visiting professor of art history at Skidmore. While a graduate fellow at the Fralin, Gulbransen worked with exhibition curator Daniel J. Ehnbom, who helped build the museum's extensive collection. The exhibit also features works from major private collections.
At a recent preview tour, Gulbransen walked a sizable crowd through highlights of the exhibition. She noted that the exhibit truly embodies the educational mission of the museum. "There's really no replacement for looking at the paintings up close," she said. To that end, there are magnifying glasses on hand for close study.
Most of the works are miniatures—primarily because they were originally manuscript pages. Because so many of these artists are anonymous, the exhibit is organized thematically into seven sections: Jain, Courtly Life, Rasikapriya, Time, Exotic Subject, Ragamala and Mythology. If you're not an expert in South Asian art, there's a helpful exhibition guide with extensive notes.
Although some of the pigments have faded or disappeared altogether, these works, some of which are 600 years old, are in remarkably good condition. The Tang has turned its second-floor gallery into a more intimate space with subdued lighting, additional walls and a deep purple paint to keep the small paintings from being swallowed up in a sea of white.
The oldest work here is a leaf from a manuscript that illustrates a text from the Jain religion, which paralleled Buddhism's rise. The narrow, horizontal page, "Mahavira in the Pushpottara Heaven," was made of palm leaf, before the use of paper was common in India. It's an intricate depiction of Mahavira, a teacher and reformer of Jainism, sitting in the cross-legged lotus pose. He's rendered in gold paint to suggest divinity and is surrounded by attendants. The inscription, also in gold on a dark red background, details his birth story. The overall effect is flat and the scale is off; the attendants are tiny compared to Mahavira. According to Gulbransen, the proportional figures and backgrounds with depth typical of Western naturalism were not a concern for these artists. The show includes works from five centuries, so the stylistic changes are evident as you move around the gallery.
Other works from the Jain period include a couple of pieces depicting the universe as a person. One, a very small 17th-century manuscript page, is quite different than the courtly scenes and images of heroes we see elsewhere in the exhibit. It's next to a much larger and more elaborate version, but this one is almost more like a chart. With grids at the torso and across the legs of the figure, tiny boxes are filled with colors or numbers — each signifying "the precise measurements of the distances and areas of various segments of universe," according to the catalogue.
The middle world, the one in which we live, is simply a circle in the center of the figure. The upper area is the heavenly realm and the lower level is all about suffering. It's as if the universe actually could be explained in a single chart.
As the Mughals came to power in India, the Persian influence became evident in Indian art. There is more attention to realism and the paintings become less abstract with slightly more natural colors. Gulbransen noted in the tour that there are some who think of the older style as the true indigenous Indian style of painting, without the influence of outsiders. It's interesting to see examples of both styles throughout.
For the layperson, discerning a difference between some of the sections is difficult. Whether a work is in the Ragamala, Rasikapriya or Mythology section, what they have in common is narrative. Although portraiture was also popular, most of these works are illustrations of stories, with Ragamala depicting musical modes.
A companion exhibit features work by Pakistani-born artist Shahzia Sikander. The placement of Sikander's work at the entry to this thorough and revealing exhibition provides a thoughtful juxtaposition of past and present Indian art.
At a recent preview tour, Gulbransen walked a sizable crowd through highlights of the exhibition. She noted that the exhibit truly embodies the educational mission of the museum. "There's really no replacement for looking at the paintings up close," she said. To that end, there are magnifying glasses on hand for close study.
Most of the works are miniatures—primarily because they were originally manuscript pages. Because so many of these artists are anonymous, the exhibit is organized thematically into seven sections: Jain, Courtly Life, Rasikapriya, Time, Exotic Subject, Ragamala and Mythology. If you're not an expert in South Asian art, there's a helpful exhibition guide with extensive notes.
The oldest work here is a leaf from a manuscript that illustrates a text from the Jain religion, which paralleled Buddhism's rise. The narrow, horizontal page, "Mahavira in the Pushpottara Heaven," was made of palm leaf, before the use of paper was common in India. It's an intricate depiction of Mahavira, a teacher and reformer of Jainism, sitting in the cross-legged lotus pose. He's rendered in gold paint to suggest divinity and is surrounded by attendants. The inscription, also in gold on a dark red background, details his birth story. The overall effect is flat and the scale is off; the attendants are tiny compared to Mahavira. According to Gulbransen, the proportional figures and backgrounds with depth typical of Western naturalism were not a concern for these artists. The show includes works from five centuries, so the stylistic changes are evident as you move around the gallery.
Other works from the Jain period include a couple of pieces depicting the universe as a person. One, a very small 17th-century manuscript page, is quite different than the courtly scenes and images of heroes we see elsewhere in the exhibit. It's next to a much larger and more elaborate version, but this one is almost more like a chart. With grids at the torso and across the legs of the figure, tiny boxes are filled with colors or numbers — each signifying "the precise measurements of the distances and areas of various segments of universe," according to the catalogue.
The middle world, the one in which we live, is simply a circle in the center of the figure. The upper area is the heavenly realm and the lower level is all about suffering. It's as if the universe actually could be explained in a single chart.
As the Mughals came to power in India, the Persian influence became evident in Indian art. There is more attention to realism and the paintings become less abstract with slightly more natural colors. Gulbransen noted in the tour that there are some who think of the older style as the true indigenous Indian style of painting, without the influence of outsiders. It's interesting to see examples of both styles throughout.
For the layperson, discerning a difference between some of the sections is difficult. Whether a work is in the Ragamala, Rasikapriya or Mythology section, what they have in common is narrative. Although portraiture was also popular, most of these works are illustrations of stories, with Ragamala depicting musical modes.
A companion exhibit features work by Pakistani-born artist Shahzia Sikander. The placement of Sikander's work at the entry to this thorough and revealing exhibition provides a thoughtful juxtaposition of past and present Indian art.
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2015 Alfred Z. Solomon Residency Events: Realms of Earth and Sky
The Alfred Z. Solomon Residency Fund in 2015 will go to support a series of events related to the exhibition Realms of Earth and Sky: Indian Painting from the 15th to the 19th Century.
Thursday, January 29, 5:30 pm
Gallery Tour
Special preview curator's tour of Realms of Earth and Sky with Krista Gulbransen, Assistant Professor of Art History and Visual Culture Studies at Whitman College, and exhibition contributor. Made possible by the Alfred Z. Solomon Residency Fund and the Asian Studies Program at Skidmore College.
Thursday, February 5, 7:30 pm
Lecture by Shahzia Sikander
Internationally acclaimed Pakistani-born artist and MacArthur Fellow Shahzia Sikander will discuss her artistic practice of experimentation and disruption of historical Indo-Persian painting styles.
Presented by the Department of Art History and the Tang Teaching Museum and supported by the Alfred Z. Solomon Residency Fund.
Thursday, April 2, 7:00 pm
Molly Aitken and Dipti Khera
Two leading scholars of Rajput painting — Molly Aitken, Associate Professor of Art History at The City College of New York, and Dipti Khera, Assistant Professor of Art History at New York University — will lecture on pleasure in South Asian paintings. Made possible by the Alfred Z. Solomon Residency Fund.
Thursday, April 16, 7:30 pm
Public conversation with Talha Rathore and Hiba Schahbaz
Friday, April 17, 12:00-2:00 pm and 2:30-4:30 pm
Miniature Painting Workshops with Talha Rathore and Hiba Schahbaz
Artists Talha Rathore and Hiba Schahbaz will speak about the traditional techniques in Realms of Earth and Sky and the ways in which each has modernized and personalized the miniature tradition in their practice. Made possible by the Alfred Z. Solomon Residency Fund.
Free. Reservations required. Call 518-580-8080.
Thursday, January 29, 5:30 pm
Gallery Tour
Special preview curator's tour of Realms of Earth and Sky with Krista Gulbransen, Assistant Professor of Art History and Visual Culture Studies at Whitman College, and exhibition contributor. Made possible by the Alfred Z. Solomon Residency Fund and the Asian Studies Program at Skidmore College.
Thursday, February 5, 7:30 pm
Lecture by Shahzia Sikander
Internationally acclaimed Pakistani-born artist and MacArthur Fellow Shahzia Sikander will discuss her artistic practice of experimentation and disruption of historical Indo-Persian painting styles.
Presented by the Department of Art History and the Tang Teaching Museum and supported by the Alfred Z. Solomon Residency Fund.
Thursday, April 2, 7:00 pm
Molly Aitken and Dipti Khera
Two leading scholars of Rajput painting — Molly Aitken, Associate Professor of Art History at The City College of New York, and Dipti Khera, Assistant Professor of Art History at New York University — will lecture on pleasure in South Asian paintings. Made possible by the Alfred Z. Solomon Residency Fund.
Thursday, April 16, 7:30 pm
Public conversation with Talha Rathore and Hiba Schahbaz
Friday, April 17, 12:00-2:00 pm and 2:30-4:30 pm
Miniature Painting Workshops with Talha Rathore and Hiba Schahbaz
Artists Talha Rathore and Hiba Schahbaz will speak about the traditional techniques in Realms of Earth and Sky and the ways in which each has modernized and personalized the miniature tradition in their practice. Made possible by the Alfred Z. Solomon Residency Fund.
Free. Reservations required. Call 518-580-8080.
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