From: Ayelet Zohar <ayelet.zohar-AT-ipc.co.il> Subject: Re: Anish Kapoor Date: Fri, 22 May 1998 21:53:19 GMT Dear Tim! >Any references on abstraction in traditional indian art? Well, as you know Indian Art has few lines of development - Brahmin, Buddhist, Jain, Hindu and so on. My argument says that Brahmin Art has super-natural descriptions and beyond-human figurations - Gods and Goddesses are usually described in a manner of "beyond the natural" - multi-headed d, many hands, and God-powers described in powerful attributes such as conchs, pitchforks, lotus flowers etc. The desire to describe the Divine and Ultra-powers has led at last, to more abstract descriptions, that naturally, are beyond our daily experience and empirical knowledge. The Go d that was chosen to be described in this way is Shiva - the Destructor, the God of Rebirth. There are descriptions of Shiva only by his foot- prints (as a matter of fact, this kind of description is already present i n early Buddhist memorials of the Great Teacher - Shakyamuni [Buddha in his human fashion], that refer to him as the Supreme Knowledge, the Enlightened - Tathagata - the one that comes and goes, that is and was - and so, the representation by foot-prints had this dimension of "is/was and present/gone").I think that representing a being only by its foot-prints has wonderful enigmatic, abstract [non-]present value. The other version that is more relevant to our discussion of AK's works is the Shiva Lingam - the God Shiva being represented by his phallus, usually a piece of stone carved to a strait column with round head, placed in a Yuni - the female sexual organ - described as a flat piece of stone with a narrow canal around it. Sometimes the Lingam will be a large natural stone, and sometimes the Yuni will be represented as round or square piece with a small cone (vagina?) leading out. The function of the small canal carved on the surface of the Yuni is to carry the water or other liquids that people throw over the statue while praying or paying homages to the Lingam. The other way of paying homage and tributes is by throwing red or yellow pigment powders over the Lingam. Shiva Lingams are scattered all over India in Temples, on small shrines and even on street corners. The rituals of Shiva are very popular in India, and you can find them everywhere. And so, AK's adaptation of the pigment-powders over abstract sculptures has deep references in the place he comes from. The way he had combined these rituals and religious materials into Modern Art forms is brilliant - and so he deserves every kind of applause. >seems, at least from the way the discussion has emerged thus far, that >Kapoor has a real problematic relationship with a number of traditions. I would like to think that all traditions and religions come to the bottom line of the "Sublime" "Abstract" "beyond Human" and although the way may be multi-curved with many figurative discriptions, the bottom line will always be the desire to describe that "something" which is beyond our daily grasp. And so, you can find abstract description in every tradition - either by low (Judaism, Islam) or as an option (Buddhism, Christia nity, Hindu etc.) >Any thoughts on a possible connection between the work Bhabha has on his >cover and the content of that same book? Well, as for I have not read the whole book, but have some idea about its contents - I believe selecting one of AK's deepest works, one of his more abstract and loaded works that carries the value of deep experience and thought can be of a proof for the idea that images, subject-matter in art rotate between cultures and traditions and cannot be related to only one tradition or place.As I have described before the relation I see between AK's work and traditional Indian Art - still, the appreciation of his work is generally speaking in the Western world, where most people are probably not aware of his roots, but still can enjoy and feel the v alue of these pieces, regardless of their location. In short, ideas move around and get deferent shapes and colors, and it is impossible to lo cate a culture and say it is only here or there - it moves affects, refl ects, and being affected and reflected. Best Wishes, ai --- from list postcolonial-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---
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