Transformations in South Asian Folk Arts, Aesthetics, and Commodities

“Transformations” features an array of art-related lectures, panel discussions, workshops, and exhibitions. Its emphasis is on Mithila paintings, a type of Indian folk art created by women in Madhubani, Bihar, and the adjoining regions of Nepal.

The symposium will coincide with several other projects, including the exhibition “Mithila Painting: The Evolution of an Art Forum,” running Jan. 30-March 16, 2014, at SUArt Galleries; the Feb. 28 premiere of the documentary “Likhiya: Writing Stories With Mithila Art,” produced by Susan Wadley and Tula Goenka, co-directors of the SU South Asia Center; and four related academic courses.

Guest presenters include the following:

• Rebecca Brown, teaching professor of art history and chair of museum studies at Johns Hopkins University;

• Edward S. Cooke Jr., the Charles F. Montgomery Professor of American Decorative Arts at Yale University;

• Coralynn Davis, associate professor of women’s and gender studies and of anthropology at Bucknell University;

• Nora Fisher, curator emerita of textiles and costumes at the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, N.M.;

• Pika Ghosh, associate professor of art at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill;

• Kajri Jain, associate professor of Indian visual culture and contemporary art at the University of Toronto in Mississiauga;

• Frank Korom, professor of religion and anthropology at Boston University;

• David Szanton, co-founder and president of The Ethnic Arts Foundation (sponsor of the “Mithila Painting” traveling exhibition) and former executive director of international and area studies at the University of California; and

• Peter Zirnis, a curator and photographer of Mithila art, as well as an EAF board member.

In conjunction with the symposium, Rani Jha, a master painter/teacher at the Mithila Art Institute in Madhubani (India), will spend two weeks at SU, conducting workshops and discussing her paintings. A feminist from rural India, she uses her artwork to raise awareness of social justice issues for women.

“She not only wants to tell their stories, but also hopes that her paintings may have some small effect in changing the social conditions for  all Indian women,” says Zirnis.

Born into a conservative Brahmin family, in which girls traditionally receive little or no education, Jha fought against tradition and went to school. In 2010, she earned a Ph.D. in Maithili folk traditions from the University of Darbhanga (India). To schedule a personal appointment or class visit with Jha, contact Emera Bridger Wilson at 315-443-2553 or elbridge@syr.edu.    

In conjunction with the “Mithila Paintings” exhibition, the symposium will showcase some of the 80-plus contemporary Mithila paintings that Wadley and H. Daniel Smith, professor emeritus of religion at SU, have donated to SUArt Galleries.

Other SU treasures include Smith’s poster archive, featuring more than 3,500 mass-produced color prints of Hindu gods, goddesses, saints, and sacred sites; and the Ruth Reeves Collection, which contains over 400 pieces of South Asia folk objects from the past 50 years. 

“Our goal is to unpack questions about local identity, the pressures of global consumerism and transnationalism, and the troublesome divisions between arts and crafts that these objects raise,” says Wadley, the Ford-Maxwell Professor of South Asian Studies.

“One of the key concepts underlying the exhibition and the symposium is whether or not Milthila painting is ‘craft,’ ‘folk art,’ or ‘fine art.’ We want to break down the barriers between these distinctions,” says Goenka, associate professor of television-radio-film in the Newhouse School.

Wadley and co-organizer Romita Ray think the symposium is timely because of the commodification of South Asian folk art. They say the success of folk art in the marketplace is dependent on advice and guidance from intermediaries [government and non-government organizations] about what buyers want. Moreover, technology has changed the way art is made and reproduced. 

“All of the traditions explored in this symposium face these issues of commodification and marketplace," adds Ray, associate professor of art and music histories in SU’s College of Arts and Sciences.

Long the domain of upper-caste women, Mithila artwork is known for its vibrant color and eye-catching geometrical shapes. Originally, these paintings consisted of murals, which adorned the inner walls of courtyards and houses and depicted gods and goddesses, deity symbols, and daily life. But when Mithila paintings were introduced to the outside world in the 1930s, they underwent changes related to commodification, style, and content.

“Today, women of all ages use this once ritual tradition to comment on social issues facing them in their region, including marriage, dowry deaths, and female infanticide. It’s also used to celebrate women’s accomplishments and goals,” says Wadley, alluding to a Mithila painting of Indian and Pakistani women playing cricket, something virtually unheard of 40 years ago.

“Transformations” is underwritten by a Title VI grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s National Resource Centers Program. Additional support comes from SU (Bird Library’s Special Collections Research Center, The Renée Crown University Honors Program, and the departments of anthropology and religion) and Cornell (the South Asia Program). 

The Ray Smith Symposium Series was established in 1989 as the result of a bequest from the estate of SU alumnus Ray W. Smith '21 to support symposia on topics in the humanities in SU's College of Arts and Sciences. The symposium is named for the Auburn, N.Y. native who, after graduating from SU in 1921, was a highly respected teacher and administrator.