New Delhi: India's vibrant visual legacy, which includes works from the past as well as contemporary pieces, is the result of several cultural influences. The vibrant, interesting, and intriguing patterns that reflect numerous civilizations highlight the variety of Indian art traditions found in this area. The majority of traditional Indian art is political or religious in nature because several of the major world religions, including Hinduism, Islam, and Buddhism, began or flourished in India.
To know more about Indian Art, ABP Live spoke to eminent artist Vijender Sharma over email who not only spoke about the evolution of Indian Art but also shared the impact of digitization on Indian Art and discussed a bit about folk art also.
Here are some excerpts from the interview:
Can you tell us something about the evolution of Indian art?
If we look at Indian art, the expansion of our Indian culture is vast- not only within India but also extending beyond to Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, and Indonesia. In India, there has been significant development in the fields of architecture and sculpture. It is evident how high the Indian Art reached when the whole world was sleeping.
However, a thousand years ago, a dark time came for India - many sculptures were destroyed, monuments were shattered. After that, the British arrived, and they didn't leave any stone unturned in erasing whatever remained. So, there wasn't much progress in a thousand years. But after gaining independence, people gradually turned their attention towards art. As India progressed, so did its art. A lot of work was done in the field of modern art. As time passed, contemporary art started reaching new heights, and now it has achieved recognition at the global level.
What is the impact of digitization on Indian Art?
In ancient times, people used to create cave paintings, and after a few years colours were also invented which was followed by the discovery of oil colors and acrylics.
In the 21st century, there has been a rapid evolution. Nowadays, we can even create paintings on the computer digitally. And, to the extent that paintings can be created using AI. This means there is a lot of experimentation happening and artists cannot ignore it. Some artists still believe in traditional methods but I believe artists should embrace digital media as a tool for their work.
What is the impact of social media on these practices?
In earlier times, art was confined to different regions and had limited reach. However, with the advent of social media, this scope has expanded tremendously. It means that if something is happening in America, it can be easily known in India, almost on real time basis. Thus, social media has helped not only creating more awareness but getting larger fan base for artists.
Can you please throw some light on Indian Folk Art and how prevelant it is in today’s time?
Folk art has taken a long time to evolve and develop. Different regions in India have their own distinct folk arts, such as Konkani art, Maithili art, and many more. The setback to Folk Art like all other types of art in India happened when Mughal emperors invaded India. They targeted art itself. Art was seen as a threat, and the directive was to destroy it. However, folk art managed to survive in some way.
Currently, the Indian government is making commendable efforts to preserve and protect folk art. There is also a fusion happening between folk art and modern art, is likely that something good will come out of it.