The Gondwana Art Project
- bey0ndM@gz!ne
- April 16, 2021
- Default, Traditional Art
- 0 Comments
A social initiative by CCDF to up-skill tribal artisans from central India. CCDF’s designers mentor these artisans to develop unique exquisite artworks for a global audience, keeping intact the authenticity of the traditional art forms. Focused on Bhil, Warli, Gond and Pattachitra art forms, The Gondwana Art Porject currently engages over 25 artisans and their families, helping them with their livelihood. This support was especially prevalent during the pandemic when their traditional markets – the meals and bazaars – had shut down.
Walter Benjamin in his 1939 essay ‘The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction’ seeks to find the meaning, relevance and value of art in an age where it could be reproduced mechanically with just a click of a button.
For Benjamin, the question on relevance of art finds an answer in its temporal and spatial history, deeply engrained in the fabric of each brush stroke and hue that makes the art special and inimitable, not just another printed paper.
“The uniqueness of a work of art is inseparable from its being imbedded in the fabric of tradition. This tradition itself is thoroughly alive and extremely
changeable.”
India has a vast heritage of traditional and cultural arts and crafts that today stand on the verge of being consumed by the fast-paced commodification of art via the internet market. These art forms are laden with folk tales that ache to be heard, to have viewers who would readily immerse and absorb themselves in an artistic universe of perfect harmony created on the canvas.
With a vision of supporting these traditional artist communities and their art forms, Craft and Community Development Foundation (CCDF) was set up in 2008. The organisation seeks to revive the traditional by providing means and guidance to artists, offering them an opportunity to enhance their skills, as well as help to introduce new concepts and design ethics into their work. This kind of support would give artists the tools they need to be more attuned to market demands, without compromising on the authenticity of their own art.
The project that CCDF India is currently working on is ‘The Gondwana Art Project’, that focuses on the tribal and folk artisans from the Gondwana Region in
central India who practice Gond, Warli and Bhil art. For the project, CCDF collaborated with traditional tribal artists based on an assessment of the quality of
work and their current economic status. The artists are provided a stipend during the period of their residency with the organisation and are given mentorship. Mr Sundeep Bhandari, the founder of CCDF shares, “The residency offers the artists a chance to explore their creativity, who are otherwise too driven by commercial considerations to ever focus on it”.
Any discussion on art is incomplete without the delving into the macro history of the art form and the personal history and journey of the artist. Continue on to see the various art forms that The Gondwana Art Project has invested in and championed.
GOND ART
Gond paintings are considered to be predominantly from Madhya Pradesh, and the word ‘Gond’ comes from a Dravidian expression, ‘Kond’, which means ‘the green mountain’. Nature and the symbiotic relationship of man with nature is a persistent theme in this art form. Storytelling is central to this tribal art form, with paintings on other subjects such as folk tales and religious values and rituals being frequently created.
Anita Shyam – Gond Artist
Gond artist, Anita Shyam, hopes to impact society through her paintings, unveiling forgotten stories about her tradition and culture, one painting at a time.
FIERCE TIGER
Medium – Acrylic on canvas
The artwork depicts a portrait of a Fierce Tiger in vivid bright colours. The use of bright colours highlights the contrast of the ferocious expression of the tiger and beautifully patterned skin. The painting can be a metaphor for nature and its forces that bask in sublimity displaying both strength and beauty.
POLA – THE CATTLE FEST
Medium – Acrylic on canvas
Shyam tells us the story of Pola, a festival of cattle celebrated by the Gond community, in this piece. The bulls are colourfully decorated with ornaments as a sign of reverence, and are worshipped with gratitude for assisting in agricultural practices. This form of worship can be seen as a lesson in mutual coexistence with nature, something that the modern man seems to have forgotten.
WARLI ART
Warli painting is a form of tribal mural art created by the tribal people from the North Sahyadri Range in Maharashtra, India. They use geometric shapes such as circles, triangles, and squares to depict the life, culture and beliefs of the tribe. Images depicting scenes of everyday life where people are engaged in activities like hunting, dancing, sowing, and harvesting can be often observed.
Anita Balu Mhase – Warli Artist
Warli artist, Anita Balu Mhase, has a tribal background, but is considered progressive and revolutionary in her thinking. A graphic designer by profession, her artworks reflect power, progress, and passion for storytelling, all which she does in her inimitable, bold and humorous style.
UNITED SWARM
Medium – Acrylic and cow dung on cloth
The painting depicts the folklore of the swarm of bees. Thousands of honey bees unite and work together to make their new home. Bees are a symbol of perseverance and resilience, and the painting is a reminder to take a closer look around in nature around to find many life lessons.
FOX AND CROCODILE
Medium – Acrylic and cow dung on cloth
The greedy crocodile attempts to trap and kill the fox. The cunning fox gets away with the conspiracies but gets bitten off by a scorpion and dies. Everything in nature is connected, nothing exists in silos, and so the painting depicts this profound truth by highlighting the uncertainties in life; today’s victory is tomorrow’s failure and vice-a-versa.
BHIL ART
Bhil painting is a form of tribal art that is practiced by one of the second largest tribal community of India residing in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra. Everything connected with the Bhil life is painted – the Sun, the Moon, the animals, trees, insects, rivers, fields, mythological figures, and their gods. The dots are the distinct identity of Bhil art and have multiple layers of symbolism.
Geeta Bhairya – Bhil Artist
Bhil artist, Geeta Bhairya, is a tribal herself, and one who takes immense amount of pride in her community. She does not, however, agree with subordination of women prevalent in her culture. Her artworks are a delightful journey of a progressive and independent woman discovering her voice.
FLYING BIRD
Medium – Acrylic on canvas
This artwork illustrates an abstraction of a bird that is ascending in freedom with a fluid style. The abstractness of the patterns challenges our perspective; enabling us to make choices beyond the ordinary. The objective of the project, and this organisation is multifold; it is not only to facilitate artists to create art freely and not get burdened by the aspect of sale, but to also introduce new methods and techniques to their art, in order to allow the confluence of traditional, modern and tribal art, becoming viable for markets by design.
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