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Curator's Statement : |
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The immigrant experience has been transformed in only a few generations. Living in the diaspora no longer means that family and friends and hometowns are irrevocably left behind. More-affordable travel and ever-expanding communication options keep people in constant contact and aware of events around the globe. When my childhood friend from Lucknow moved to the Midwest in the ‘60s, the only vegetarian options seemed to be boiled peas, French fries and pizza. (He learned to cook.) Much has changed with the globalization of art, literature, cuisine and pop culture. While this has made some issues of identity and of reconciling Eastern tradition with Western experience easier or non-relevant, it has made other issues (especially post-9/11) more nuanced and difficult to negotiate.
Examining her societal roles is an impetus behind the artwork for one artist in this exhibition. The influence of India and South Asia in other artwork is also clear—in the iconography, in the power of language of the 13th century Sufi poet Rumi, in the reflection of pervasive Indian advertising, in the fascination with traditional crafts and textiles. One of our artists even stamps with wooden textile blocks as part of her multi-layered process. For other artists that influence is also strong but expressed more obliquely—as when the rhythms of Indian music find form in exuberant colors and compositions.
Other artwork in this exhibition focuses unblinkingly on global conflict and turmoil. Still other pieces explore the permutations of perspective or a continuing fascination with wildlife in the “urban jungle.” For many Erasing Borders artists the process is as important as their finished pieces: “…making marks, erasing, re-defining, re-aligning….The more I concealed, the more what was revealed became mysterious and charged.”
Many artists, when describing their work, speak of memory (“pieces of the past”) and time; of dreams, imagination, myth and illusion. For a few, their work reflects the pull of an India left behind that no longer exists. As another of our artists says: “In my recent work fragments of the form are likened to partial landscapes. Our memory fills in the missing parts, and we subconsciously imagine that which is not there. There are many layers in my work, scraped and scratched to reveal past colors, as if cajoling a response from our own lives to process what we have lost and gained.” One artist has titled her work “Journey” and for many of these artists the process of making their pieces has been just that. We invite you to come with us. |
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| The Indo-American Arts Council is a 501 ©3 not-for-profit secular arts organization passionately dedicated to promoting, showcasing and building an awareness of artists of Indian origin in the performing arts, visual arts, literary arts and folk arts. For information please visit |
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