ART OF INDIA.   Term Paper ID:20697 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Cultural & religious roots, subject matter, painting, crafts, architecture, music, dance.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Cultural & religious roots, subject matter, painting, crafts, architecture, music, dance. Paper Introduction: The Art of India Many of the arts of India reveal the complex nature of the culture, a culture that includes rites of passage, fairs and festivals, performance, art and craft, all drawing from ancient myths, legends, and beliefs. Traditional Indian households celebrate every stage of life, and creativity abounds in many avenues of expression. It is the purpose of this paper to provide a general overview of the art, dance and music of India with special attention to the relationship of the arts to the Indian culture itself. Vast religious, sociological, and cultural rivers have met and mingled in India--the food-gatherers, who claim to be descendants of Shiva; the nomadic tribes, who probably originated the Krishna legend; and the agricultural societies with their Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. Works CitedAditi: The Living Arts of India. Indian dance is generally divided into certain categories whichinclude tandava and lasya (roughly masculine and feminine), characteristicneck movement, and abhinaya and bhava (gesture and expression of mood.There are nine moods and nine basic movements of the head, eight glances ofthe eye, six movements of the eyebrows, four of the neck, and at least fourthousand single and combined gestures of the hands and postures of thebody. The Art of India Many of the arts of India reveal the complex nature of the culture, aculture that includes rites of passage, fairs and festivals, performance,art and craft, all drawing from ancient myths, legends, and beliefs.Traditional Indian households celebrate every stage of life, and creativityabounds in many avenues of expression. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press,199 .----------------------- 7 Indian mosquesare characterized, also, by an infinite variety of the minars, the talltowers from which the calls to prayer are made (Harle 421). Ironbecomes bells or ritual oil lamps, ivory becomes carved jewelry orhousehold items, textiles are intricately stitched and re-stitched, andpaper, as well as other materials is painted on, depicting scenes andsymbolism central to Indian life and meaning. More notable Islamic mosques have built build inIndia than perhaps in all of the rest of the Muslim world (Harle 421). C. New York: Books for Libraries, 198 .Gopal, Ram. New York: St.Martin's Press, 1983.Harle, J. The artisan guilds were male-oriented, but in the countrysides, the women, the poets, and the shamansweave the multidimensional Indian culture in dance, song, and icon. The necessity forpractice is taken for granted, and crowded living conditions oftennecessitate that Indian musicians develop a lifestyle which allows them topractice their music privately at night while others sleep. Deccani painting was greatlyinfluenced by the Muslim tradition, especially murals. Deccani painting atits finest is unsurpassed in its brilliance of colour, air of luxury, andsophistication of composition (Harle 4 ). Westernlisteners to Indian music often have difficulty following the scale, as itincludes many notes foreign to the Western ear. The Life of Music in North India: The Organizationof an Artistic Tradition. Other magnificent buildings were created as mausoleums for importantsultans, and some of these tombs are elegantly situated in vast formalgardens. All of these are specified and named for the classical Indian dancer(Gopal 3). Much of the subject matter of classical Indian fine art revolvesaround the relationship of the culture to its religions and therelationships between men and women. Thedome is the supreme Indian achievement in religious architecture, althoughmuch of the fascination with mosques and temples lies in the enormousvariety of the facades, both in design and ornamentation. The famous Taj Mahall at Agra was built by Shah Jahan for hisfavorite wife, Mumtaz Mahall. It is the purpose of this paper toprovide a general overview of the art, dance and music of India withspecial attention to the relationship of the arts to the Indian cultureitself. Weddingceremonies last for several days and include elaborate floor paintings madeof ground white rice powder and henna paintings of intricate designs on thehands of the bride and the groom (Aditi 65). The subjects in these earlyworks may include royal figures, rich flowering plants, and ornately drapedelephants. The Hindu dance, for reasons of strong tradition, is impersonal andrestrained. Both the classical, margi, and the vernacular, deshi,coexist within this rich heritage, and the artisan guilds have beenintegral to these segments of society. It is indisputably the greatest building ofhis reign and of the whole Mughal period, combining most of the elements ofarchitectural style for this time period--the dome, high arches, andminarets (Harle 443). Faces in the paintings of this style are usually in the preferredIndian full profile, showing an idealized beauty of the young Indian women(Harle 417). The Art and Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent.Middlesex, England: Penguin Books Ltd., 1986.Neuman, Daniel M. Indian architecture is closely related to the place of the art withinits religious context. Dances of India. In India, technique is considered important but issecondary to artistic expression. Those in India who chose the creative avenue of music for theirprofession embark upon a highly disciplined lifestyle. C.: SmithsonianInstitution Press, 1985.Devi, Ragini. Much of Indian art revolves around the cycles of life. The raga,roughly translated as "melody," is a given scale using certain notes andleaving out others, and all the classical ragas, have different names anduses. Musically, India and the West find some common ground in the use ofconventional rhythms and the use of the flute. Vast religious, sociological, and cultural rivers have met andmingled in India--the food-gatherers, who claim to be descendants of Shiva;the nomadic tribes, who probably originated the Krishna legend; and theagricultural societies with their craft technologies, myths, rites, andrituals (Aditi 26). A fine flautist, in India,can command an immense salary and live with complete freedom. Classical Dances and Costumes of India. Some say that the discipline of music is aspiritual discipline, and others say that the profession of music is simplya line of work that the musician strives to do to the very best of hisability, but it is not to be confused with religious worship. They chose a guruor guide as their teacher, and they practice for many hours every day. Pahari painting, which originated in the Panjab Hills of thenorthern Indian subcontinent, includes conventional themes, as well as menand women in amorous situations (Harle 4 7). The bridegroom may follow thenorthern tradition of triumphantly going to the bride's village with hisprocession of mare, fireworks, horns, and drums (Smithsonian 68).Intricately embroidered wedding blouses may include mirrors, lotus flowerdesigns, and symbols of fertility and good luck. The notes ofIndian flute music has been said to have the power to take a girl from herlover and unite the soul with the Infinite (Gopal 21). Washington, D. Dancing has been performed under sacred auspices in India forcountless centuries and was generally categorized as margi (sacred dancingwhich is performed only before the gods) and desi (dancing which isperformed for entertainment for royalty and assemblies). Each of the styles of classical Indian dance comes from a differentpart of India and generally features a different physical type of dancer.Dancers may be fiercely loyal to their particular region and type to thepoint of denying the existence of other styles (Gopal 3). Almost every medium imaginable is put to creative use in India. Amusician's identity is always connected to that of his teacher, a traditionwhich goes back for many generations (Neuman 31). Classical Indiandance requires ability, years of study, and an inner power to transform themind and body into the required stylized forms. Therefore in India, anyone who can playan instrument with expression is considered a musician, although muchpractice and discipline is certainly necessary (Gopal 2 ). It represents the joy of living in its ideal aspects and isgreatly concerned with the common ideal experience of dancer and observer.Unlike Western art forms, the Indian classical dancer does not bringsubjective individual experience into the exposition of the dance (Devi1 ). The occasion of the weddingincludes many exchanges of gifts between the families of the bride and thegroom, and sophisticated craftsmen are required to fashion ornate personaland household items of ebony or brass. Sources differ onthe exact nature of the relationship between music and the spiritualaspects of life in India. There has been a great deal of misunderstanding between Indian andWestern musicians. Among the wedding giftsmight be ceramic or wood containers, painted or glazed with gold and otherbright colors (Aditi 77). These works are extremelyelegant, portraying in two dimensions architectural settings, elaboratelyfigured rugs, and garlands of scrollwork pattern as settings for men andwomen. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.