“Critical Mass: Beyond Aesthetics”
An essay for the exhibition Critical Mass: Contemporary Art from India (co-written with Rotem Ruff), Tel Aviv Museum of Art
May – December 2012
Catalogue (designed by Dafna Greif): 188 pages, Hebrew/English, 17 artist texts, three additional essays, color plates
In addition to this general essay the catalogue includes three more essays, attempting to provide a sociopolitical, historical, and aesthetic background that allows for a deeper understanding of the accelerated processes of change that have been taking place in India since the 1990s. The essay by literary scholar and writer Maya Tevet Dayan focused on India’s long tradition of visual imagery, and points to the ways in which the old resonates within the new and to the affinity between Indian mythology and contemporary popular culture. The essay by art historian Savita Apte anchored contemporary Indian art within a historical continuum of ancient traditions, and provides a theoretical background for major aesthetic themes in traditional Indian art. The essay by religion scholar Udi Halperin and by historian Rotem Geva analyzed the experience of contemporary life in India, and provides a sociopolitical context for the works featured in this exhibition.
“Critical Mass: Beyond Aesthetics”
An essay for the exhibition Critical Mass: Contemporary Art from India (co-written with Rotem Ruff), Tel Aviv Museum of Art
May – December 2012
Catalogue (designed by Dafna Greif): 188 pages, Hebrew/English, 17 artist texts, three additional essays, color plates
In addition to this general essay the catalogue includes three more essays, attempting to provide a sociopolitical, historical, and aesthetic background that allows for a deeper understanding of the accelerated processes of change that have been taking place in India since the 1990s. The essay by literary scholar and writer Maya Tevet Dayan focused on India’s long tradition of visual imagery, and points to the ways in which the old resonates within the new and to the affinity between Indian mythology and contemporary popular culture. The essay by art historian Savita Apte anchored contemporary Indian art within a historical continuum of ancient traditions, and provides a theoretical background for major aesthetic themes in traditional Indian art. The essay by religion scholar Udi Halperin and by historian Rotem Geva analyzed the experience of contemporary life in India, and provides a sociopolitical context for the works featured in this exhibition.
Photo: Elad Sarig
