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Western Impact on Indian Culture and Art

In the past decade contemporary art of the Indian sub-continent has received increasing attention, perhaps on the merit of the artists, but most likely due to the increasingly strong Indian economy and the money that is being made through foreign investments. There is a glaring observation to be made, and that is interest in India by the West seems closely tied to economic profit. Britain realized it when they took India from the ast India !ompany and today the "nited #tates and uropean powers are taking advantage of a large and cheap labor force and emerging middle class. Indian artists are benefitting especially from this economic boom as the middle class and wealthy in India are their main supporters. The strife of the lower class seems to be one of the main themes used by artists and it plays well to Westerners, concerned with the struggles of the Third World. Throughout modern art history, Indian artists have responded to the changes to their country and attempted to find their identities in a struggle with modernism and pre$udices of the West after independence. The purpose of this essay is to highlight the impact the West has had on the cultural and artistic legacy that continues today with Indian and %akistani artists. I will start with the colonial period under the British &a$ and the ma$or cultural changes it caused through the e'ample of the forming of ()induism*. I will then discuss the modernist period and move on to India*s current situation, discussing the status of being a contemporary artist of #outh +sian origins.

In ,-./ the British &a$ was established in India and their goal was to form India in their own image. +ll scholarship was Western based, which included archeology, anthropology, linguistics and other areas which came to be known as indology, the study of India*s history, people, and culture0 much of which was lost in time to the Indian people. The findings of this scholarship were formed to coincide with !hristian-1udeo Western

history, resulting in a skewed, partially imagined Indian history. These conclusions were then taught to the Indian students in universities, so educated Indians who would have some influence in governance during and after the colonial period, were informed of their own country and history by Western scholars. With the influ' of British realism in painting, not only did the British think of Indian art as primitive, but Indian people came to think of it that way as well. +ll forms of patronage for traditional Indian painting stopped and schools, founded by the British, were now teaching oil painting and uropean techni2ues.

Traditional Indian painters, who lost their patronage, changed their style to the tastes of the British, in what is known as !ompany painting. This marked a fundamental change in Indian history with the breaking of hundreds, even thousands of years of art history and culture. To more fully understand the cultural impact of British colonialism in India, one can look to the forming of ()induism* as a world religion, written about by &ichard 3ing in Orientalism and the Modern Myth of Hinduism. &ichard 3ing is a critic and supporter of the ideas put forth by dward #aid in his book

Orientalism, which is a critical look into the way 4rientalists formed their image of astern cultures. The term )indu in fact was originally derived from a %ersian word and simply referred to the people of Indian subcontinent, not to a religion, until the nineteenth century. +s the uropean 4rientalists, began to compose Indian history and religion, since 5the natives are

unreliable interpreters of their own laws and culture,6 they began to try and create a homogenized concept of Indian religion from the multitude of practices and beliefs, which had no single name or doctrine, spread throughout the country. )ow else could 5such religious liberality as would give members of the same society the freedom by individual choice, to practice the religion they liked6 e'ist without a hierarchal structure and similar theology7 The British and 4rientalists had to find an e'planation that uropeans themselves could relate to and, as &ichard 3ing e'plains, they sought this in two ways, 5firstly by locating the core of Indian religiosity in certain #anskrit te'ts 8the te'tualization of Indian religion9 and secondly by an implicit 8and sometimes e'plicit9 tendency to define Indian religion in terms of normative definition of religion based upon contemporary Western understanding of 1udaeo-!hristian traditions.6: + clear e'ample of this is seen in the translations of )indu scripture to nglish that use similar wording and sentence structure used in the !hristian bible. There is even a trinity in )induism, supposedly acknowledged by all )indus, and includes a god most )indus do not pray to.

, There are many definitions of an Orientalist; simply put it was a scholar responding to interactions with the East and the Wests fascination and repulsion with the Orient. It was an attempt to define the unknown, what many felt was ackward and opposite to their own culture in the West. : I id, !""

But a trinity does not e'ist for a villager in a remote area of India whose ideas of religion are largely based on oral tradition and the belief of gods and goddesses found in natural ob$ects, such as trees and stones. )owever during this 4rientalist reformation of )induism 5the oral and (popular* aspects of Indian religious tradition were ignored or decried as evidence of the degradation of contemporary )indu religion into superstitious practice on the grounds that they bear little or no resemblance to 5their own6 te'ts.6 ; This pre$udice marginalized the villages and small towns in India and allowed further control by a central power, imposing their idea of what India should be and what religious practices were lawful to suit their Western tastes. In this way 5the 4rientalist scholar was an accessory, an accomplice, a partner-in-crime, of the politician, merchant, soldier, missionary and colonial administrator.6 < Te't served important administrative purposes for the British since it allowed them to control the Indian people and ban certain practices simply because it was against the Indian people*s own religious te't and traditions. 4ne would think the Indian people would have opposed the idea of a singular religion and culture common to them all, however they had 5no reason to contradict this0 to them the religious and cultural unity discovered by Western scholars was highly welcome in their search for national identity in the period of struggle for national union.6 The Brahmins, the highest class in India 8largely priests9, worked with the British in many cases simply because the 4rientalists, 5convinced of the degradation of contemporary Indian civilization in the present era
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of kaliyuga ... generally found a receptive and willing religious elite, who, for that very reason remained amenable to the rhetoric of reform.6. This endorsement by Indian Brahmins and certain classes of society, namely the new scholarly Indians taught in British schools, is an e'ample of the Indian people forming their selfimage from 4rientalist discourse. 3ing 2uotes &omila Thapar, a professor of Indian history, suggesting 5this new )induism, furnished with a brahmanical base, was merged with elements of 5upper caste belief and ritual with one eye on the !hristian and Islamic models,6 this was thoroughly infused with a political and nationalistic emphasis. Thapar describes the contemporary development as 5#yndicated )induism,6 and notes that it is 5being pushed forward as the sole claimant of the inheritance of indigenous Indian religion.6=
; I id, !"# < $arry Oldmeadow, Journeys East: 20th Century Encounters with Eastern Religious Traditions %World Wisdom Inc, &''(), http*++www.worldwisdom.com %accessed ,e ruary !, &'!&), -. . I id, !#' = I id, !#&

This newly constructed (#yndicated )induism* allowed the British and upper class Indians to structure and control Indian society. It politicized and amalgamated what was once a large number of separate but related beliefs, evolving over time regionally, into a single scripture- based national religion. %oliticization further polarized the caste system to the highly pre$udiced form we see today in India. In effect, the British were able to pit Indian against Indian and keep them from doing what the members of their former colonies in the +mericas achieved0 a great fear of the British. The formation of )induism as it is known today is an e'ample of the e'treme changes that British rule had on the culture, recorded history, and self-image of India. The 4rientalist revision of what the Indian people were, whether it was correct or not, was absorbed into the Indian psyche and in the twentieth century Indians were seeking a unifying national image in order to gain independence. The very constructed ideas of a homogenous Indian history and a national religion of peace, which was becoming respected by the West, would be taken by the Indian people as a unifying tool, thus the idea of India as a nation was created from British 4rientalism. +rtists during the colonial period had to contend with these 4rientalist, urocentric, and nationalist

ideas. In his book, Triumph of Modernism: Indias rtists and the !ant"garde, #$%%#$&', art historian %artha >itter describes how the (West* has seen Indian art and that of other colonized cultures? 5#tylistic influence, as we are all aware, has been the cornerstone of art historical discourse since the &enaissance. @ineteenth-century art history, in the age of Western domination, e'tended it to world art, ranking it according to the notion of progress, with Western art at its ape'. Influence ac2uired an added resonance in colonial art history. Aor

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+rcher Ba British art historianC, the use of the synta' of !ubism, a product of the West, by an Indian artist, immediately locked him into a dependent relationship, the colonized mimicking the superior art of the colonizer. Indeed influence has been the key epistemic tool in studying the reception of Western art in the non-Western world? if the product is too close to its original source it reflects slavish mentality0 if on the other hand, the imitation is imperfect, it represents a failure. In terms of power relations, borrowing by artists from the peripheries becomes a badge of inferiority. In contrast, the borrowings of uropean artists are described approvingly either as (affinities* or dismissed as

inconse2uential, as evident in the primitivism e'hibition held at the >useum of >odern +rt in @ew Dork in ,E-.. The very subtitle of the e'hibition, (affinity of the tribal and the modern*, characterizes %icasso*s emulation of +frican sculpture as no more than a mere formal (affinity* with the primitive. In short, %icasso*s integrity was in no way compromised by the borrowing, in contrast to the colonial artist Faganendranath Ban Indian artist who e'perimented with cubismC.6 G What was seen as the superior realist art of urope became the benchmark for art in the early days of

colonialism. In an attempt to prove their worth, artists such as &avi Harma took to creating Hictorian realist-styled oil paintings of Indian figures and mythological scenes. Harma*s appropriation of Western painting helped to show the skill that Indian artists could ac2uire and also allowed him to sell work in a market that no longer had traditional Indian patronage. It also marked a compromise between the West and ast. But with the newly forming national

image of India, this foreign-born style was no longer


Mohini and(ugmangada y 4a5a 4a2i 6arma. Oil on can2as, !-77.

representative of the Indian people and they began a search for their own.

G .artha /itter, Triumph of Indian Modernism: Indias rtists and the !ante"garde# $%22"$%&' %O0ford 1ni2ersity .ress, &''#), #3-.

To create a new modern Indian style artists looked to the past? )indu and >ughal miniatures, theIat the timeIrecently discovered +$anta !aves, and 1apanese ink techni2ues learned from visiting 1apanese artists. Fuided by the idea of 4kakura 3akuzo, that all of +sia was one in terms of philosophy and certain traditions, they created a %an- +sian style called orientalism, created by +banindranath Tagore 8,-G,-,E.,9. )e is credited as being the father of modern Indian art, and was supported by the sympathetic 4rientalist, .B. )avell, and his Bengal #chool. )avell allowed indigenous Indian styles to be taught and e'plored there for the first time in a British school. Through the use of multiple layers of watercolor washes +banindranath created a hazy look where the background and delicate figures emerge subtly. This techni2ue can be seen in his image which became a symbol of the nationalist movement entitled )harat Mata, meaning >other
)harat Mata y 8 anindranath Tagore. Watercolor on paper, !7'9. India.

)is earlier painting, *hah +ahan, in which he depicts a

dying #hah 1ahan looking out to the monument for his dead wife, the Ta$ >ahal, as his daughter sits at his feet, captured the attention of the British art critics and helped him on his way to becoming one of the most influential modern artists in India, becoming leader of the Bengal #chool of +rt and having many successful students such as @andalal Bose, one of

+banindranath*s first and most successful students. +nother artist 1amini &oy 8,--G-,EG:9 found his inspiration from the marginalized people of tribal villages and their folk art. With this and the abstraction found in his work, it fit in well with the appropriation of the

,ru-ifi-tion y :amini 4oy. Tempera on can2as, &-0;- in

5primitive6 by Western artists. It also brought attention to the village people of India, despite becoming a romanticization of them at times. +ppropriation of folk art was therefore not simply a trait of the West but of Indians to other Indian styles as well. 5In thepost-Independence scenario, the focus shifted from the nation to the individual.
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&ather than develop an indigenous modernism, they believed the right thing for the Indian artist was to assimilate the language of modern art and become a part of international modernism.6 4ne such artist was Arancis @ewton #ouza 8,E:<-://:9 who in the late ,E</*s and ,E./*s attempted to display his progressive work with modern artists in ngland. )e achieved some degree of success, more so than any of his colleagues, but as %artha >itter has put forth, their Indian"ness would mark their work anywhere
)irth y ,rancis <ewton =ou>a. Oil on oard, (- 0 7" in, !799.

they went and be seen

as simply

imitations of a Western style. +s a result very few Indian artists found success in urope. This re$ection caused artists to turn inward 8a cycle that continued throughout the modern period9 and they sought to validate and include their own culture as the conceptual supports within a new style. +bstraction remained popular as it lent itself nicely to the esoteric ideas of Indian religion at once concerned with the tangible and intangible0 and they also revived the use of narration and literary sources. clecticism would still be a ma$or tool to Indian artists, but each artist decided how much Western and how much continued through the ,EG/*s. 4ne can see the immense pressure artists felt to depict themselves and their country in a certain way, struggling with nationalism or internationalism, preserving their culture while advancing it with the rest of the world. The British in certain ways helped India, such as bringing industry and technology up theframework fora modern government. But with these andsetting astern elements they would incorporate, which

changes they brought social strife,pre$udice andine2uality, created famines, and took the wealth out of the country, which left India in a weakened state after independence. The partitioning of G

%akistan in ,E<G was meant to ease tensions between >uslims and )indus, instead it generated bloodshed as )indu and >uslim families attempted to move from one side of the border to the other, as well as starting several wars over territory, creating much of the animosity between %akistan and IndiaI>uslim and )indu. %akistan*s current political stances and alleged involvement with the Taliban and other terrorist groups have also put it at odds with Western powers, as violence plagues the country. >any artists living and working in India today, have concerned themselves with the ine2uities and 2uality of life in the sub-continent due to globalization, and as some have instead labeled it imperialism. &apid urbanization of India has led to many problems. 4ne of the most pressing is the migration of people from small towns to large cities hoping to make a better living, but ending up living in slums. In a country with over ,.: billion people overcrowding is an obvious problem. #ocial ine2uity and the rising gap in income are occurring despite an increase in the middle class population. The middle class is now the target 8as in !hina9 of +merican companies selling goods such as cars, consumer electronics, furniture, and clothing. Aast food restaurants, which are usually seen as a restaurant for the poor in the West, have become selective in the clientele they allow to come in and dine0 only allowing middleJupper class customers. The government itself seems to ignore these problems and focus on economic growth and foreign investment, with the +merican slogan of trickledown economics, an issue of controversy in the #tates. Aor these reasons Indian art is once again being directly influenced by the West, as artists come to terms with a new technology and manufacturing driven India, focused on increasing economic growth. India had a disappointing :/,, fiscal year, but still had a respectable increase, as growth slowed or stopped in most countries. +s a result of this slowdown, less foreign art buyers are in the market causing the high prices previously seen before the ://- economic crash for Indian art to be lowered. @ew Dork !ity, a place known for the arts, has little to no Indian art market, and there is minimum representation in the "nited #tates. +sia based galleries that specialize in Indian and ast +sian art have had to close their worldwide galleries and focus on +sia. The largest buyers of Indian art are currently the upwardly mobile middle class and rich Indians, as well as the Indian diaspora, looking to learn more about and supporting the arts in India. This interest, including the aspect of collecting for future profit, has helped to give the art market in India a boost while global art sales have fallen. That said the Indian art market only accounts for one percent of global art sales, with high hopes that it will increase in the coming years. - The (ational# ?Wealth @rings 8rt to AelhiBs <ew Callery Aistrict,D :anuary (, &'!&. http*++www.thenational.ae+arts3culture+art+wealth3 rings3art3to3delhis3new3gallery3district.

!ontemporary Indian society continues traditional legacies, co-e'isting with and influencing its modern practices. +.3. !oomaraswamy, an Indian historian during colonial times, wrote that 5 ast and West6 imports a cultural rather than a geographical antithesis? an opposition of the traditional or ordinary way of life that survives in the ast to the modern and irregular way of life that now prevails in the West. It is because such an opposition could not have been felt before the &enaissance that we say that the problem is one that presents itself only accidentally in terms of geography0 it is one of times much more than places.E The interaction of technology and progress with India*s continuing dedication to its traditions and religions, in a constitutionally secular country, creates a situation unknown in the West. This uni2ue mi' of the old and new is perhaps one of the reasons the West has such a fascination with India. Traditional clothing is still worn by a large portion of the population, even in urban areas. )indu religious imagery can be seen everywhere, especially that of the god Fanesha, who is usually present in the entrance of businesses, which could be a small corner shop, telecom services, or a large industrial factory to remove obstacles to success. The traditionalJmodern aspect is a ma$or theme of many contemporary artists in #outh +sia, most notably the (neo-miniaturists*. These artists mostly hail from %akistan and learned traditional miniature painting from art schools such as the @ational !ollege of +rts 8@!+9 in Kahore, %akistan. 4ne of the school*s most outstanding alumni is #hahzia #ikander 8=.,E=E9 who now lives and works in the "nited #tates. #he is often credited with bringing attention to contemporary miniature painting in the West. )er work breaks down what is traditionally thought of as a miniature painting and incorporates elements of the modern society she is a part of. Both )indu and >uslim imagery can be seen in her work, which is curious because of the religious conflicts between the two groups.

E 8.E. Foomaraswamy, The )ug*ear of +iteracy# -', Guoted in $arry Oldmeadow, Journeys East# !-

4ne of the images that earned her critical attention is .leshy /eapons. The painting features an image of a typical multi-armed )indu goddess, each hand holding a weapon, but her head is covered in a veil. #een as a symbol of oppression in >uslim cultures by the West, the veil to #hahzia creates the power of anonymity, it does not take away the power of the woman beneath it, which the feminine power, or shakti, of the )indu goddess represents. In her time at the &hode Island #chool of Lesign 8&I#L9 where she earned her >A+ in ,EE., people were shocked at her use of the veil in her paintings, and as she e'plains in a interview with )omi Bhabha for The (enaissan-e *o-iety, the reason why to her 5is not a
.leshy /eapons y =hah>ia =ikander. 8crylic, , dry pigmentwatercolor and tea wash on linen, 2uestion of what

kind of meaning the image is transmitting 7" 0 "" in. but what kind of meaning the viewer is pro$ecting.6 ,/ The stereotype

of an oppressed >iddle astern woman forced to wear a veil and susceptible to violence by men, is often con$ured up in the mind of a Westerner. #ikander found these stereotypes frustrating. #he e'plains that in many of the group criti2ues at &I#L everyone kept asking, MWhat is your work about7M They found it too culturally specific and reflective of what art was Bin %akistanC, forgetting the fact that I did that because that is where I am from. Des, I brought my practice with me, but I was always dismayed at how everything that one did was bound to their place of origin. The feedback never went beyond who I am. That is understandable but very frustrating.6,,

,/ $omi @ha ha, ?The 4enaissance =ociety,D http*++www.shah>iasikander.com+essay';.html %accessed ,e ruary !, &'!&). ,, I id.

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To this point, in .leshy /eapons where the figure*s feet are instead roots, she e'plains, 5I was obsessed BwithC interconnections and the idea of being self,G

contained, not rooted in any one conte't.6 Det her cultural background and country of origin created e'pected roles for both herself and her work, and from a Western viewpoint created a barrier that they could not get through. ven when her paintings contain western imagery or themes, the (4ther* elements overshadow the fact that the work contains multiple, non-culturally specific elements0 they are more about formal $udgments, e'perimenting with abstracted and defined elements and less about a %akistani artist dealing with %akistani issues. This label attached to the front of artist, whether it be Indian, %akistani, !hinese, +frican or any non-Western (e'otic* culture, seems to be a blessing and a curse. The country of origin tagged on seems to offer conte't for the artwork, but this is reliant on the information known by the viewer. If they rely on the stereotypesIcorrect, or more often than not, incorrectIheld of these cultures then the work will be unfairly categorized or dismissed as something the viewer has no insight to understand. There are many types of artists and usually they do not fall into simple stereotypical roles, in the same way someone from a certain country would not share the same characteristics
)lessings 0pon the 1and of My 1o!e y Imran Hureshi. Emulsion and acrylic on rick. &'!!

with everyone else of that country. ven with a label of neo-miniaturist, these artists can create work in vastly different ways. The artist Imran Nureshi 8=.,EG:9, now a teacher at the miniature painting program at @!+ in Kahore, is also a neo-miniaturist. )is work ranges from small paintings on paper to large ,,

murals and installations. In a prize winning piece he designed for the #har$ah Biennial in the "nited +rab mirates, called )lessings 0pon the 1and of My 1o!e, :/,,, he painted what looks like blood splatter in the courtyard of a building. It may seem like an odd name for such a seemingly macabre piece, but upon closer inspection white flowers can be seen emerging from the red splatter marks. It is an installation about hope, not death, and surely it can be seen as more than $ust a %akistani work, as the whole world has been affected by violence and natural disasters. &a2ib #haw 8b.,EG<9 is another artist from the sub-continent, born in !alcutta and brought up in 3ashmir. In ://, he started at the !entral #aint >artins !ollege of +rt and Lesign in Kondon, earning his B+ and >+. )e, $ust as #hahzia #ikander, had to deal with his cultural background in a Western country, as discussed in his profile on the Tate Britain website, #ome writing on #haw*s work neatly positions it in terms of his 3ashmiri upbringing as part of (a family of carpet makers*. Det this is to reduce the work to a neo-colonial notion of (4therness*, echoing #haw*s impression of being treated upon arrival at a Kondon art school in ,EE- as a (noble savage*. +s he points out? (>y work has nothing to do with what 3ashmir stands for because as a child I had so many influences. >y parents are >uslim, my teachers were )indu scholars, I went to a !hristian school and historically 3ashmir was Buddhist. +nd then I was living in India and it*s very secular...and I didn*t believe in organised religion. But there is a great tendency in the West to say that you come from here so you must be doing this and that.* The work is not representative of or affiliated to any particular religious, geographical or ethnic influence... Instead, #haw*s work is a $oyful conglomeration of styles and cultures colliding within a hedonistic mi'.
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5arden of 6arthly 3elights 7 %detail) y 4aGi =haw. =ynthetic polymer paint, glitter, stones, crystals, rhinestones, and gems on oard, three panels, &''9.

4ld colonial mentalities still affect artists today in a Western country, not by having any obvious

astern

elements in their work, but $ust by who they are. The Indian tradition of eclecticism is active in #haw*s work, but it breaks stereotypes of what an Indian painting should look like and be made of, east and west holds no importance and anything goes in terms of sub$ect matter 8often of homose'uality and sadomasochism9. #haw 5uses the veneer, or even the actual materials, of wealth and e'travagance to 2uestion the values of an e'pensive lifestyle,6 as his surfaces are lurid masses of gold and enamel and metallic paints. ,: It combines cloisonne, stained glass, medieval influences, such as )ieronymus Bosch and bestiaries0 &enaissance painting, especially )olbein0 1apanese art and crafts, te'tiles, and miniature paintings into an eye-straining, $ewel-like composition, hiding the violent and deviant behavior depicted by #haw. +rtists can also have the label of (Indian artist*, even if they were not born in India. The artist !hitra Fanesh was born and lives in Brooklyn, @ew Dork but fre2uently referred to as an Indian artist due to her ethnic origins and Indian elements in her work. +lthough she is proud to be called an Indian artist, it does automatically categorize her work as Indian, thereby creating that cultural barrier to the +merican viewer even though they are the intended audience. In an interview with rt 2 3eal Maga4ine she e'plains, M+ fre2uentmistake that people make in the reading of the work is, in part, influenced by
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how#outh

+sia is represented in the mass media... They look at my work

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and they think it seems to be about the so-called plight of Indian women or about womenOs powerlessness in non-western societies. I am definitely making a criti2ue on gendered representations and gendered power but $ust because the imagery has #outh +sian connotations, that doesnOt automatically mean that I am referring to a #outh +sian community. >y work is more about using different tropes and visual languages like comic books and iconic goddess imagery and figures to talk about things that are broader than being located within the #outh +sian framework. The artwork in reference is her series based on the popular
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mar ,hitra 8atha comic books, which are sold

throughout +sia and in diaspora communities around the world. Translated into many languages, they teach mythology, religion, and morals and ethics to its readers. !hitra

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Fanesh digitally manipulates the comic books into surreal, hyper-violent, and se'ual imagery 8often dealing with lesbianism9, rewriting the words into vague, nonsensical prose. #he gives power and emphasis to the female characters in what is typically a patriarchal setting. Fanesh*s first solo e'hibition in India was e'citing for her, as she states in curious to see the narratives an interview, 5I*m very that are unlocked by
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someone who could in all probability feel more identification with the elements I use.6 This sentiment is shared by other diaspora artists in Western countries who, while using elements from their ethnic culture,
(i!er of *orrow y Fhitra Canesh. Aigital print, &-0;'in, &''".

are in effect appropriating something they are not completely

familiar with0 there is a sense of satisfaction when it is accepted in the land of its origins. To the issue of cultural barriers, perhaps !hitra Fanesh said it best, 5Interestingly, eight- years-ago, I was told by a critic that she did not understand my workbecause it was placed specifically in Indian culture. I havespent my life trying to understand the art histories of the West, it*s time that the favour was returned.6 In time this may come to be true as +sian art is gaining more and more attention, there may be more of an emphasis on +sian arts education. !urrently however when an artist uses a non-Western style the thing most art teachers try to get them to do is move towards a Western style, as is the e'perience of painters +mrit and &abindra #ingh, otherwise known as the #ingh Twins. The #ingh Twinswhilestudying artin the "3 resisted the pressure to conform to Western aesthetics.Instead of beingforced to look at masters of modern art for

inspiration, they chose to assert their right to choose a visual language which was closer and true to their interest in art and the natural affiliation to their +sian heritage. &ebelling against the system, the #ingh Twins worked and e'hibited together 8as well as dressed identically9, making a political statement against the hypocrisy of an stablishment which
&! && Time ,ut Mum*ai# ?=torylines,D Aecem er &", &''-3:anuary -, &''7. Ceorgina /addo0, ?@ig In <ew Iork,D The -unday E.press# :anuary (, &''7, /um ai <ewsline.

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advocated western values of (self e'pression* and (individuality* as the (be all and end all* of >odern +rt, yet denied the validity of anything which did not comply with the e'pectations dictated by its selective, urocentric perspective.
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#hahzia #ikander, &a2ib #haw, !hitra Fanesh, and every #outh +sian artist who has worked or displayed work in the West have had to deal with this issue. They are e'pressing their individuality, what the world is to them, but the uropean idea of modernJcontemporary art seems to be the only valid form of

e'pression upon which their work is $udged. With colonial views of Western superiority still in effect, despite attempts at political correctness, it will no doubt be some time before such pre$udices are cast aside and +sian art styles will be part of Western avant-garde discourse.

8li 8dil Ehan, ?The ,light of the Wasli,D %paper presented at Aislocation* Ten .erspecti2es, Toronto, Fanada, 8ugust 93!(, &'!'), !-.

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Bibliography? ,.
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Bhabha, )omi. 5The &enaissance #ociety.6 http?JJwww.shahziasikander.comJessay/;.html 8accessed Aebruary ,, :/,:9.

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