'In the Mithila region of north Bihar there is an old tradition of painting the walls of the nuptial chamber. The paintings are an assemblage of symbolic images of the lotus plant, the bamboo grove, fishes, birds and snakes in union, and represent fertility and the proliferation of life. According to conventional ritual practice, the bride and the groom spend three nights in this chamber without cohabiting, and on the fourth, amidst the paintings, consummate the marriage.
Ganga Devi, both as a person and as an artist, was rooted in the tradition of Mithila painting. While the tradition was deeply ingrained in her and was a source of inspiration in her work, and of courage in her tormented personal life, she was one of the few Mithila artists to respond spontaneously and sensitively to the new possibilities offered by the availability of paper in the region.
The creative expression of rural and tribal artists has always been seen by most art historians as a product of ethnic collectivity whose authenticity lies in the remoteness of time and space. This study is the first of its kind, tracing the growth of a rural artist's work from her early paintings to her venturing out into narrative and autobiographical work, and the invention of a new pictorial vocabulary.'
(front flap)
Onsite
English
1997
135
0944142338
1
artist monograph
The Life of Ganga Devi
'There is No Balance in Your Account'
The Cancer Years
Traditions of Painting in Mithila
Kohbar
Painted Wrappers for Vermilion Powder
Painting for Paper
The kohbar-ghar and the Wedding Rites of Mithila
Wall-Paintings of the kohbar-ghar
The Painters and the Process of Painting
The Iconographic Motifs and their Pictorial Conceptualisation
The Stories of Rama
Transition from the Symbolic to the Narrative: Illustrating the Story of Rama
The Cycle of Life
Ride in a Roller Coaster The Autobiographical Works
The America Series
Pilgrimage to Badrinath
The Cancer Series
The Japan Series
Ganga Devi: Tradition and Expression in Mithila Painting
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