Simply because an object is common in the social sense does not mean that it is ordinary, not worth placing in an exhibition or museum.
Earlier in 2019, the developing world lost one of its more interesting cultural anthropologists. The Gujarati Indian Haku Shah was, among other disciplines, an artist, an archivist, a documentarian and also an important author on tribal art and culture.
Shah was a man inspired by Gandhian principles of rural development and harmonious living with nature, and in this vein perhaps his most important contribution over the last 50 years was in making the case for the traditional craftsmen’s knowledge system being as valuable as the modern urban designer’s training. His life’s work was on blurring the line between the artist and the artisan, between the functional and the aesthetic. In his universe, a distinction between “high” art and “low” craft simply did not exist.
Phansi Museum (Copyright: author)
“Simply because an object is common in the social sense,” he said, “does not mean that it is ordinary, not worth placing in an exhibition or museum.” Which is exactly what he did.
Besides expanding the space for tribal art recognition at the Indian Institute of Design,…
