ARTS AND CRAFTS REVIVAL |

Curator: Shramona Maiti
Group: Sidhi Parekh and Sarika Kumari

Topic:Craft Revival (Arts & Craft Movement)

Idea:Disciphering the colonial identity: in respect to Dr Bhau Daji Museum. Focus is on the Craft Revival (Arts & Craft Movement) in England, USA, and in India; How are the people coming up; Why and When.
Process:

Initially they are researching on the crafts and arts movement that happened in London and the ways in which William Morris and John Ruskin both came up with the decorative arts and how they popularized it during the late 20th century. After much of brainstorming they decided to add another area where the movement was flourishing that is India. They further more learnt that the motifs used in both these countries were similar also and at the same time different. The former used decorative natural patterns like flowers and trees and plants whereas the latter used Indian and European motifs together like the J.J.School of art made pottery where they incorporated elements like the Ramayana scene and the flowers and plants that were a typical European motif. They made there traced motifs that tey are illustrating in order to compare the two narratives. After further research they introduced another country where this movement was flourished that is America. Here a lot of emphasis on the abstract features is seen that were used in pottery and how minimalistic was their approach toward the ceramics. Then they decided to compare Indian and the American Arts and Crafts movement with respect to the different changes that were taking place in these two countries and how they were influenced by the European movement which itself takes a lot of references from the Art Nouveau and the way they negate the whole notion of industrial Revolution. They struggled to find a lot of information regarding this and they found that there was a lot that was not known to them. During this time they decided that they would look at the Indian Scenario and see what the effects were before and after the arts and Crafts Movement and how different were the politics. They have used a Marxist framework to mind map all the above ideas and taking a very critical view on how the bazar school was before the idea of this movement came to India, and what happens once the British start teaching at different schools and how they influence the artisans and artists.

Some of the research work is as following:

The mind maps for the following :