{"id":766,"date":"2015-08-06T13:42:43","date_gmt":"2015-08-06T13:42:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.southasiantimes.com.au\/?p=766"},"modified":"2015-08-09T03:49:33","modified_gmt":"2015-08-09T03:49:33","slug":"galleries-explore-ancient-asian-storytelling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.southasiantimes.com.au\/?p=766","title":{"rendered":"Galleries explore ancient Asian storytelling"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"galary\"<\/a>A scan around our state art galleries reveals a continued embrace and celebration of partnerships with South and Southeast Asia’s cultural organisations.<\/p>\n

\n

The abduction of Sita by Ravana from Panchvati; The bird Jatayu tries to save Sita, late 18th century, Chamba style, Pahari miniature exhibited at NGA; Courtesy Collection National Museum, New Delhi, India<\/em><\/p>\n

For centuries past, the many countries, ethnic groups and religions of South and Southeast Asia have enjoyed rich storytelling traditions. Most common are the stories of the Ramayana, Mahabharata and folk ballads, epic tales that have been relayed by exotic coloured miniatures, cloths,\u00a0wall paintings,\u200band\u00a0puppet shows.<\/p>\n

Coincidentally timed\u00a0with the delivery of a position paper on intended changes to Australia\u2019s Protection of Moveable Cultural Heritage Act (1986), due to be tabled later this month, three of our state galleries are staging shows that explore ancient Asian storytelling through antiquities,\u00a0contributing to better understanding\u00a0of works held in Australian collections.<\/p>\n

\u200bThis month the National Gallery of Australia (NGA), National Gallery of Victoria (NGV), and the Art Gallery of South Australia explore the\u00a0various cultural and regional inflections of these timeless tales, and their contemporary implications.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Installation view of\u00a0Gods, Heroes and Clowns: Performance and Narrative in South and Southeast Asian Art<\/em>, featuring Svay Sareth’s\u00a0The Vessantara Jataka<\/em>, 2015. National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne. Vivien Knowles Fund for Asian Art, 2015.
\n\u00a9 courtesy of the artist\u200b<\/p>\n

Want to know more about the Ramayana?<\/strong><\/p>\n

National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) is currently showing images of Lord Krishna and Lord Rama in its exhibition Gods, Heroes and Clowns: Performance and Narrative in South and Southeast Asian Art<\/em>. The exhibition is inspired by the great Hindu epics, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana and explores how these stories, their performance, and ongoing role within contemporary society across works from India, Thailand, Laos, Indonesia and Cambodia.<\/p>\n

Carol Cains, exhibition curator, said, \u2018Hindu epics such as the Ramayana have been a rich source of inspiration for more than a millennium, and continue to be so, demonstrating the universality of its themes. In recent years, popularity has extended to more modern communication methods including television, films and comic books, however the traditional methods of performance as represented in Gods, Heroes and Clowns continue to play a unique and important role in communities across South and Southeast Asia.\u2019<\/p>\n

Tony Ellwood, Director of NGV, said: \u2018We are also pleased to present a new contemporary sculpture by Cambodian artist Svay Sareth, which has been commissioned by the NGV especially for this exhibition.\u2019\u200b<\/p>\n

Highlights include a Buddhist narrative scroll over 30-meters long and depicting the Vessantara Jataka (Pha yao Phra Wet) from Thailand. It is one of only two in Australia and will be displayed in its entirety for the first time. Also on display is an Indian narrative cloth banner (phad) depicting the legend of Pabuji, a deified Rajasthan folk hero and a large, elaborately painted cloth from India, Patachitra depicting scenes from the life of Krishna, which depicts more than sixty incidents from the life of Krishna.\u200b<\/p>\n

The exhibition will include objects from a variety of theatrical presentations including live dramas, masked dance- dramas and shadow puppet theatre. Multimedia displays of video and photographs will bring to life the performance of these works, which were often accompanied by singers, musicians and dancers.<\/p>\n

Gods, Heroes and Clowns: Performance and Narrative in South and Southeast Asian Art<\/em><\/p>\n

Until 30 August, NGV International<\/p>\n

Curator Carol Cains will be giving a floortalk on the exhibition Saturday, 8 August at 12pm<\/p>\n

www.ngv.vic.gov.au<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Image: Venkat Raman Singh Shyam, Patnagarh, Odisha, India, born 1970, Kali\u2011mata, 2009, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India, ink and acrylic on canvas; Collection of Barrie & Judith Heaven.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Ever wondered what a Gond Painting is?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA) gives us an insight into the traditions of a unique form of Indian Miniature painting – Gond painting – through its current exhibition The Barrie and Judith Heaven Collection of Indian Gond Painting<\/em>, the largest private collection of Gond art in Australia.<\/p>\n

The Gond people of central and northern India are the largest tribal group in the country and have maintained their distinct culture and language. Their paintings, often compared to Australia\u2019s contemporary Indigenous art, document the rich spiritual and cultural heritage of Gond communities now living in an increasingly urbanized world, the gallery explained in a statement.<\/p>\n

Gond villagers traditionally painted the walls of houses with talismanic symbols, including forest deities, sacred animals and plants, using natural pigments.\u00a0The artists first adopted the use of synthetic colours on canvas in the early 1980s.<\/p>\n

Each Gond painter uses his\/her own combinations of pattern and line. The paintings of the Gond people of central India have gained increasing international attention in recent years.<\/p>\n

The Barrie and Judith Heaven Collection of Indian Gond Painting.<\/em><\/p>\n

Source: Artshub<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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