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Journey through history and Indianness:reference - North-east India

Utpal Barua

INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY GUWAHATI

March 2004

A teaching module for introductory level

Traditional Form and Colour in Contemporary Design


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Journey through history and Indianness:reference - North-east India

Utpal Barua

Assistant Professor (Communication Design)

Department of Design

INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY GUWAHATI

March 2004

A teaching module for introductory level

Traditional Form and Colour in Contemporary Design


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A teaching module for introductory levelFor students of Design and Art

The course material is developed with the financial

assistance from Curriculum Development Cell under

QIP of IITG for documentation and lecture notes preparation

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The material presented here is in a slide presentation format.

It may be used as a teaching aid with appropriate theory andcontext relevance.

It is expected to create interest to the first level of learners of Form

& Colour aspects and related human perception from old ages tillpresent day practices. This gives a general information overview to

assist newer search in this field.

Supportive materials are collected from relevant literature and

contemporary art and design practices and specifically tradition in

North-eastern part of India is highlighted.

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In the NortheastIndia the folk and the contemporary coexist, each

sustaining and transforming the other. This routine interface traces

the journeywork from functionality to abstraction. The folk is aninfinitely self-sustaining area and can accommodate all changes

while maintaining its rooted character, which gives its own

distinctive identity. The rich diversity of arts, crafts and music of the

area with its multi ethnicity provides us with fresh spectrum ofcolours, motifs, sounds and designs ensconced in materiality- in

objects and figures.

My endeavour is to explore the possible transformations in the

proposed modern adventure of colours and motifs in designs

empowered by historical and ethnographic studies of the extant and

continuing arts and crafts of the communities of the area. I seek

predictive propositions to yield fresh insights for the modern. The

area I have chosen comprises traditional crafts and arts including

textiles.

Preface

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Some of these are preserved only historically and ethnographically butothers are vibrant and vitally alive. It is these, which I explore and

exploit not only in my own work but also from the perspective of thetechnologically equipped design syndrome. This entails a study ofpan-Indian symbology and the still burgeoning North eastern motifs.

The functional-aesthetic imperatives of the folk arts and crafts of theregion reflect an abiding community and it is there that we have totrace the sources of the motifs. The sources of culture are alwayslocal; there are no trans-local sources. The passage from the local tothe universal is, therefore, natural and that is how the modern

adventure is informed, through a lively, imaginative interest in thepast and its complex continuity. This translation and transformationwould interest any artist or designer and this, I believe, cannot onlybe illustrated with the arts and crafts of the region but they yieldinsights and ideas to facilitate the inter-active process.

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Contents

Module 1 Introduction: Perception of visual appearances (8 17) Module 2 Early age experience (18 24) Module 3 European explorations (25 32) Module 4 European Design Schools:

birth of a utility application effort (33 45)

Module 5 Indian pride of Indianness (46 61)

Module 6 NE- a richness, contributing to Indianness (62 74)

Acknowledgement

References

Preface

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Perception of visual appearances- colour in 2D & 3D

Elements of art and design:

There are typically six elements of design that can be found in

most design or art work. Designers use these elements as a

"visual alphabet" to produce all kinds of design forms. The way inwhich elements are organized is referred to as the Principles of

Art & Design.

Line is the most basic element of design; a continuous markmade on a surface can vary in appearance (length, width,

texture, direction, curve). Five varieties of lines: vertical,

horizontal. diagonal, curved, zigzag

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Colouris produced when light strikes an object and reflects

back in your eyes. This element of design has three properties:

Hue -the name of a colour (e.g. red, yellow. blue)

Intensity -the purity and strength of a colour (e.g. bright red or

dull red)

Value -the lightness or darkness of a colour

Shape is two - dimensional (circle, square, triangle, rectangle)

and encloses space - geometric, man-made or free form.

Form is three-dimensional and encloses space and takes up

Space - geometric, man-made or free form.

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Space is defined and determined by shapes and forms.Positive space is where shapes and forms exist; negative

space is the empty space around shapes and forms.

Texture refers to the surface quality or "feel" of an object

- smooth, rough, soft, etc. Textures may be actual (felt

with touch - tactile) or implied (suggested by the way a

designer has created the work of design -visual).

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Applications are mostly visual appeal oriented i.e., foraesthetics

and message transformation.

It works through application of form variations and colour.

Humans felt need to enrich life by his aesthetics application in day

to day life since when he was staying in caves and still

experimentation is continuing unconsciously as free will and

sometimes with conscious efforts to deal with theories andpractices, principles behind its various perceptions.

A journey through subsequent slides would take us to understand

various period of colour experimentations. Some selective

examples are being shared herein to explore specific character ofcolour application and human perception and mood.

As a specific context North East India, which is known for its ethnic

diversity with myriad culture and traditional richness, are being

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Aesthetics - The philosophy of art. The study orcontemplation or appreciation of the (nature of) artistic

value or beauty.

The question Why do we find certain things beautiful? is

familiar to any student ofArt & Aesthetics.

Many philosophers have struggled with the question of

where beauty resides - in the object, the beholders mind,or the interrelationship of object with mind.

Human and aesthetics

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The question many philosophers fail to address, however, is

whydo humans have aesthetic preferences (e.g. beauty)? Itmay well be true that our aesthetic preferences are based on

the mental pleasure produce by certain features of things but

why do we get pleasure from these features?

Furthermore, if we understood why humans have aestheticpreferences, perhaps we would be in a better position to

postulate what our preferences are; and thus what beautyis.

Defining form, colour, texture, smell and overall feel variesfrom person to person a specific perception of a person may

not be that of another. However, aesthetics is accepted as a

common article or presentation.

Human and aesthetics

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when we judge a work of art to be beautiful we do

not necessarily notice any utility or usefulness toour survival in the work.

However, it is the utility that is present to the extent

that we judge it to be beautiful. That is how we

look at human perceptual biases and its relation toour aesthetic preferences in art and nature.

Utility has influenced the aesthetics application toencode message for next generation and/or to

pass the knowledge to others.

Human, utility and aesthetics

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We should know- what to know

Habit and personal preferences - it is personal way of appreciation;

it has to nurture and remain almost fixed to a persons thinking

through out.

Identity- An individual has specific colour and form preferences and

that also varies in different times of a day as well as in different

seasons. Combination of many individual likings form a group

identity, e.g., Nagas are identified with black and red stripes.Rajasthani women can be identified with their black barfi-bandhni,

where as Rajasthani men can be identified with coloured head

gears etc.

Culture- to retain the identity, specific practices followed by acommunity forms a culture and thus with retainment and changes in

time makes a tradition. It got influenced by geographic location

specific and environmental variations. Religious and ritual practices

protect the values of a society. 15


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Need to know

Exchange- Local influence creates local flavour. Interchanging ideas and

know-how transfer enriches the concept of universality. Selectiveabsorption makes perfection and sometimes offer scope to rejuvenating

the old ideas and thus new trend sets. Blue colour (jeans) in dress has

become a casual wear culture.

Present scenario- Due to fast communication and exchange ofinformation and material there is a constant struggle to expand beyond

own socio-political boundary as well as how to retain identity intact. A

balance should be made. For this when we are absorbing good elements

from other cultures, we need to know our own.Root- Who are we, where from we come, what was our struggle to

become what we now at present; we need to know our root, which lies in

long back history.

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We need to go back to our ancient period

In search of root, how form and colour has become an essential part of our life

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Trough use of stick and stones asfruit knocker and bone

crackers made early men able to

discover handier shape.

Refined by need

Early age experience

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They selected and appointed

certain sticks or stones as tools

because they had began to

connect form and function.

These were the first craft in

human history which we have

evidence, and with it we enter a

phase of human developmentknown as the Paleolithic.

Creation by instinct and intuition

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Cave painting

Chauvet (France) 28,000 B.C.

Lascaux, Altamira 15,000

B.C.

The most striking works ofpaliolithic art are the imagesof animals incised, painted orsculpted, on the rock surfacesof caves. Mainly earth colourand some time bold out linesin black is used.

Colour as a value addition

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Use of different colour

palette

Bold out lines

Realistic approach

Subdued application


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Basic characteristics

Vividness

Vigorous outlines

Expressiveness

Colour used

Earth colour

Natural glue


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Colour is used as an

expressing medium, first

explored by man when they

did not have verbal

language.

Cave painting- which has

turned to art in latter period.

Colour as visual language

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What purpose these images

serve?

Livelihood-Knowledge transfer

The traditional explanation is thattheir origin lies in hunting andrituals. According to the theory, inkilling the image of an animal,people of the old stone age

thought they had killed its vitalspirit. Colour had taken animportant role in depicting thisaspect.

Colour as visual language

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Impressionist-(1870-1880)

Opposing academic doctrines

Romantic ideals

Non conventional colour

application

They sought to paint

impression of what the eye

sees rather then what the

mind knowsImpression: Sunrise 1872. Claude Monet

Colour: Nature and mindEuropean explorations

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From direct observation and

from studies in physics, theimpressionists learned thatlight is seen as a complex ofreflections received by the eyeand reassembled by the mind

during the process ofperception.

Therefore, they used small

debs of colour that appearmerely as separate strokes ofpaint when seen close up.

Colour: Nature and mind

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The main concern of theimpressionist was the

depiction of light &

colour in as they appear

in nature

First time using none

Conventional method

of using colour


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Edgar DegasHe found no great inspirationin landscape and was lessinterested in light for its ownsake than as a factor for

conveying movement.

Importance of Drawing

Forms are vivid

Weight less atmosphere Movement is predominant

Soothing colour effect


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Seurat

Tiny dots of brilliant colour

Produce intermediary tints

more luminous than those

obtainable from pigments

mixed on the Palette.

This technique was

known as pointillism

A feeling of frozen movement is

one of the characteristics of

Seurats painting


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Czanne

Every brushstroke is like a

building block, firmly placed

within the pictorialarchitecture


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Matisse

Essence of the form

Simple line

2 dimensional colour

surface Unconventional

composition

Colour is predominant

than form Use of primary colour


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Picasso

Cubistic elements

Traditional elements

Contemporary expression

Marc Chagall

Cubistic elements

Colours are taken from

Russian folk tales


Robert Lallmant( Art Deco )

George Braque

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Art Nouveau 1880-1910

Art & Design transition

European Design Schools: birth of a utility application effort

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The new art became the

first popular in 20th century

style

Essentially European

Organic form and decoration

inspired largely by nature

Familiar motifs included

curvilinear element, sinuous

lines

Furniture

August Thonet


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Architecture

Decorative element

and colour applications

were superfluous


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Publication

Design

William Bradly- Series of Chap Book cover and posters

William Bradley emerged as the nations premier draftsman

Illustrator and poster designer in the Art Nouveau idiom.


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Poster

Decorative elements

taken from the natureare predominant

Botanical embellishment


Henry Van

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Art and product

Francois- French Table lamp, depicting

American dancer Loie Fuller


Peter Behrens

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The Stijl (1917-1928)

Dutch for the style, it isthe name of a group ofartists and architects

who set out to create auniversal style inarchitecture, graphic artsand design

Using squares and

rectangles in flat planesof bold primary coloursalong with black, grayand white, all carefullyorchestrated with straightlines

Gerrit Rietveld

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Packaging

Bart Ven Der Leck Shopping Bag


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Poster

Bart Ven Der Leck

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Painting

Composition with

geometrical Structure

House under construction Kasimir Malevich

42Kasimir Malevich


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Design and Art

Colour & Form

Gerrit Rietveld Piet Mondrian

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Architecture

Using basicprinciples of

the stijl

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Form & Design

Bauhaus School has come

to represent the refinement

of the modern movement

Characterized by a

Form follows function

ideology

The movement represent animportant bridge between

the decorative arts an

industrial design

Bauhaus (1919-1933)

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Indian pride of Indian ness Indian early works

Rich heritage of Ajanta & Ellora

The elephant-headed

Hindu deity Ganesha

has long been a part ofBuddhism. There are

several instances of

Ganesha motifs in

Buddhist cave shrines.Here is yet another

image of the god carved

into one of the three

pillars in the cave.

Ref. The Telegraph Look,

14th March 2004

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Nature and abstractionSymbolic colour application

In Indian traditioncolour used as symbol

while practicing rituals

Such as Red colour

symbolized Shakti andGreen is a symbol of

fertility

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Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas

Diagram of the evolving

cosmic order, emanating

by means of the

disequilibriam of three

forces, sattva, rajas, and

tamas

Nature and abstraction

Symbolic abstraction

Ref. Rajasthan c. 1900 Traditionally represented by

the colours red, green, yellow

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Colour with symbolic value

Sattva= WhiteRajas = Red, orange, yellow

Tamas= Green

Nature and abstraction

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Theme and mood

Diverse culture: colourapplication

Traditional value

Home decoration

Craft and clothing

Body decoration

Religious faith & rituals

Colour influences colour in life

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House decoration

Use of colour and

form on the wall of

houses in rural Indiais a essential and

day to day activities,

for performing

rituals and simple

house decoration

Theme and mood

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Theme and mood

Ethnic look in traditional

dress code

Head gear, Arunachal pradesh

52Naga textile, Nagaland


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Colorful Dress and

ornaments are theessence of a specific

community of North

East (Arunachal)

Theme and mood

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Festival and mood

Contrast colour combination

is an important aspects of

festivity in Assam & Bengal

Theme and mood

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Theme and mood

Enhanced Facial expressionin terms of various contrast

colour in Katha kali

dance form of India

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Theme and mood

Decoration on elephants

body specially on

foreheadis one of the

characteristics of

festivals as seen in

south India

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Indian contemporary art

Theme and mood

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Western influences

Theme and mood

In contemporary Indian art we very often see

lot of western influences in terms of variouspictorial elements. The work of Nirod

Majumder and K.S. Panikar were highly

influenced by Picasso and Braque of cubism

of the west. 58


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Theme and mood

Depicting mood

Application in packagingand poster in India

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Nature and mood

Contemporary work:

Theme

Aesthetics with folk elements

by Utpal Barua

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Nature and mood

Transformation of humanfeelings on the canvas in terms of

various pictorial values give innermeaning to the art work. Attached

figures represent Sadness and

loneliness as predominant

characters, where the gloomyatmosphere represents painful

experience.

In some of the works Nature

comes across as a symbol of theinner void of human life, where

flying butterflies appear as a

symbol of hope and expectation.by Utpal Barua

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NE- a richness - contributing to Indianness

We possess a very rich cultural heritage, unique to its diverse

application, as also seen in the cases of western counterparts.

Specifically, North East region has experience of varied ethnicexistences with community specific culture, tradition, custom,

rituals, etc.

I feel, there is enough scope to explore this area, to identify thecommon and specific features that can be used as elements in

search of Indianness in the context of contemporary design.

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This gradually made our tradition & culture contributing

Indian ethos and values

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Each area/localities/population group have

developed their own tradition & culture and

presented/used in their daily life/utility item

- Indian ness

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Most of the original art, craft and

artifacts representing NE cultureare preserved in museum, some

are still available in private antique

collections. The rich tribal tradition

is on the verge of extinction due to

many influences of moderncivilizations. Still its essence is alive

in the works and practices of the

contemporary life of the region.

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Present day design based on specific elements like form,

shape &size and colour.

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Dress code as ethnic predominance


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Assam: Predominantly use white

with red ornamented boarders.

Naga: Use primary colours, e.g.,

Black, red and white.

Bodo: Use yellow, green and blackBuddhist: Maroon-yellow

Arunachal: Green and yellow

Karbi: Red and black stripes etc.

Arunachal Manipur Mizoram Tripura Meghalaya Assam Nagaland 67Meghalaya


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Contribution of the Northeast to art & craft and design:

Traditional form & colour and weaving

Textile motifs

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Ornaments

Traditional ornaments of

Naga, Mnipuri, Karbi andother tribes of NE are mostly

vibrant and beautiful in terms

of colour application and

designs

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Ritual symbols

To perform certain rituals in Naga and

Mizo culture. They use human and

animal skulls, bones and horns as theirsymbolic representation with diferent

colour applications

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Elements for identity of NE

Colour- Predomination of primary colourslike Red, black, White and yellow

Form- Simple, decorative, geometric and

mostly ornamented forms are available

Special features- Oriental style of

Assamese cloth with boarders

Shape- Utilitarian or functional

Theme- Nature, religious and ritual

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Direct application of natural elements into culture


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Mithun an animal of hilly NE,triangular head with special

appearance of horns are very common

A traditional dance performed by a

Kabui cultural troupe in Imphal wearing

horned headgear but colour applicationsimilar to costume may be noticed

Headwear featuring mithun horn

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An exploration with refined and

contemporary application of traditionalelements

Logo design By Utpal Barua

Direct application of features

National games 2005 (Assam) symbol

(As appeared in News paper)

Extract/Exploration of elements forcontributing Indianness

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Where to go


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Colour and form play important roles in our life in many ways interms of utility and aesthetics. From this entire journey it is clear

that we can extract the basic essence of traditional elements that

can easily be transformed in the context of contemporary art and

design.Enough scope are there we need to explore.

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Acknowledgement

For preparing this document I acknowledge

Dr. Debkumar Chakrabarti, Associate Professor, DoD IITG who

has helped me in many ways.

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References


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1. Duncan Alastair, 1998, Modernism: Modernist Design 1880

1940, the Norwest Collection, Norwest Corporation,

Minneapolis, 225p.

2. Mukherjee Ajit, 1985, Ritual Art of India, Timeless Books, NewDelhi, 176p.

3. Janson, H.W. and Janson, F.A., 1997, History of Art, 5th Edn.,

Thames and Hudson, 1000p.

4. Jacob Julian, 1990, Hill People of Northeast India, The Nagas,

society, Culture and the Colonial Encounter, Thamson and

Hudson, New York, 359p.

5. Lalit Kala Akademi, 1997, Major Trend in Indian Art, Lalit KalaAkademi, New Delhi, India, 282p.

And other material relevant to the topic form many places.

Authors biography


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Academic background:

M.F.A, Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan, India

Experience & Acheivement:

Since 1979 he has been exhibiting his works at most of the major artgalleries in India.

Apart from his career in Art & Design he has been associated with regionalfilms as an art director.

In 1997 he worked in the film 'Wosobipo' (the spring) as an art director,which won the national award in 1990 and has entered Berlin International film

festival in 1991 and Friburg International film festival in 1992.

Included his work titled ' A butterfly was passing by' in 'Glimpses of IndianArt from 1947-97' a book published by AIFACS in the occasion of 50 years of

art in independent India, inaugurated by H.E. Sri K.R. Narayanan president of

India in 1998.

Included his name in the dictionary of 'Modern Art and Artists of Indiacompiled by Pratima Seth a well-known art historian.

Life member of Kamrupa Anushandhan Samiti (a research society), Assam

since 1990.

Utpal Barua

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Authors biography


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Exhibitions:

Participated in over 35 major exhibitions in India including National Exhibition of

Art, New Delhi. AIFACS, New Delhi. Academy of Fine Arts, Calcutta. Birla

Academy, Calcutta. Jahengir Art Gallery, Mumbai. Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal etc.

Awards:

Art Fest National Award 1997. AIFACS, State Level Award. 1997. Fellowship

awarded by Ministry of Human Resources, 1998.

Area of Interest: Basic Design, Illustration, Digital Art, Colour symbology, Historyof Art & Design, Visual Language etc.

Area of research: Indianness in Art and Design,Traditional art and artifacts of

Northeast India, and Semantics of form and colour symbology.

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