Dung, divinity and democracy tracing the cow in Indian folk art, ritual and the work of Sheela Gowda

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dc.contributor.authorMillar, Eve
dc.contributor.supervisorWright, Astri
dc.date.accessioned2008-08-14T22:52:51Z
dc.date.available2008-08-14T22:52:51Z
dc.date.copyright2004en_US
dc.date.issued2008-08-14T22:52:51Z
dc.degree.departmentDept. of History in Arten_US
dc.degree.levelMaster of Arts M.A.en_US
dc.description.abstractIn the 1990s internationally renowned Indian artist Sheela Gowda exchanged oil paint for cow-dung. This dramatic shift occurred in response to the rise in Hindu fundamentalism and as way to voice her distress at the violence of the Hindu / Muslim riots. From a eurocentric art-historical perspective, adopting cow-dung to create art may seem like a radical move, but in India it is a material rich in multi layered histories and one resonating with ritual, economic and gendered subtexts and overtones. This thesis analyzes Gowda's multi-coded artworks in an attempt to render more visible an artist who is an important contributor to the international contemporary art scene, to render viable arts usually considered marginal, minor or folk, and to balance an art historical canon which still favours the "high arts" as well as white, western or male artists. It argues not only for the validity of art in its many forms, but also for art historical scholarship which functions as bridge to forge meaning and open up dialogue between artists, viewers, critics and curators.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1828/1069
dc.languageEnglisheng
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.rightsAvailable to the World Wide Weben_US
dc.subjectcowsen_US
dc.subjectarten_US
dc.subjectIndian folk arten_US
dc.subject.lcshUVic Subject Index::Humanities and Social Sciences::Communication and the Arts::Art--Historyen_US
dc.titleDung, divinity and democracy tracing the cow in Indian folk art, ritual and the work of Sheela Gowdaen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US

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