Speaking with Pictures Folk Art and the Narrative Tradition in India [Hardcover]

Speaking with Pictures offers a path-breaking exploration of visual narratives in folk art. It foregrounds folk arts engagement with modernity by re-looking at its figurative modes and the ways in which they are embedded in mythic thought. The book discusses folk art as a contemporary phenomenon which is a part of a complex visual culture where the essence of tradition is best captured in a new form or medium. Each chapter picks up a theme that moves between the local and the global, thereby attempting to problematise the stereotypical view of folk artists as carriers of timeless tradition. The volume provides an ethnographic account of innovations through a detailed analysis of the scroll painting tradition of the patuasof West Bengal and the Pardhan-Gond style of Madhya Pradesh, highlighting some recent attempts at inter-medium exchange in storytelling.

The book will interest those in visual and popular culture in anthropology, sociology, literary criticism and folklore. It will also be of immense value to art historians, museologists, curators and NGOs working in media and communication, apart from those with a general interest in folk art.

List of Plates. Glossary. Acknowledgements.1.Folk Art: What kind of Object is it? 2.Global Events and Local Narratives: 9/11 and the Chitrakars3.Words and Images: Storytelling in Gond 4.Patua Art and the Graphic Novel: An Experiment in Intertextual Communication 5.Conclusion: Pictures and Myths. Bibliography. Appendix I: People of Ancient Times. Appendix II: The Chameleons Dreams. Appendix IIIa: The Story of Ramayana. Appendix IIIb: Abduction of Sita. Appendix IV: Sita Harana. About the Author. Index

Roma Chatterjiis Professor, Department of Sociology, Delhi School of ElÓP