Historiography

Art column: What’s Historiography? Art World Kinjal Trivedi Historiography Historiography is a prelude to understanding history as a form of knowledge. Interpretation begins by asking how history came to be written, who the historians were, why they were writing and what were the intellectual and ideological influences that shaped their histories. These constitute shifts and influences in the way history is read. Promilla Thappar, a great historian of our country raises these questions and more. She encourages us to ask relevant questions and know the source of information rather than blindly following it. Jyotindra Jain ~ Jyotindra Jain is an Indian art and cultural historian and museologist. A scholar on folk and ritual arts of India, he was the Director of the National Crafts Museum, New Delhi, Member Secretary and Professor (Cultural Archives), at Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), New Delhi, and also Professor at the School of Arts and Aesthetics at Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi. He has been an Alexander-von-Humboldt Fellow, a Homi Bhabha Fellow and a Visiting Professor at the Center for the Study for World Religions, Harvard University, USA. He is the author of several books on Folk art including, “Ganga Devi: Tradition and Expression in Mithila Painting”, and a recipient of the Prince Claus Award for his initiatives and activities in the field of cultural heritage. Rahul Jain ~ Rahul Jain is an Indian textile designer, art historian and author. He founded ASHA, a textile workshop engaged in promoting the traditional Indo-Iranian weaving techniques in Varanasi in 1993 and is reportedly contributing to the revival of the dying art form of silk weaving on traditional Indian drawlooms. Jain has authored a book on textile art, Rapture – The Art of Indian Textiles, which describes the history of Indian textile art for 500 years and published two more books. He is a winner of Jameel Prize III, an international award for contemporary Islamic art. He was honoured by the Government of India in 2015 with Padma Shri, the fourth highest Indian civilian award. BN Goswamy ~ Brijinder Nath Goswamy is an Indian art critic, art historian and a former vice chairman of the Sarabhai Foundation of Ahmedabad, which runs the Calico Museum of Textiles. Goswamy is best known for his scholarship on Pahari painting and Indian miniature paintings. He is the author of over 20 books on Arts and culture taught at several universities in India and abroad, and co-curated major exhibitions of Indian art at the world’s leading museums, including the path-breaking exhibition Masters of Indian Painting at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2008. Jasleen Dhamija ~ Jasleen Dhamija is internationally renowned in the field of textiles. She has done pioneering research in the handicraft and handloom industry and has worked with the UN, and as consultant to the World Bank. She has curated exhibitions, organised seminars and authored/edited books and articles for various publications including Marg. Om Prakash Jain ~ He is an art curator and philanthropist based in India. He is the Founder-President of the Sanskriti Pratishthan in Anandgram, New Delhi. He later also established the museum of terracotta art and textile and is also a padma shri award winner given by the government of India in 2003. Naman Ahuja ~ He is an art historian and curator based in new Delhi along with being an art and architectural professor at Jawaharlal Nehru university. . He is also the Editor of Marg, India’s leading quarterly magazine and journal on the arts, published from Mumbai. He curated the exhibition The Body in Indian Art and Thought which is his most famous contribution. Geeta Kapur ~ She is a historian and an art curator focusing mainly on the contemporary art in the subcontinent. She has worked on the art both nationally and internationally as well as well as giving lectures on various museums. In 2010 Asia art archive began to give recognition to the expansive work of Geeta Kapur. She is also the author of ‘the social context of contemporary Indian art’. She was also awarded padma shri award by the government of india in 2009 for her contribution to art. These are some of the top Art Historians we have today who have contributed to our nation and kept the legacy alive. Jyotindra Jain B N Goswamy Jasleen Dhamija Geeta Kapur