Art in India has been synonymous with life, enmeshed in the daily existence of every individual born into this culturally rich and diverse land, long before written history became fashionable. The people born into this land developed means of expressing themselves other than writing not only to record their stories, important events and their collective past, but also to embellish and enhance the simple objects of daily life. The range of materials used to create art in India traverses the gamut from mud to metal; each medium handled in a unique, locality-specific technique that evolved to best express the talents and needs of the people of that area. With royal patronage over millennia, artistic growth blossomed in a dynamic and competitive environment, with the highest standards of knowledge set for the King. The king, as patron, was expected to know and critique the sixty-four kalās (arts and skills) and often was an artist himself.
No other country has as great a diversity of technique and expression as India and her people. While the techniques of traditional “craft” handed down through generations by the master craftsmen continue to this day, the art, the expression through these channels, continues to evolve and adapt to changing times. With a tenacity of endurance, such traditional “craft” has found its way into the voice and expressions of contemporary artists who paint and sculpt following the traditions of the West.
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Each state in India has its own set of arts, crafts, and literature influenced by…
Each state in India has its own set of arts, crafts, and literature influenced by local conditions, materials, interests, and sponsors. Artists and craftsmen were sponsored by rulers and merchants. They followed a system where those desiring art went to where the artists lived. As artists predominantly lived in rural areas,, rural India, rich in history and culture, has art embedded in daily life.
Artists work on metals (gold, silver, copper, brass, zinc), cloth (cotton, silk, wool), animal products (leather, bones), plant materials (wood-pulp paper, leaves, wood), stone (granite, marble, sandstone, limestone), etc., mainly according to what is available locally. Painting, sculpting, carving, weaving, printing, sewing are only some examples of the wide variety of arts and crafts of India.
