From village walls to ethnic interiors: Indigenous Art in its splendour
The Elephant Fountain in the centre of Chambéry is a conspicuous monument that does not go unnoticed by all visitors passing through the Savoyard city. The monument was built in 1838 to commemorate the glory of General de Boigne, a decorated soldier returning from India. Its design recalls a monument of memories, filled with the desire for extraordinary, the amazing and an ethnic vision of distant countries. His style with the four elephants superimposed with a fountain and a column, combines several symbols from Indian cultures, among which Ganesha, Hindu god with an elephant head who is prayed for good beginnings and symbolizes abundance and wisdom. Over the passage of time this monument remains surprising to come upon in a typical French city.
The attraction for artifacts from around the world was based on the desire to collect an object that was rare, unique and never seen before. These are the first memories of travellers of yesteryears. It is conceivable that in bringing back these objects, travellers also brought their memories, moments of happiness, auspicious symbols or simply objects of curiosity that reminded them of these countries far from their own origin, culturally and geographically. These objects were used to decorate the personal space and attract collective admiration. Travellers have always brought these objects of beauty to a decorative purpose.
Enriched by various donations from Mrs. Krishna Riboud and her husband Jean Riboud, a friend of Henri-Cartier Bresson, the Guimet Museum in Paris has built-up a large collection of textiles, paintings and other artifacts from Indian indigenous cultures. Aware that textiles and paintings from Asia, and especially India, constitute an invaluable heritage, but are endangered crafts, Krishna Riboud collected a multitude of works, often acquired from antique dealers returning from India or during her travels to her country of origin. A collection of such works is still second to none today.
This desire to collect artifacts from indigenous cultures originating in India was not only French, but also developed in other European countries and the United States. This is how we see extraordinary collections of indigenous ethnic paintings in major museums in Europe and across the Atlantic.
The indigenous cultures, cradles of craftsmen and artists, at the heart of these collections were nothing but the rituals of women and men who had always lived on their remote lands. Their arts were the expression of their stories, often naïve, or abstract and sometimes even naturalistic. They used paintings, hangings or frescoes as decoration on the walls of their homes. The facades often contained geometric and decorative representations, while the interiors took on ceremonial or even religious aspects. In common spaces of the village, for example the council of sages, it was appropriate to contribute to a collective fresco. These paintings have come to embellish the walls of schools, small shops and even medical centres in villages over time.
The ease of expression, anchored in the thread of time, restores a nomadic aspect to these arts. Artists are, by their anchorage in their culture, adept at creating temporary altars by the roadside, without losing their decorative aspect.
The term ‘ethnic art’ is used to emphasize the special relationship between certain art forms and their ethnic origin. Often taken in an African context, such as Gabon's fang art, the Dogon art of Mali or the Baoule masks, to designate the ethnic origin of these artistic traditions. This type of art is also prevalent in other continents, be it the Hmong people in Vietnam, the Rakhine in Burma and their Naga cousins in India, or even ancient Indian ethnicities such as the Gond, the Warli and hundreds of others. Ethnic would thus be linked to the acceptance of diversity and the appropriation of a ‘tribal’ identity, not only in the anthropological sense but also as a homogeneous community, a belonging of thought, habitat and social hierarchy.
Ethnic art is thus a collection of objects of artistic creation: paintings, sculptures, masks, fabrics and several other utilitarian objects, which are created by artists from communities with a strong anchor in their origin. Ethnic origins are used to designate an indigenous population. Their arts are part of their material language used for ritual and decorative purposes.
Their creations firstly embellished walls in their villages and thus represent cultural memories at a pace far different from our western metropolitan lives. In these ethnic cultures, there is time to grasp the small pleasures, the time to live at the rhythm of nature. These people transmit this culture in their artistic creations with a real desire to transmit the values and expressions learnt from mother nature: organic colours, including shades close to the earth such as terra cotta, ochres or even ‘dramatic’ colours, forms inspired by nature and above all a belief in a life in synergy with the earth. Their works convey universal values and use environmentally friendly materials in their design.
Mixing authentically collected travel objects, original Asian inspired furniture and a ‘renovated’ spirit of architecture and design, the ethnic style is truly in tune with the times and helps satisfy our most distant dreams of escape. Nowadays, the image of ‘ethnic’ life is a dream come true. Design elements are incorporated into the interior scheme suitable for all budgets, from the most accessible to the rarest, even collectibles!
A simple aesthetic
The Warli have always created frescoes on the walls of their huts. These are often religious paintings such as the Wedding Chownk, the varied earthly deities or the admiration of the forest.
Originally, Warli paintings were only made by women in the form of frescoes and covered the walls outside or inside. Those from outside celebrated the cycles of the seasons, related to agricultural life and associated deities such as the goddess of rice or invocations to the Sun God or the Tiger, king of the forest.
Inside their home, every moment of life was marked by a specific painting, starting with the Chownk, a true celebration of married life. The married, older women of the family gave their blessing by marking the central square of the work. Then came the contribution of other women, of all ages, in the creation of the painting. It was a collective thought given as a blessing to the young couple. Jivya Soma Mashe, the famous Warli painter, present in the collections of the Cartier Foundation or the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, was the first of the men to paint. On his death, he left an undeniable heritage as a school of painters now equally recognized in this genre.
Art among the Warli, as well as many other indigenous peoples, is above all a spiritual expression transmitted by the elderly to the youngest members of the family. Always monochrome, on a background of ochre mixing earth and other organic materials, the works are made as a white painting. Once a rice paste, artists now favour white gouache or acrylic.
From naïve representations, with a reminder of prehistoric cultures, the paintings are today the interpretation of village life, the aspirations of peoples but also their visions of life in metropolises. Warli work is marked by linearity and a minimalist aesthetic. A quality easy to blend in warm and exotic ethnic decoration, a work of art that brings a touch of very distant landscape and presumedly ‘exotic’ flavours.
The exaggerated colours of the Gonds
Unlike the Warli, Gond paintings are celebrations in colour. Also from the village's wall decorations, these paintings were translated into contemporary media such as paper or canvas, coloured with a very sparkling acrylic palette. Gond's pictorial art has been at the forefront of contemporary Indian art for a few years now. Jangarh Singh Shyam was the leading artist featured in France in the exhibition ‘Magicians of the Earth’ at the Pompidou Centre in 1989 and again after his death in 2010 at the Quai Branly Museum in the ‘The Other Masters of India’. A Gond painting is easily recognisable with its very unusual style, assured but stealthy features, a naïve pictography, abundant pointillism or by tiny strokes, repetitive patterns and above all bright colours. Up close, the works resembles a profusion of coloured dots. These paintings feature trees, deities and fantastic animals, an enchanted forest!
“Lose your gaze into a Gond work and you will be transported into a mystical universe inviting to a dreamland where the minder wanders.” Gond’s are among the largest indigenous ethnic groups in India and are divided into clans. These different groups lead various lifestyles: pastors, farmers, dancers, itinerant musicians and today a large community of artists, often in family connection with the great master Jangarh Singh Shyam. Gonds are animists and believe that spirits and deities live in forests and trees, in animals, and even in inanimate objects such as stones.
Gond paintings, large or small, are focal points on gallery walls and are thus decorations coveted by lovers of indigenous art.
A cosmopolitan echo of rural villages
Far from India, in cosmopolitan London, a swanky restaurant chain offers connoisseurs a true taste of Indian street food. If the idea is seductive, what attracts the attention is the art on the walls of their restaurants; a set of Warli paintings, Gond paintings or puppets of Rajasthan. The works are highlighted in a theatrical presentation and are a true aesthetic contribution to the gustative stimulation in these restaurants. The experience becomes multisensory. Other Parisian restaurants, always as appreciated, prefer these same Gond works but in a museum setting. Kishore and Sadashiv Mashe were artists of honour to paint frescoes at the India House in the Cité Internationale in Paris.
Indian indigenous art, Warli or Gond, is also the star of galleries in the United States, Japan and Australia. Both a desire to collect rare works of art and a beautiful ethnic decoration, these works are unique and different from the metropolises of India. The Indian style blends among the most exotic to give a warm and luxurious atmosphere. The unique paintings of the artists Gond, Warli, or Santhal, as well as the works of Madhubani are an opportunity to acquire singular art that can suit all styles and pockets.
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