DEPARTMENT OF ART HISTORY AESTHETICS ·' & FACULTY OF FINE ARTS M.S. UNIVERSITY OF BARODA

CORDIALLY INVITES YOU TO THE INAUGURAL SESSION OF U. G. C. NATIONAL SEMINAR ON

· COMPARATIVEAESTHETICS AND CRITICISM OF CONTEMPORARY ARTS

KEY NOTE ADDRESS BY

DR. (SMl) KAPILA VATSYAYAN MEMBER SECRETARY '; INDIRA GANDHI NATIONAL CENTRE FOR THE ARTS; :t: . NEW DELHI.

: TO BE PRESIDED BY

PROF. V. C. SHAH VICE CHANCELLOR, M.S.U, BARODA

WEDNESDAY, 2ND JANUARY, 1991, 11 .00 A.M.

VENUE : GENERAL EDUCATION AUDITORIUM, i' M.S.U, BARODA

SUBSEQUENT SESSIONS AT DEPARTMENT OF ART HISTORY & AESTHET1CS

~ ROFESSOR RATAN PARIMOO PROFESSOR V.S. PATEL ' DEEPAK KANNAL DEAN DR. SHIVAJI PANIKKAR FACULTY OF FI NE ARTS (DIRECTORS OF SEMINAR) BARODA INAUGURAL SESSION SESSION Ill WEDNESDAY. 2nd JAN. 1991, 11 .a.m. THURSDAY 3rd JAN, 1991 9 a.m. -12.30 a.m. To be Presided by Professor V. C. Shah 1. Prot. Dinesh Mahulkar Logistics and Aesthetics Vice Chancellor, M. S. University of Baroda. Institute ·of Advance Studies, Simla 1. Welcome by Prof. V. S. Patel Dean, Faculty of Fine Arts, M. S. U. Baroda. 2. Prof. G. P. Deshpanday Dialectics of Defeat ,.1 . N. U., New Delhi 2. _Introduction of the Seminar, Prof. Ratan Parimoo. Director of the Seminar and Head, 3. Smt. Geeta Kapoor A set of Theses on· the Plact:: oi Dept. of Art History & Aesthetics . . Art Critic, New Delhi Modem ir. :r.dian CL.:It ...

SESSION ·II 2.30 p.m. to 5.30 p.m. SESSION IV 2.30 p.m. to 5.30 p.m. 1. Dr. Kapila Vatsyayan Interrelation of Indian Arts 1. Dr. Kapila Vatsyayan Interrelation of Indian Arts 2. Dr. Thomas Pantham Impact of British Colonial Rule in M. S. U. Baroda. India 2. Smt. Chandralekha · Innovations in Dance Choreographer, Maaras · 3. Dr. Sudhir Chandra Impact of British Colonial Rule in . Sur at India 3. Smt. Bharati Shivaji Enriching Mbhiniattam Repertoire 4. Prof. Kulbhushan Jain Modernity in Indian Architecture Dancer, New Delhi School of Architecture in Classical Indian Ahemadabad. 4. Dr. Sunil Kothari Innovation · Calcutta Dance An Overview 5. Prof. Praful Kar New Historicism and M. S. u·. Baroda. The Old Problem : Will the new 5 . . Shri P; K. Nair Organization of Time and Historicism provide an alternative National Film Archives space in Indian Film Song to deconstruction. Pune Picturization

6.30 p.m. MOHINI ATTAM PERFORMANCE, by Bharati Shivaji 6.30 p.m. Screening of Ritvik Ghatak's 'Subarnarekha'· and Kala Ghanashyam Auditorium, Faculty of Fine Arts · Venue - General Education Auditorium 8.30 p.m. Dinner time 8.30 p.m. Dinner time ..

SESSION V SESSION VII FRIDAY 4th JAN, 1991 SATURDAY 5th JAN, 1991 9 a.m. to 12.30 a.m. 9 a.m. to 12.30 p.m.

1. Shrr X.. N. Panikker R~ythm and its Application 1. Dr. Ranjitsingh Bajwa Critical Theory and Aesthetic Trivandrum G N D Uni. objectivization in Folk Theatre Amritsar case study of Ras Lila 2. Dr. Ashok Ranade Contemporary Aesthetics and Performance in Punjab N.C. P.A. Bombay Criticism : P•:lrforming Arts 2. Shri Samik Bandyopadhyay Problems of Reading 3. Dr. Neela Bhagwat Form and Content of Khyal Calcutta Indian Theatre Bombay 3. Dr. Parminder Singh On Rajarao 4. Dr. (Smt.) Premlata Sharma Relevance of Rasa G N D Uni. Amritsar B. H. U. Varanasi Theory for Contemporary arts with special ·reference to 4. Dr. Ganesh Devi The function of Criticism Music. M. S. U. Baroda An Indian perspective 5. Shri Deepal< Kannal Dalit Literature in Marathi Form and its Concept 5. Prof. R. N. Mishra M.S. U. Baroda An extension of Indian Jiwaji Uni. Gwalior in ancient texts Romanticism ?

6. Shri Narayanan Modern Kannada Novel · Lunch Break - 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. Centrallnst. of Indian Languages, Mysore

SESSION VI 7. Dr. (Smt.) Urmi Kessar The Climate of Thought 2. 30 p.m. to 5.30 p.m. Punjab Uni. Critical Aesthetic writing in Chandigarh Pre-Independence India 1. Smt. Gayatri Chatterji Ritvik Ghatak's Subarnarekha National Film Archives, Pune Lu nch Break- 1 p.m to 2 p.m.

2. Prof. Satish Bahadur Aspects of Film SESSION Viii (Concluding Session) F. T. I. I. Pune 2.30 p.m. to 5.30 p.m. . ', I 3. Shri Hasmukh Baradi Dramatic space Performing 1. Shri Sandeep Sarkar Cr~ tique of Critical Criterion Garage Theatre, and mass media art Art Critic, Calcutta 2. Dr. ShivaJi Panikkar Indian Hadical Painters & M. S. U. Baroda Sculptors Association - Prob- · 4. Dr. Chandrabhanu Patnayak Manipulations in the Trailor lems of Political Art I G N 0 U, New Delhi 3. Prof. Ratan Parimoo Material for the study of style·, 5. Dr. Sanatkumar Vyas Loka Kalaka Natakomen M. S. U. Baroda . Narratology and Semiotics, S. P. Un i. Vallabh Prayog (Hindi) from Literature and Vidyanagar their Relevance for Pictorial Arts

6. 30 p.m. LILAVATI, Choreographed by Chandralekha 4. Dr. (Smt.) Vaijayanti A Re-interpretation of the General Education Auditorium Navangule Vishnudharamottara M. S. U. Baroda Adhyaya-41 8.30 p.m. Dinner time Concluding Discussions

6.00 Al umni Association Meeting (Art History/Art Criticism) < U. G. C. National Seminar On 'Comparative Aesthetics Thus another objective of the seminar would be cor.cerning . and Criticism of the Contemporary Arts' · (Sister Arts in the the wide range of critical theories, both traditional Indian as well Contemporary Context) from January 2nd to 5th, 1991. as modern western, and how and in which context these serve as enlightening critical tools, even structuralism and semiotics.

OBJECTIVE AND SCOPE To sum up, our attempt will be to assess the Indian critical I • scene vis-a-vis the wide range of contemporary art expression­ To mark the 25th year of its growth and development, the how is the critical apparatus and process responding to the Department of Art History & Aesthetics, which has been recog­ present day·art practices and if it is adequately doing so. nised by the U. G. C. under the DSA Programme since 1987, has planned to hold a National Seminar on Comparative Aesthetics The seminar is also visualised as an interdisciplinary exercise and Criticism of the Contemporary Arts, during January 1991. at two levels. At one level all the creative art media are represented including practitioners and critics from university departments The objective of this seminar is to bring together for the first • and from among those who are professional free-lancers. At time in a common forum, art historians, art critics, literary, film and another level, besides the critics and artists, we expect some theatre • critics, including some of the intellectually minded sociologists, philosophers and Sanskrit aestheticians among the practitioners of these arts, Sanskrit scholars of aesthetics, participants. philosophers and sociologists, who have been observing documenting and assessing th~ contemporary manifestations in It will .be a learning process for both the sides and therefoi e the various art expressions in varied media, in our country. the artist and critic participants of the different art media, howso­ ever eminent and busy, are expected to stay together for all the The purpose is to realise together the manner the various art · four days of the seminar so that there can be fruitful deliberations expressions have been reviving, developing and expanding, in and interactions. The participants have been requested to send India during the twentieth century and the perception of these by a properly written and typed paper (ready for pu !:>lication) which . the respective critics and some distinguished practitioners. ,This are duplicated and copies circulated to each participant before­ will enable a well-studied idea of what has been happening rather hand. We have been looking for genuinely interested than some piecemeal and confused documentation, of the mod­ individuals having positive attitudes. ~=' urt hermore , ours being a ern creative genius enfolding in India, the new contemporary university department having set our aim to establishing this area culture in the process of evolution and making. as a serious university level pursuit, we have particularly welcomed individuals from universities/institutional structure which wilt further strengthen this area in university studies. However, the accent will not be essentially historical, i.e., the chronological/historical, sequences of generations of practis­ (1) The Seminar is not in support of Revivalism or exclusively on ing artists, but rather keeping in view the above information, how the Traditional Arts or Modernity, but on actual contemporary the development should be critically grasped. It will be an creative manifestations in the arts, Viz, Painting/Sculpture/ analytical approach to assess the role of the revival of traditional Architecture/Poetry /Novel/Film/Theatre (Director, actor)/Music/ heritage and forms at wh.atever degree and level, which was Dance, (Collectively known here as contemporary arts) : undertak~n as a challenge to earlier western influence, which (2) The Seminar takes the view thattraditional arts and modern was less sensitive to the traditional forms. Interestingly, there has arts are not irreconcilable, yet points of similarities and dis­ been another phase of western influence which is still going on, similarities in terms of conteXt, content, meaning, form etc which is a combination of new values as well as a new perception .could be taken up. of the now evident rich traditional forms also inspiring their (3) Important conclusion of the Seminar would be identifying and relevance for contemporary creative experimentation. appreciating a few significant works of the twentieth century by Indian novelists and poets, (regional language literature) Concurrently, new critical concepts and view points have painters, film makers, theatre persons, musicians, dancers been developing in the western countries in relation to the new etc. modes of art manifestations in film, theatre and the literary media. Consciously or unconsciously, current Indian critical scene is also showing awareness of these, which often are amazingly relevant even for the analyses of the traditional forms of Indian The Department of Art History & Aesthetics, Baroda, and the UGC/ theatre or dance or literature. Curiously, even traditional Indian DSA Programme : theories seem to have relevance for interpreting modern experi­ The Department of Art History & Aesthetics is a constituent mentation, including the post modernist persuits. part of the Faculty of Fine Arts of the M.S. University of Baroda. Initially the Department was set up as a small teaching unit to handle the coverage of the Art History and Aesthetics subjects which are integral components of the Fine Arts training as im­ parted in the Faculty from 1950. Since early 1960s it has received full dApartment status and from the early 1970s the Department has undertaken the teaching of Art History subjects at speciali­ sation level offering B. A. (Fine) and M.A. (Fine) degrees with all the papers in Art History, besides continuing the M. A. (F .. 1e) Art Criticism Gourse. Its range of teaching covers areas of western as well as Griental Art History along with Aesthetics. The Department also offers guidence at PhD level in selected area of Fine Arts, especially Indian Art History. The Department has built up an extensive archive of photographs, colour reproductio:1s and · slides, documenting masterpieces of western as well as !ndian scu lpture and !Jainting as its basic teaching and -~s e arch resource, now .being supplemented with the coverag E.· of archi­ tecture. During the last fifteen years it has undertaken a series of short term and one advanced research project on the Vaishnava themes in Indian art. These have provided topics for several public..tions including the one based on the seminar held durin J 19 83.t This was followed by the on-site seminar on Ellora caves in 19 85, tilt?. papnrs of which have also been publishe<;J. Its success had emboldened us to hold the International level seminar on the Aja! na Caves,. the papers of which are under publication. Considering the functioning, objectives and academic achievements of the Department including holding of National level seminars, doctoral research and art-h istorical publications tt1:ough the last t':;o decade :, the University Grants Commission, !'lew Delhi, has recognised the Department under the Special Assistance Programme since 1987. · The L:J GC has also recognized the Department as Regional Documentation Centre giving us the·opportunity to set up the first University level photo-archives of Indian Architecture, Painting and sculpture along the lines of Archaeological survey of India (New Delhi), American Institute of Indian Studie,s (Varanasi) and French institute (Pondicherry), for which additional premises have been provided togen·,.:;r with a well-equipped photolab. The Regional DocumentatiOn Cemre is manned by a Documentation Officer, Arct1ivist, Photographer and Attender. Furthermore the DSA programme has enabled to strengthen the number of teach­ ing staff · specialising in different areas of Art History & Aesthetics which has now been raised to seven, including a full-time Sanskri­ tist. The major thrust area of the Department for research and study will continue to remain the Western Indian Region, viz, , Rajasthan, M~dya Pradesh and Maharashtra, along with attempts to integrate art-historical studies with aesthetics and art criticism. ·

The present national seminar is not only a part of the on­ going academic aCtivities of the department but also our first national attempt to create a forum at the university level for an interdisciplinary dialogue concerning the various arts.