Postdate : photography and inherited history in India

Two generations after the exultation of Independence and the concurrent horrors of Partition, contemporary artists mine the uneasy history of photography in India as a means to challenge outmoded narratives, share hidden stories, and make personal connections with tradition. Taking history into their own hands, figures such as Nandan Ghiya, Gauri Gill, Jitish Kallat, Annu Palakunnathu Matthew, Madhuban Mitra and Manas Bhattacharya, Pushpamala N., Raqs Media Collective, Vivan Sundaram, and Surekha draw on a diverse range of sources, from ethnographic photographs made at the height of the British occupation to hand-painted studio portraits and stills from Bollywood movies. Weighing the influence of the global against the draw of the local, these artists embrace tradition and innovation as covalent rather than competitive forces. Marking the US debut of several of the featured artists, Postdate: Photography and Inherited History in India deepens our understanding of the legacy of colonialism and celebrates new and socially engaged modes of image-making in South Asia. Two generations after the exultation of Independence and the concurrent horrors of Partition, contemporary artists mine the uneasy history of photography in India as a means to challenge outmoded narratives, share hidden stories, and make personal connections with tradition. Taking history into their own hands, figures such as Nandan Ghiya, Gauri Gill, Jitish Kallat, Annu Palakunnathu Matthew, Madhuban Mitra and Manas Bhattacharya, Pushpamala N., Raqs Media Collective, Vivan Sundaram, and Surekha draw on a diverse range of sources, from ethnographic photographs made at the height of the British occupation to hand-painted studio portraits and stills from Bollywood movies. Weighing the influence of the global against the draw of the local, these artists embrace tradition and innovation as covalent rather than competitive forces. Marking the US debut of several of the featured artists, Photography and Inherited History in India deepens our understanding of the legacy of colonialism and celebrates new and socially engaged modes of image-making in South Asia. Published in association with the San Jose Museum of Art Essays. Photography And Inherited History In India / Jodi Throckmorton ; Belatedness And Simultaneity : A Short History Of Photography From India / Atreyee Gupta -- Artists / Latika Gupta With Jodi Throckmorton. Nandan Ghiya ; Gauri Gill ; Jitish Kallat ; Annu Palakunnathu Matthew ; Madhuban Mitra And Manas Bhattacharya ; Pushpamala N. And Clare Arni ; Raqs Media Collective ; Vivan Sundaram ; Surekha -- Raqs Media Collective. It Is A Comfort To Gaze At You ; In The Theater Of Memory : The Work Of Contemporary Art In The Photographic Archive. Jodi Throckmorton ; With Atreyee Gupta ... [et Al.]. Catalog Of An Exhibition Held At The San Jose Museum Of Art, California, February 5-august 2, 2015; Ulrich Museum Of Art, Wichita State University, Kansas, September 12-december 15, 2015. Includes Bibliographical References. Contents Introduction Acknowledgments Essays Photography and Inherited History in India Belatedness and Simultaneity: A Short History of Photography from India Artists Nandan Ghiya Gauri Gill Jitish Kallat Annu Palakunnathu Matthew Madhuban Mitra and Manas Bhattacharya Pushpamala N. and Clare Arni Raqs Media Collective Vivan Sundaram Surekha Raqs Media Collective It is a Comfort to Gaze at You In the Theater of Memory: The Work of Contemporary Art in the Photographic Archive The contemporary South Asian artists in this exhibition take history into their own hands. They mine the uneasy legacy of photography in India and reach back in time to engage in artistic conversation with historical photography, particularly with images made in the early days of the medium and at the height of the British occupation of the subcontinent. -- From museum's website Features contemporary artists who mine the uneasy history of photography in India as a means to challenge outmoded narratives, share hidden stories, and make personal connections with tradition.