4/4
2D Hindu imagery - still going strong, still jaw-droppingly magnificent, still Hindoo
koenraadelst.blogspot.com/2012/05/hindu-survival-what-is-to-be-done.html
Elst cannot make that statement. He does not appear to be aware of full-time Hindu artists. Many of whom create work other than for calendars - but it's still very Hindoo work (sacred Hindoo imagery!) - although skilled Hindus working on calendar imagery are no less awesome.
What's this about such artists not wanting to be known as Hindu? My list of favourite artists in sacred Hindu 2D imagery is over 20 - and that's just counting people mostly from my own regions in Bharatam.** Of these, about 10 are among my favourite "artists" of all time, competing with and several even topping my favourite artists in Nippon. They all make sacred Hindoo imagery and far more than half of them are still alive and going strong. (One of whom is not merely youngish but also - I noticed - extremely kallai. They are all kallai of course, but this face is a particular picture...) Anyway, in their photos these Hindooos can be seen wearing their daily kungumam/veeboothi/chandanam, and there are even photos of some of them standing in front of their pooja rooms, filled with their pooja pictures and moorties of their Gods. So who said that "artists" don't want to be known as Hindu? The most capable in all of India are recognisably Hindoo onlee. Hindoo-ism is what they do best. It's their life, them being heathens. And that explains why their images of the Gods are so expert. And so perfectly beautiful. They care sufficiently about what they do that they do it Right and with finesse and in their personal style.
My topmost favourites make the kind of images that I - literally - sit for an undisclosably long time to stare at.
I'm not going to pretend I know what other Hindus would think is beautiful - others clearly have very different (possibly even non-overlapping and irreconcilable) tastes and I obviously think my opinion when it comes to beauty is the only one that counts <= one of the things I'm unapologetically conceited about. But leaving that aside for now, what I do know is that what these skilled people make is *exactly* what I always wanted in Hindu 2D imagery: Sublime Perfection in Beauty and Accuracy. Its attraction never tires. I don't generally approve of plagiarism, but can't have too much of a truly good thing, so More Like This Please, Hindoos, x infinity. Honestly, I find the imagery they produce intoxicating, sort of like a varaaha that has caught the whiff of truffles...
** Have seen and consequently really like Nepali Hindu t_ _ k_ imagery (by ethnic Hindoos) too, since it's also very accurate and traditional (shastraic) in depiction and is hence the same as traditional southern imagery of the Gods.* (The only difference is that the appearance of the Gods naturally tends to be more regional in both places - Nepal/northeast and southern regions - but all the core elements are the same, present and accounted for: down to the presence of yazhis.) Especially love the Nepali Hindu SY images that my dad has stored, as these are large depictions containing various Divine Hindu God-Couples. Wonderfully intricate (plus colours are excellent and correct to scriptures) and transfixing. But as I don't know the names of the individual Nepali creators of my preferred works emanating from this region, their names are obviously not in my shortlist. Also I don't have many of their images, as such painstaking sacred work must take a *lot* of time to make.
* Only have calendar-style and book-cover style Hindu paintings from the remaining parts of the subcontinent. Since that naturally does not employ the same style of Hindu imagery as discussed above, I can't tell how different or similar these regions' output may be to the aforementioned southern Indian and Nepali/NE imagery *were* these to also be done in a shastraic/traditional style. (Probably would be the same, but I don't *know* that and so it remains an assumption.)
As for the phrase "Hindu art": for various reasons, I choose to define that as any art made by a Hindu individual.
This means that the subject matter need not be
- Hindu characters (e.g. can be extraterrestrial species)
- nor Hindu religion (e.g. can be science fiction novel set on an alien planet where no one will ever hear of planet Earth let alone Hindus and their religion)
and yet, if the creator is Hindu, it should get classed as Hindu. (Well, only if it's a good piece of art.) This is owing to the well-spring of the creator being Hindu inspiration, plus the skills being built on top of the capabilities of Hindus who came before.
2D Hindu imagery - still going strong, still jaw-droppingly magnificent, still Hindoo
koenraadelst.blogspot.com/2012/05/hindu-survival-what-is-to-be-done.html
Quote:Except for calendar artists, no artist wants to be known as a Hindu, so by doing Hindu art you automatically stand out.
Elst cannot make that statement. He does not appear to be aware of full-time Hindu artists. Many of whom create work other than for calendars - but it's still very Hindoo work (sacred Hindoo imagery!) - although skilled Hindus working on calendar imagery are no less awesome.
What's this about such artists not wanting to be known as Hindu? My list of favourite artists in sacred Hindu 2D imagery is over 20 - and that's just counting people mostly from my own regions in Bharatam.** Of these, about 10 are among my favourite "artists" of all time, competing with and several even topping my favourite artists in Nippon. They all make sacred Hindoo imagery and far more than half of them are still alive and going strong. (One of whom is not merely youngish but also - I noticed - extremely kallai. They are all kallai of course, but this face is a particular picture...) Anyway, in their photos these Hindooos can be seen wearing their daily kungumam/veeboothi/chandanam, and there are even photos of some of them standing in front of their pooja rooms, filled with their pooja pictures and moorties of their Gods. So who said that "artists" don't want to be known as Hindu? The most capable in all of India are recognisably Hindoo onlee. Hindoo-ism is what they do best. It's their life, them being heathens. And that explains why their images of the Gods are so expert. And so perfectly beautiful. They care sufficiently about what they do that they do it Right and with finesse and in their personal style.
My topmost favourites make the kind of images that I - literally - sit for an undisclosably long time to stare at.
I'm not going to pretend I know what other Hindus would think is beautiful - others clearly have very different (possibly even non-overlapping and irreconcilable) tastes and I obviously think my opinion when it comes to beauty is the only one that counts <= one of the things I'm unapologetically conceited about. But leaving that aside for now, what I do know is that what these skilled people make is *exactly* what I always wanted in Hindu 2D imagery: Sublime Perfection in Beauty and Accuracy. Its attraction never tires. I don't generally approve of plagiarism, but can't have too much of a truly good thing, so More Like This Please, Hindoos, x infinity. Honestly, I find the imagery they produce intoxicating, sort of like a varaaha that has caught the whiff of truffles...
** Have seen and consequently really like Nepali Hindu t_ _ k_ imagery (by ethnic Hindoos) too, since it's also very accurate and traditional (shastraic) in depiction and is hence the same as traditional southern imagery of the Gods.* (The only difference is that the appearance of the Gods naturally tends to be more regional in both places - Nepal/northeast and southern regions - but all the core elements are the same, present and accounted for: down to the presence of yazhis.) Especially love the Nepali Hindu SY images that my dad has stored, as these are large depictions containing various Divine Hindu God-Couples. Wonderfully intricate (plus colours are excellent and correct to scriptures) and transfixing. But as I don't know the names of the individual Nepali creators of my preferred works emanating from this region, their names are obviously not in my shortlist. Also I don't have many of their images, as such painstaking sacred work must take a *lot* of time to make.
* Only have calendar-style and book-cover style Hindu paintings from the remaining parts of the subcontinent. Since that naturally does not employ the same style of Hindu imagery as discussed above, I can't tell how different or similar these regions' output may be to the aforementioned southern Indian and Nepali/NE imagery *were* these to also be done in a shastraic/traditional style. (Probably would be the same, but I don't *know* that and so it remains an assumption.)
As for the phrase "Hindu art": for various reasons, I choose to define that as any art made by a Hindu individual.
This means that the subject matter need not be
- Hindu characters (e.g. can be extraterrestrial species)
- nor Hindu religion (e.g. can be science fiction novel set on an alien planet where no one will ever hear of planet Earth let alone Hindus and their religion)
and yet, if the creator is Hindu, it should get classed as Hindu. (Well, only if it's a good piece of art.) This is owing to the well-spring of the creator being Hindu inspiration, plus the skills being built on top of the capabilities of Hindus who came before.