Indian miniature paintings have been the subject of considerable research, in terms of their visual and historical significances, but we have seen very little, if any, examining gender-based readings. A feminist approach might yield lots of insight in terms of gender politics ingrained to the visual vocabulary, iconography, and sponsorship in the visual arts.
Explore gender roles and power dynamics in Mughal, Rajput, and Pahari miniature traditions.
Apply feminist art theories to analyse women’s representation.
Consider the use of artist identity and the influence of gender in cultural systems of sponsorship.
Suggest alternative cultural ways to interpret these works today.
Visual study of selected miniatures from museums and online archives.
Comparative analysis with Western feminist readings of classical art.
Literature review from critical race feminist scholars.
Thematic semi-structured interviews with contemporary miniaturists.
Feminist Art Histories (Griselda Pollock, Rozsika Parker)
Postcolonial Theory (Gayatri Spivak)
Visual Semiotics
Decolonial Aesthetics
Pollock, G. (1988). Vision and Difference.
Mitter, P. (1994). Art and Nationalism in Colonial India.
Koch, E. (2001). Mughal Art and Imperial Ideology.
Research indigenous examples in the work of contemporary Indian artists.
Analyse how these forms disrupt dominant narratives in art.
Investigate their reference to appropriation versus genuine representation.
Reflect on the market and institutional context for these works.
Highlight memorable practitioners perhaps like Jangarh Singh Shyam, Bhajju Shyam, and others like them, contemporary Gond artists that represent indigenous aesthetic innovation.
Research in architecture and reviews of exhibitions.
Ethnographic fieldwork among art communities.
Subaltern Studies
Cultural Hegemony (Gramsci)
Visual Anthropology
Postcolonial Aesthetic Politics
Jain, J. (2011). Other Masters: Five Contemporary Folk and Tribal Artists of India.
Dube, S. (2017). Postcolonial Passages.
Guha-Thakurta, T. (2004). Monuments, Objects, Histories.
Despite the growing presence of digital platforms, NFT art, and virtual exhibitions in India, limited research exists on how these developments have influenced art practices and dissemination.
Examine the adoption of digital and new media practices among Indian practitioners since 2010.
Study the influence of digital technologies on artistic decision-making and the redefinition of medium boundaries.
Assess audience engagement in online galleries versus physical galleries.
Investigate institutional acceptance of digital art practices.
Survey and interviews with digital artists.
Investigate selected case studies of online exhibitions and NFT initiatives to assess their role in digital art ecosystems.
Discourse analysis of critics’ responses.
Comparative review encompassing the algorithms involved in the platforms as well as the user interface.
Media Ecology (McLuhan)
Platform Capitalism (Srnicek)
Post-Internet Art Theory
Digital Materiality
Media Ecology (McLuhan)
Platform Capitalism (Srnicek)
Post-Internet Art Theory
Digital Materiality
Visual art from conflict zones such as Kashmir, Northeast India, and post-riot Gujarat is rarely included in mainstream art histories, creating a critical void in visual historiography related to trauma and resistance.
Investigate works of art that are produced from or are explorative or responsive to regional conflicts in India.
Investigate the visual articulation of personal trauma and collective memory through artistic expression.
Assess the institutional roadblocks that inhibit such work to be exhibited.
Emphasize discussions of the politics of “bearing witness” with each of the artists.
Interviews with artists and curators
Visual semiotic analysis of selected artworks
Site based research and mapping of memory
Policy review of arts funding and arts censorship in conflict contexts
Trauma Theory (Cathy Caruth)
Testimonial Art & Witnessing
Cultural Memory Studies
Ethics of Representation
Caruth, C. (1996). Unclaimed Experience: Trauma, Narrative, and History.
Pandey, G. (2006). Routine Violence: Nations, Fragments, Histories.
Malhotra, A. (2019). Remains of Partition: Aesthetic Responses.
There are few scholarly examinations of the place of public art pieces in shaping civic identity, civic discourse, and urban aesthetics in some places like Delhi, Bengaluru, and Mumbai since the 1991 economic liberalisation.
Assess the societal outcomes and political aspirations embedded within public art initiatives and their influence on local communities.
Consider aesthetics and access (who makes and who for.)
Evaluate public engagement and civic participation.
Create models for inclusive urban art policy.
Field documentation and mapping of public art locations.
Interviews with public art planners at the municipality, artists, and NGOs.
Participatory observations of public events and workshops.
Urban semiotic and spatial analysis.
Henri Lefebvre’s Production of Space
Relational Aesthetics (Nicolas Bourriaud)
Public Sphere Theory (Habermas)
Urban Cultural Studies
Mitchell, W. J. T. (1994). Art and the Public Sphere.
Fernandes, L. (2006). India’s New Middle Class.
Jain, R. (2015). Cities Under Watch: Public Art in New Delhi.
