Title: Art of Bangladesh: the Changing Role of Tradition, Search for Identity and Globalization
Abstract:This paper addresses the issue of configurations of Bangladeshi cultural identity as manifested in the art of Bangladesh. It reviews the politics of identity and the concomitant changes in artistic fo...This paper addresses the issue of configurations of Bangladeshi cultural identity as manifested in the art of Bangladesh. It reviews the politics of identity and the concomitant changes in artistic forms during the struggle for independence from Britain and the liberation of Bangladesh from Pakistan. It focuses on artistic practices in post-liberation Bangladesh and the evolving current scene, influenced by currents of globalization, holding new challenges for artists. The emergence of Bangladesh as a nation state, and the process of its emergence, has been instrumental in the direction of art in Bangladesh. Configurations of identity and their changing perceptions, vis-à-vis the intelligentsia, have played a major role in fashioning its form. This paper analyzes the multiple readings and roles of 'tradition' in the construction of identity and how 'folk' and 'popular' arts of Bengal have continued to provide a rich source for 'fine' artists to draw upon.Read More