Influence of tribal art in modern India
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Until fifty years ago, it would have been inconceivable to plan an exhibition of the traditional folk or tribal paintings of India. At that time, tribal paintings from most of the regions of the country were unknown, and even those somewhat familiar, had not yet found their way into the holdings of museums and private collections.
A closer inspection at the development of modern Indian art before independence, however, reveals that, many artists at the beginning of the modern art movement derived their themes mainly from Indian mythology and religion along with conscious incorporation symbols and themes from tribal art. Taking inspiration from tribal art styles, they aimed at intense simplifications and abandoned the natural in favor of the abstract or the geometric. They ignored perspective, used color for its own sake or for symbolic purposes and had freely distorted and modified the human form.
Artists like Nandlal Bose juxtaposed folk art with classical content in such a way that it exuded spiritualism. Whereas sculptor Ramkinkar Baij integrated elements of Santhal tribal art and life into his own work and enhanced them by an understanding of Western expressionism. Ganesh Pyne's haunting fantasies draw viewers into surreal landscapes where history, reality and folklore intersect. Whereas Lalu Prasad Shaw and Jamini Roy drew inspiration from Kalighat Pat and Santhal, often depicting pleasant and quiet scenes from their own life. Jogen Chowdhury successfully married traditional imagery with the zeitgeist of contemporary painting.
Through the trials and tribulations of its practitioners, Indian art has yielded a picture of a vital and vigorous creative practice over the last century where tribal and folk art continue to influence the artists to re-imagine their idioms.
A closer peek into the Travel of modernization of Indian infrastructures would prove that no Indian art lives without sharing an umbilical with the old traditional methods of India. India as we were all brought into the know from the very beginning is and has been living upon it's agriculture and primary ways of market. The tribals of our country can be made to play an important part in our very own modernization. If they are given proper education they can be made to work as the extra hands we need. And they also need to share their cultures so that we can know them better and resemble them. These traditional festivities attract foreigners and hence help in increasing the assets corresponding to the tourism department of the country.