gond paintings
TRANSCRIPT
GOND PAINTING
TEAM MEMBERS
HRASHIKESH KULKARNI (11313)
HARKIRAT SINGH (11293)
HIMANSHU GAUTAM (11304)
AHSEN PARWEZ (11416)
SAI TEJA REDDY (11223)
The Gondi (Gōndi) or Gond people are a Dravidian people in central India, spread over
the states of Madhya Pradesh, eastern Maharashtra (Vidarbha), Chhattisgarh, northern Andhra
Pradesh and Western Odisha (majhi or gan community). With over four million people, they are
the largest tribe in Central India. They are a heterogeneous group spreading over large areas from
the Godavari gorges in the south to the Vindhya Mountains in the north. In Madhya Pradesh,
they inhabited the dense forests of the Vindhyas, Satpura and Mandla in the Narmada region of
the Amarkantak range for centuries. They are a designated Scheduled Tribe in Andhra Pradesh,
Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha and West
Bengal. The word Gond comes from Kond, which means green mountains in the dravidian
idiom. The Gond called themselves Koi or Koiture, but others called them Gond since they lived
in the green mountains. The Gondi language is related to Telugu and other Dravidian languages.
About half of Gonds speak Gondi languages while the rest speak Indo-Aryan languages
including Hindi.
Gond Paintings
The Gond tribal community is one of the central India's largest indigenous communities
and their art is an expression of their everyday quest for life. The Gond art rendezvous with the
belief that "viewing a good image begets good luck". Owning to this belief, they traditionally
painted their homes’ mud walls and floors during festivities and marriages using colored muds.
Initially, they used to do it as a decorative and symbolic art which could fight off evil and invite
optimism during festivals called Dighna. Dighna celebrated occasions of Gond tribals’ lives.
Beginning in the early part of 80’s of the last century, some artistic Pardhan Gonds who were
traditionally and professionally bardic priests changed their ceremony performing arts to
narrative and figurative visual art. For this, they employed various modern media and created
exceptional representation of their traditional songs, oral histories and mythological and natural
worlds. The media they used included drawings in ink on paper, animated film, painting on
canvas with acrylic and silkscreen prints.
The first Gond artist to employ canvas and paper for his artworks was Jangarh Singh Shyam.
Beginning with painting the traditional way, he switched to different creativity mediums. His
life’s mission was to train the Patangarh (a Madhya Pradesh village) residents in this art form.
He rose to fame which his exhibitions in Tokyo and Paris mark with great acclaim. With the
course of time Gond art has switched onto canvas and paper by talented artists.
Style
Gond paintings materialize like a collage of dashes and dots. The collage combines into
bright images of animals and plants, articulating folklores. The art is in black and white as well
as colored variety. These pieces of creativity are affluent in color, humor, detail and mystery.
They are brilliant in using modern means for evoking the psyche which is pre-modern. Gond
artworks have not only gone through theme-experimentation but have also made medium go
through innovations. The Gond paintings’ nuances don’t begin and end with patterning. Brilliant
hues express souls’ language. Signature styles form essence. They are employed intrinsically for
filling the ornamental motifs and patterns of the surface. Such signature styles define
individualism and allusiveness of every Gond artist.
Subjects
Gond art resonates with a culturally distinctive ethos and draws inspiration from myths
and legends to images of daily life, as well as it reckons with surreality of emotions, dreams, and
imagination. The mythical beasts and the intricate detailing of flora and fauna are the dominant
themes that have animated the lives of the Gonds for centuries and their art is used as means to
record history.
Colors, Tools and TechniquesColors are derived from natural sources. For instance, black from local soils, white from
rock calcium and yellow from Narmada River banks. As mediums, charcoal and lime are used
that form several ornamental paintings, when it comes to painting homes, particularly. An outline
commences the art which is filled using block colors. When it dries, elaborate patterning is done.
It imparts three-dimensional effect to the designs.
Gond ArtpiecesA number of Gond artpieces are widely laudable. ‘Tree of Life’ is one of them. It shows
the tree rising from deer horns. It represents accord in existence and interdependence among
living beings. As a harmonious symbol, it brings good luck and peace. Durga Bai’s creations
illustrate a movement and vitality within. Her narratives are hued intensely and talk about deities
and folk tales.
Gond art has enthralled the global art market. It has carved a niche for itself through its
exceptional moods and tones of compelling and vibrant patterns. With such international
exposure, lives of the tribal artists have transformed. They are encouraged to rise above cultural
fences and dip the idiom of the universe in paints according to a special way of their own. Gond
paintings have stepped in the contemporary scenario. You can easily spot them on mouse-pads,
key-chains, pen stands and mugs. So, when you visit a store next time, you may not resist the
temptation to buy a cool tee embellished with Gond motifs to team up with your favorite jeans.
Sample Gond Paintings
We have taken up paintings that are representative of works of Gond artists. The first one
is for depicting an abstract or metaphorical concept. The second tells a popular folktale or two
lovers estranged by caste differences and finally united by Gods.
1. Gond Tribal Painting of Elephant
Description
This is an artwork by the Gond painter Dilip Shyam. He works for daily wages at the
Museum of Mankind in Bhopal, where his paintings adorn one of the walls. In this painting, we
see what looks like two elephants. They appear to be covered with feathers. The colors are very
intense, especially the blue and the red. There is a strong contrast between light and dark, and
overall, the lines are very well defined.
Analysis
We now analyze the image in the semiotic plane. The elephant signify pride and royal
entities. The pair of elephants stand for bonding and love. The peacock feathers, analogous to
crown, signify the pride in this beauty and love.
There are a lot of colours that add to the overall richness of the portrait signifying joy
and happiness. The texture for trunks and legs is different than others. This imparts a sense of
depth in the portrait. The texture of feathers enhances the colour and makes it shinier. They
also impart them velvety sense.
All the colours evenly distributed throughout the artwork. This accounts for even
distribution of “weight” in the painting. Had this been not the case, our eyes would have lingered
on a particular area more than others. In this case, the painting’s composition is balanced.
Also, the feathers appear to be abnormally large. We do not have a concrete sense of
scale or proportion.
Interpretation
We now delve into the iconic plane. The elephants are placed very close together to
strengthen the feeling of affection. The legs of the elephant can’t be differentiated as to which
leg belongs to which elephant, this intensifies the feeling of love and affection. The trunks of the
elephants meet each other, further strengthening this mutual affinity. Further, the number of legs
isn’t eight, as it should be. There could be two reasons. First, the two legs could be on the other
side of the portrait. Since the Gonds don’t make 3D paintings, it can be inferred that the artist
purposefully made two legs short. This aberration is to add to the concept of bonding discussed
above. In some way, the idea of two discrete elephants is lost. They are like two souls living in
a single body. The Elephant is a status symbol and this Gond painting does it justice. Elephants
are highly regarded everywhere but more especially so in India and among the Gonds.
This painting represents two elephants, one bigger than the other. This could mean an elder -
younger relationship or a husband- wife relationship. The implied wealth of the figures is,
however, more important than their exact identities.
At the thematic level, elephants being big and strong symbolize wealth, power, wisdom,
gentleness and authority. This painting describes all these with its lively color and its texture.
Add to these, the peacock wings drawn on the elephants and the attribute of pride in
one's beauty is also represented. Gonds are found of including the imagery of birds into the
paintings of other animals. The artist wanted to depict both love and royalty in this painting.
2. The Marriage of Desire and Intoxication
Description
This painting is hand drawn on black paper, made by Ram Singh Urveti, a traditional
Gond painter. This painting is based on a Gond folktale. The folktale is as follows: There were
two lovers who could not marry because they came from different castes, refusing to be
separated they went deep into the jungle and took their lives. They were reborn as plants on the
same spots where they died. Seeing the beauty of their love bhagwan Shankar, the creator
named them Ganja (cannabis) and Mahua (alcohol).
Analysis
We analyze the semiotic plane of the image. At the base of the tree, the artist has
depicted two creatures that are not truly animals or truly human beings. This is because it
represents the transitional phase. They are also laden with jewelry, reminiscent of their human
past. There are gazing into each other eyes, which remind us of the love between the pair. The
two plants are connected by a bond in the middle, which again strengthens the concept of love. It
seems as if they are holding hands or they are bound in eternal love. The rising trees that are
wavy depict the ethereal nature of the portrait. The eye like buds signifies the blooms of mahua.
Interpretation
We interpret the image in the iconic plane. They two lovers are not embracing each other
as in the case of elephant. They are deliberately kept separate. This presents the irony of the
situation. They have unbound love for each other, yet they find themselves in a situation where
they can just gaze into each other.
The branches are closely spaced, filling up the space, thus imparting even density. The creatures
gaze into each other eyes. Sky blue and orange being complementary colors impart visual
harmony. The tree is vividly textured.
We now analyze the portrait in the thematic plane. The emotion of love, anguish of caste
discrimination, the joy of triumph of love over death reflects in the painting. The tribals through
the painting have freedom to live and depict their own folk tradition in the imaginary world
created in the painting.
We have selected several motif and textures from Gond paintings. As mentioned earlier, Gonds
are expert at using textures to the fullest. They use textures to impart shine to a colour and to
associate them with sense of touch, as in the case of peacock feathers in the first portrait.
Unifying Aspects and Conclusion
Repetition: Motifs are repeated heavily to impart unity to the painting. Texture is repeated over
object surfaces to enhance the coherence of the object.
Continuity and Rhythm: The paintings are heavily continuous with wavy motifs. No rectilinear
strokes are used for the objects because discontinuities are to be removed.
3D: The images are made flat to impart the unrealistic and abstract touch to the paintings. The
objects are full of texture to provide depth and variety. The paintings have a psychedelic effect
due to their detour from reality.
Gond paintings are tribal paintings, drawn by aboriginal secluded people, far from the fast-
paced civilizations. These paintings depict their quest for meaning and variety in life. For them
the paintings are a portal into a surreal world, a world where there are no restrictions and
imaginations run free. There are no mundane colors or void spaces, there are no blockages, the
imagery is fluid and rhythmic.
The Gond paintings are a manifestation of the basic human urge to fill spaces, to make
the world more decorative, celebrative, meaningful and full of life!
Bibliography
i. The Night Life of Trees – Bajju Shyam, Durga Bai and Ram Singh Urveti
ii. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gondi_people
iii. http://www.itasveer.com/artsmart/articles/forms-of-indian-paintings/gond-paintings-in-
india
iv. http://ignca.nic.in/tribal_art_intro_gonds_mp.htm
v. http://www.mustarts.com/