Blog Post #2. An Indian-American Artist’s Self in Pieces

    From the year of 2022 to 2025, Indian-American artist Sangram Majumdar painted 13 oil paintings and a wall drawing that are centered around the intrapersonal relationship to his nationality and identity as part of The Sleep of Reason exhibition in Natalie Karg Gallery. Originally born from India, Majumdar later moved to the United States with his family when he was 13, and throughout his life he ended up being both familiar to the Indian culture his heritage was from and the American cultural environment he grew up in, but at the same time is also a stranger to either sides of the respective cultures in a sense. This feeling would serve as a source of inspiration and reoccurring theme of his works where he explores around the space between both of his identity.

One of the examples being "The Meeting" painting he made in 2022. The painting depicts a self portrait of the artist himself standing in the middle with his left hand outstretched from where his chest is (which I've interpreted as the artist's heritage), seemingly reaching out to what appears to be a yellow hand on the other side of the painting. The side where the yellow hand is reaching out from is made up of more abstract figures and colorful shape that is said to be reminiscent of South Asian Madhubani art, and Majumdar is seemingly looking at the abstract side of the painting with an astonished expression, as if out of bewilderment on something that seems so familiar yet also unfamiliar to him. 

Being someone who also grew up in a cultural diaspora background, the painting does resonate my feelings of my own identity in terms of capturing the confusion, wonder, and maybe even disorientation present within the painting. Feelings that are common to the diaspora experience trying to interact with the place their heritage originated from but didn't grow up in, including a sense of longing to experience something that is present nearby yet unattainable to reach. To see other people explore on this subject matter is a reassuring sight for me as even if I have my own struggles on trying to fit in on either cultural communities of my nationality and heritage, I'm not entirely alone in feeling that uncertainty and confusion in regards to diaspora identity.


Bibliography:

https://hyperallergic.com/1044962/indian-american-artist-sangram-majumdar-self-in-pieces/

https://nathaliekarg.com/exhibitions/94-the-sleep-of-reason-sangram-majumdar/press_release_text/

https://galeriems-viewingroom.exhibit-e.art/viewing-room/somewhere-elsewhere

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present

Image
Marina Abramovic. The Artist is Present. 2009      One day, while searching YouTube Shorts, I came across a video about a female artist. She was sitting on a museum chair, keeping eye contact with people as part of her performance. She seemed very calm and her eyes seemed to be fixed too much. People participated in her performance, some crying and some smiling as they watched her. There were many different expressions and reactions. At first, watching her performance seemed to torture herself. I never looked for the short video again, but somehow her presence remained in my mind and stayed with me for a long time. Later, I discovered the documentary The Artist is Present and finally got a chance to learn her name and her real life. Knowing this fact felt like a gift, especially since I already had a lot of thoughts about her. This way, I got into her art world. Marina Abramovic. Rhythm 0. 1974      Her name was Marina Abramovich and she was a very influen...
Read more

Gustav Klimt's Controversial Conversation of Love and Lust: Klimt & The Kiss

Image
  One of my favorite paintings is Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss . The use of gold leaf and the gentle expressions of the man and woman makes my romantic heart swoon.. Some see the romantic atmosphere while others feel it's slightly unnerving. The story behind it has been questioned since the start. The shapes and flowers might seem like a blob at first, but once you slowly take your time to appreciate the piece you see the woman's dress, the field of flowers, the man's blanket, hands caressing her face. It’s enchanting. Dangling off a cliff of a field of flowers Dr Ivan Ristic asks the question, “What happens after the kiss?”(Ray, 0:07:50).  Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss, 1908 The documentary starts off in the Belvedere Museum in Vienna, Italy with hallways lined in gold which fits the golden love story. “The Belvedere has housed The Kiss  almost since it was founded [in 1903]” says Dr. Franz Smola, a curator at the museum (Ray, 0:08:26).  He lived a secluded life growing up...
Read more

Blog Post #2 - The Lonely Palette: Ep. 40 Frida Kahlo’s “Dos Mujeres (Salvadora y Herminia)” (1928) - Emma Pohlman

Image
    Frida Kahlo is a very recognizable artists of the twentieth century. She is famous for her striking self-portraits and her touching way of turning pain into art. The podcast The Lonely Palette , episode 40, takes us back to a quieter moment in her career. The podcast focused on the 1928 double portrait Dos Mujeres (Salvadora y Herminia) . The story behind this painting helps one truly understand how Kahlo’s early experience and the complicated questions about identity that followed her all of her life shaped her art.        Kahlo’s background is full of many traumas and events that someone should never have to live through. She was born in Mexico in 1907 to a German father and mestiza mother who was part European and part Indigenous. As a child, she was very sick and often times bedridden. Later in life, she became an athletic tomboy. Her original plan in life was to become a doctor, but after getting hit by a bus as a teen and having extensive inj...
Read more