Interview: Dr. Stephen Inglis and Haema Sivanesan
Step into the Art Gallery of Ontario's Maharaja: The Splendour of India's Royal Courts exhibition and enter a world of refined opulence. Organized in collaboration with the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, this is the first exhibition to comprehensively explore the stunning world of the maharajas and their dedication to artistic advocacy.
The exhibition spans the beginning of the 18th century, to the end of British rule in 1947, and concludes with a look at the legacy of the maharajas today. The exhibition, a Canadian exclusive, features over 200 magnificent works of art including paintings of spectacular royal processions, royal costumes, and ceremonial weapons, elaborate jewellery, rare black and white film footage of ceremonial processions, and impressive paintings.
Principal pieces in the exhibition include: The famed Patiala Necklace, Cartier's largest ever commission, containing 2,930 diamonds and weighing almost a thousand carats; a life sized model elephant adorned with textiles and trappings and accompanied by a silver howdah from the early 19th century; the Silver Carriage of Bhavnagar from 1900; the Golden Throne of Maharaja Ranjit Singh; and the Star of India - the legendary custom-built 1934 Rolls Royce Phantom II.
Renowned Anthropologist and Art Historian Dr. Stephen Inglis, and Haema Sivanesan, a curator with particular interest in the historical and contemporary art of South and Southeast Asia, both speak with MyBindi.com about their roles in creating an exhibition that displays, with integrity, the art, art forms and artistic traditions of India.
Dr. Inglis adjunct Curator of the Maharaja Exhibition, and specialist in the artistic traditions of India, speaks about the technical and conceptual aspects of his curatorial process, the concept behind the exhibition, and the inherent differences between this exhibit and the one seen in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London a year ago.
Consequently, Haema Sivanesan, special project assistant of the Maharaja exhibition, discusses the salient points in the development of the exhibition, the fundamental considerations put into reshaping the Exhibition for a Canadian audience, and the role of art in a complex and difficult period of Indian history.
1. What in particular interests you about historical and contemporary art of South and Southeast Asia?
Stephen: The art of South Asia has an ancient and extremely complex history, yet much of its forms, techniques and meanings are still in daily use in local contexts, and in the decorative and popular arts of everyday life. In fact South Asian societies support and sustain more artists and craftpeople than probably any other part of the world.
Contemporary artists working in more global art worlds can’t help drawing on this enormous resource.
Haema:
South Asia has one of the oldest visual arts traditions in the world. It is a very sophisticated tradition, with the first canons of Indian art being written in about the 5th Century AD. My interest in art history began as an interest in understanding my cultural heritage and as a way by which to understand ideas in religion, society, politics etc. Maharaja is an interesting exhibition in this regard as it examines a complex and difficult period of Indian history that ushered India into its modernity and tells this story through the art that was produced during the period.My interest in contemporary South Asian art developed in Australia, where I was a curator at the Art Gallery of New South Wales at a time when Australian art museums were at the forefront of collecting and exhibiting contemporary art from the Asia-Pacific region. Contemporary artists are concerned with what shapes our experience in the present. The most powerful works in contemporary art register a collective unconscious or “spirit of the times” and are works that unsettle us from our everyday existence and make us think…or inspire us to dream.
2. How did you get involved with the AGO’s Maharaja Exhibit?
Stephen: I had begun a process of developing an exhibition concept on India’s courts when the V&A launched its project. When the AGO needed a content specialist for the Toronto version, my name soon came up. There aren’t many specialists on the arts of India in Canada, and each is busy, and I was in a position to help out.
Haema: I was approached by Matthew Teitelbaum, the Director of the AGO, to be involved.
3. What was the concept behind the exhibit, and within what context were you to frame this exhibit?
Stephen: The concept was to demonstrate the role played by the royal courts of South Asia during the three centuries from the 18th through 20th centuries, and particularly how they stimulated and supported the creation of fabulous works of art. The V&A, with their vast collection and extensive expertise built a strong base from which we benefitted.
The South Asian community in Toronto is nonetheless different than that in Britain and the general population of Canada is less familiar with Indian history and culture than that of the British. It was necessary to do some adaptation.
4. Given that the exhibit was first viewed at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, what considerations were made to reshape the exhibit for a Canadian audience?
Haema: The exhibition was “reshaped” for the AGO by the inclusion of several Canadian loans, including the Faridkot howdah and trappings from the Glenbow Museum, a painting from the National Gallery, Ottawa, the Nizam of Hyderabad’s slipper from the Bata Shoe museum, and a model of the Jaipur city gate from the ROM’s collection. But although the exhibition first opened at the V&A more than a year ago, many of the key works in the AGO’s presentation were not seen in the original presentation of the exhibition – for example, the spectacular Patiala necklace, the elegant silver carriage, the “Star of India” Rolls Royce are all unique to the AGO’s presentation of this exhibition.
Other considerations included the interpretive planning, the public programming, the exhibition design, as some of the aspects of the exhibition presentation that were re-considered and tweaked to provide the best possible experience for Canadian audiences.
5. How are this exhibit's content, focus and style different from the version seen a year ago in London at the Victoria and Albert Museum?
Stephen:
To begin with, there are more extensive labels with more explanations of key terms. We tried to illustrate the use of various objects in the exhibition using details from the paintings in the exhibition, for example.There are objects that were added to the exhibition for the North American tour and several that will be seen only in Toronto. We also added significant objects from five Canadian museums, including the extraordinary elephant trappings and howdah, or elephant seat in the first room.
We also added stylistic elements to the exhibition design, including the use of Indian architectural references, textiles, music and even scent, drawing on the talent of Toronto artists.
6. How did your role reinforce the cultural accuracy and integrity of this exhibit?
Haema: My role was not so much to reinforce “cultural accuracy” but perhaps ensure “cultural appropriateness” in terms of the presentation. One of my main tasks was to provide a level of community liaison – to bring on board a range of specialists in the community to be involved in specific aspects of the exhibition planning, to solicit ideas and feedback from the community, to bring cultural issues or concerns to the exhibition team if necessary, and to speak about the exhibition to a range of stakeholders, and in many ways be a kind of ambassador for the show.
7. What artistic traditions of India are conveyed through the exhibit?
Stephen: The arts of painting, of jewellery making, and of making arms and armour are presented through spectacular masterpieces. Various kinds of metal work are well represented as are many weaving, embroidery and other textile traditions. Woodworking is also represented. There are wonderful photographs as well.
8. It is an exceptional achievement by the organizers of this exhibit to make it free for those 25 and under. What does the younger generation stand to gain from this exhibit?
Haema: I hope it will encourage young South Asians to take an interest in their cultural heritage: to ask questions about history and to develop an appreciation of the role and value of art in society.
9. What are your personal favourite pieces of the Maharaja collection and why?
Stephen: I love the Mysore painting in the first room because it shows the variety of different peoples involved in court pageantry. It illustrates in extraordinary detail, not only the procession of the Maharaja and his dignitaries and troops, but also his subjects, and the social and cultural life of a kingdom. We are so fortunate to be able to display this extremely rare work.
Another favorite is an early 17th c. Mughal painting of the Amar Singh I of Mewar submitting to Prince Khurram (later to be Shah Jehan, who built the Taj Mahal). Besides the political importance and exquisite skill of this masterwork, the artist, whose name was Nanha, has painted himself into the painting, in the act of recording the scene. This brings forward the importance of the artists and their patronage by the kings of South Asia, something we hope to focus on throughout the exhibition.
Haema: My favourite works are two paintings by the extraordinary 18thC painter, Nainsukh. One painting depicts a scene of fireworks, and another depicts the artist’s patron Raja Balwant Singh at worship. These are really exquisite examples of an artist working in the miniature tradition, but exploring his medium, experimenting with new ideas at the time - of perspective, portraiture, composition, and colour. The artist was a pandit, a literate and scholarly man. His paintings are extremely refined and intimate, providing the viewer with a unique insight into the daily life of his patron.
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