Abstract
This paper analyses the mediation of contemporary art produced through community-immersive processes in preserving intangible cultural heritage and argues that such productions can potentially act as a theoretical bridge across the gulf between the relational aesthetic of carnival and museum. Visual anthropological study of communities, space, and architecture of Fort Kochi-Mattanchery, Kerala, India, conducted by Biju Ibrahim, using the medium of photography and the ethno-architectural study of the submerged village of Curdi, Goa, India, conducted by Sahil Naik using multimedia art production technique are investigated. The paper uses a three-part structure. In the first part, the social events, Cochin Carnival, and annual gathering at Curdi are analysed on the ground of Bhaktin’s concept of carnivalesque aesthetics. In its second part, the paper uses the theories of relational aesthetics to analyse the process of community immersive production of art employed by Biju Ibrahim and Sahil Naik in studying and representing the communities of Fort Kochi and Curdi as objects of archaeological, as well as artistic interest, respectively. The third part of the paper, by placing these productions as museum objects within the dichotomy of ocular-centric and perception-oriented engagement in museum objects, as articulated by Rene Descartes, and Merleau-Ponty respectively, analyses the spectator interaction and accessibility associated with the medium used by the artists. The paper employs the use of archival and qualitative research methodologies. An in-depth archival study of the Cochin Carnival and Annual Gathering Festival in Curdi was complimented by a personal interviews with the artists.
Presenters
Athira ManoharanResearch Scholar, Humanities and Social Sciences, BITS K K Birla Goa Campus, India, Goa, India
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
COMMUNITY IMMERSIVE, CARNIVALESQUE, INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE, ARCHIVES
