Between the Visual and Performing Arts
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22 Mar
2024
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Community Engagement
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Ajay Sinha
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Image: Carl Van Vechten, _Ram Gopal,_ Copyright Van Vechten Trust
The illustrated talk presents a rare, undocumented exchange between the arts and cultures of India and the U.S.A. found in a set of over one hundred unpublished black and white photographs of the Indian classical dancer Ram Gopal. Taken in New York City in 1938 by an American photographer named Carl Van Vechten, the large-format images show Ram Gopal assuming a variety of dance poses wearing fantastical costumes, while the photographer changes the studio lighting and fabric backgrounds for full views, mid-shots and close-ups. The images not only show the photographer's view of the gorgeous dancer, but also the dancer's manipulation of the camera. Interpersonal desires and cultural fantasies of the two men spark a surprising conversation between photography and choreography. Drawing on his recent book, Photo-Attractions: An Indian dancer, an American photographer, and a German Camera (Newark, NJ, Rutgers University Press, 2023), art historian Ajay Sinha explores the stunning visual record of the photoshoot, and builds a story of layered interactions.
Free Online Public Book Discussion on Zoom Platform
Duration -
March 22, 2024
Timing: 7:00 - 8:30 pm IST
Registrations Closed
Ajay Sinha
Ajay Sinha is the Julie '73 and Helene '49 Herzig Professor in the Art History and Architectural Studies Department at Mount Holyoke College, USA. He teaches wide-ranging courses on the visual histories of global modernity and the arts of Asia, including architecture, material objects, painting, photography and film in South Asia. His book-length publications include Photo-Attractions: An Indian dancer, an American photographer, and a German Camera;Imagining Architecture: Creativity in the Religious Monuments of India; and the co-edited collection Bollyworld: Popular Indian Cinema through a Transnational Lens