Krishna
disguised as Jogi |
Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore
and Calcutta - not only does India have some of the world's largest megalopolises,
these are also cultural centres of growing significance. This is where
a new cosmos of images, sounds and gestures is developing, one that is
gaining influence outside India as well. Bollywood, Bhangra Beat and Asian
Dub are increasingly playing a formative role in global pop culture. At
the same time, over the past few decades India's "urban bodies"
have seen the emergence of a new generation of outstanding artists and
intellectuals who formulate new perspectives in response to immense social
transformations, translating classical body arts and visual culture into
contemporary forms of expression. Drawing on the perspectives of prominent
Indian curators, from September 19 to November 16, 2003, the House of
World Cultures will present body.city - New Perspectives from India,
a program whose exhibitions, theatre productions, concerts, conferences,
films, readings and youth events will introduce an India that is future-oriented,
popular and intellectual.
body.city
takes urban spaces as a point of departure for exploring contemporary
India; these spaces reflect the complex interrelationships between globalization,
local traditions and redesigned living spaces. This is the place where
contemporary art production, spiritual body techniques, folk art and crafts,
cinema and pop coexist. The cities are an ideal place to observe how traditional
approaches are translated into contemporary forms of expression, and how
they infiltrate and affect cultural practice in the "West".
Autumn Night
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body.city
centers around two major exhibitions in the House of World Cultures: one
is subTerrain: artworks in the cityfold, an exhibition of contemporary
Indian art. By contrast, the show Indian Popular Culture. 'The Conquest
of the World as Picture' focuses on cultural history, examining the
development of iconography in everyday Indian culture. The music program
Rasalîla - The Play of Emotions brings together Western and
Indian, traditional and contemporary sounds. It will premiere compositions
developed in collaboration between the Ensemble Modern and outstanding
Indian musicians and composers. The theatre program explores the fertile
ground between Indian myths and everyday realities, featuring artists
who have mastered techniques that are often thousands of years old, but
who also work on contemporary issues and try out new theatrical concepts.
Three interdisciplinary conferences will place body.city squarely
at the centre of current academic discourse. The literature program Voices
of Resistance presents authors who confront general issues of globalization
as well as the rise of Indian nationalism. The events will be rounded
out with an unusual film program featuring Bollywood productions as well
as documentary and art-house films.
Entrance to Grove |
Cow of Deities,
Wish Cow |
body.city
has evolved in close collaboration with Indian curators Jyotindra Jain,
Anuradha Kapur, Geeta Kapur and Ravi Vasudevan, all leading figures in
the Indian cultural avantgarde, and - from Germany - Sandeep Bhagwati.
An accompanying book - published in cooperation with Tulika Books from
Delhi - highlights recent developments and their causes from the point
of view of the curators and of leading Indian intellectuals.
The
project is embedded in the Berlin Senate's Asia-Pacific Weeks, whose focus
will be India.
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