The Phenomenal and the Cultural in Contemporary Paintings from Indian Diaspora

Abstract

Contemporary painting is a complex practice that incorporates elements of different media and bear diverse historical and cultural influences. Contemporary painting from South-East Asian diaspora is no less different. In this paper an attempt has been made to analyze a few contemporary painters’ work in light of phenomenological theory. Merleau-Ponty’s (1993, 2004, 2008) theory of embodiment and phenomenology of perception has been used to show how the fusion of material exploration, embodied engagement with the lived environment, and knowledge of art-historical and contemporary trend results in creation of painting. It was also shown that the artists discussed are adept at combining cultural and sensual components in their painting thus creating works of art that has a broad cross-cultural appeal. It was argued that a theoretical lens that pays due attention to material and sensual aspects of art can open-up new horizon of analysis.