Introduction to Art

Art can be defined as a human activity involving use of specialized skills. As the end product of such a skill gives extraordinary results, which are reflective of the aspirations of the society, it gains admiration of the people and attracts patronage. Such a usage of specialized skill is not restricted to any one field of human activity, rather it is countless and the outcome of such a skill in any field depends not only on the mental caliber of the skilled person, but also on varied circumstances, which can be both man-made and natural. Sculptural art in particular is the outcome of a society having persons not only profess in the specialized skill of modeling a form out of a raw material, but also having immense knowledge about the physical appearance and anatomical features of both the animate and inanimate beings, and possessing expertise in transforming that knowledge through creative imagination and aesthetic expression into a solid physical form.

It is necessary to probe into the origin of any artistic tradition in order to understand the various processes it had passed through and the kind of influence it has absorbed within its fold, resulting into its final glorious artistic style.

Regarding the nature of Indian art, Vasudeva S. Agrawala says that:

“Indian art is a mirror of the thought, religion, philosophy, cults and culture of India. It is a rich commentary on the life of the people. How they lived, how they felt, what were their ideas about the Divine, how they worshipped and what they created on the plane of matter is documented in the creations of Indian Art”^[1].

Radhakamal Mukherjee says:

“Each true work of art is the revelation of the attitudes and values of a particular culture and social milieu, and adds its characteristic contribution to humanity’s heritage of art”^[2].

Thus sculptural art, including painting is definitely a reflection of the prevailing beliefs, aspirations, ambitions and needs of the contemporary society. So, a study of the artistic creation of a particular period, not only unfolds the creative mind of the artist and the love for art among the patrons and the spectators, but also hints at the contemporary social, cultural, religious and political aspects of the period.

Initially it seems that art had its birth out of the utilitarian needs of the society. In archaeological terms all the objects artificially made or modeled by man, can be called an artifact. All such artifacts do have a specific artistic merit. And the artistic value of such an artifact can be judged based on the refinement in its modeling, which is the result of an experienced hand. Sometimes, such a refinement in artistic creations is brought through non-indigenous influences as well. This is known as Cultural diffusion in archaeological terms.

According to Prof. H. D. Sankalia:

“An object can be called artistic which exhibits a sense of symmetry, proportion and delicacy of workmanship, or that which is not produced or made for purely utilitarian purposes. Thus, we shall be able to differentiate between arts and crafts, and objects of daily or utilitarian use, and objects which though exhibiting purely aesthetic qualities, still were made for such a purpose”^[3].

In the background of the above given discussion on the definition of art, before going into the details of the origin of sculptural art in Pallava period a brief account of the artistic creations in different periods, starting from the pre-historic times is given below.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Vasudeva S Agrawala, Indian Art, Varanasi, 1965, p. 1.

[2]:

Radhakamal Mukherjee, The Social Function of Art, Delhi, 1988, p. iv, preface.

[3]:

H. D. Sankalia, Pre –Historic Art in India, New Delhi, 1978, p. 1.