Art History Speaker Series: Rashmi Sawhney

Tuesday, November 12, 2024
10:30 a.m. MT
Zoom: https://boisestate.zoom.us/j/95937367955
All series lectures are free and open to the public
Sponsored by the School of the Arts

Join the Department of Art, Design and Visual Studies for a virtual lecture with Rashmi Sawhney, Associate Arts Professor of Film and New Media at NYU Abu Dhabi. As part of the 2024-2025 Art History Speaker Series, Sawhney will present a talk titled “The Forest of the Imagination: Cinema, Art, and Indigeneity in the Eastern Plateau.”

This talk will discuss the densely forested Eastern Plateau of India, which comprises states with a high population of indigenous communities, where some of the most violent confrontations between the state, corporations and indigenous communities have unfolded. This presentation explores indigeneity in the postcolonial context and in the making of ‘modern India’ through the lens of cinema and the arts, in particular through the work of Ramkinkar Baij and his ‘Santhal family’ sculptures inspired by the Santhal community of West Bengal, as well as of filmmaker Ritwik Ghatak, who has made films on the Oraons of Jharkhand. Ghatak and Baij shared a close friendship, and Sawhney explores their common interest in indigeneity while offering a comment on the films produced by indigenous communities in the region since the 1990s, addressing histories of political struggle, including over-representation.

The 2024-2025 series explores the intersections of art, technology, and the environment. For centuries, humans have been the central subjects of art and culture, but recent advancements in information technology, biotechnology, and environmental science are gradually shifting focus away from the human subject. This shift has given rise to posthumanism, a philosophical movement that challenges the traditional notion of human centrality, viewing humans as deeply interconnected with the nonhuman world—encompassing technology, other life forms, and broader ecological systems.

Join us as we delve into these developments’ ethical, philosophical, and practical implications, from genetic modification and cybernetic implants to advanced tools and prosthetics.

For more information on the VASP program and additional events, please visit the VASP website here.