A Virtual Artist’s Collective
A closer look at “Feminist art on new age media” - a talk by Isha Yadav
Towards the end of the 18th century came the Age of Enlightenment. And enlightenment there was - the suffragette movement had just begun gaining traction and the world was awakening to a new dawn. History is modelled in a way that ensures many people are responsible for the way the world looks in the present. The suffragettes of the 18th century were creating the friction that endures today but the suffragettes of the 21st century must send their message across through a different carrier. The South Asian feminist is different from their Western counterpart. Feminism has evolved and branched out, and the medium that is most accessible to these fierce warriors of the new age is the Internet.
Social Media platforms are the new pamphlets, but let’s direct our focus on one platform in specific- Instagram. South Asian women have increasing become acutely aware of the differences with their Western allies. While they speak the same language of redemption, there are some key differences that set them apart. Social media however, is ingenuity that transcends geography. Instagram is primarily a photo sharing website and naturally, there exists a committed and relentless community of feminist artists, sharing their experiences and voices in the form of visual craft. It is clear that there exists an intersection between art activism and social media. For an activist looking to get their word out, a platform with over a billion users seems like an appropriate place to start. Artists on Instagram are proactive in both their talent and their outreach. They blend together prudence and passion, and the result is a dialogue between the viewer and the artwork, and the inclusion of several perspectives, including South Asian ones.
Art for South Asian women doesn’t just serve the purpose of aesthetic admiration. South Asian feminists online use art as a means of questioning the status quo, challenging the political landscape and hopefully, through this questioning, bring about change and equality. South Asian artists have historically used alternative materials that are connected to the female subspecies to create their work. Painting and sculpture have been the weapon of these women in the past due to the fact they weren’t as male dominated as other sectors of expression. By utilising visual media online, these women now widen the definition of artistic expression and fine arts. They are evolving with their beliefs.
In the past, feminist artists chose the life of anonymity. They remained invisible to the public. They were denied opportunity to showcase their art. And in true ironic power play, these very artists now use the anonymity of the internet to bring forward their beliefs in an effective manner. They promote visibility while incorporating a multitude of perspectives.
Shyla Sharma, 1B
The Black experience: Toni Morrison and her writings
Among many heart wrenching fugitive slave narratives in literature, Toni Morrison’s works remain unignored and obtrusive across the globe. On 2nd of September, students of the English Department sat down to discuss the works of the late Nobel laureate in an informal session organised by the discussion club of the department, Taabeer.
Unlike usual cases, Morrison’s narratives featuring African American females as lead characters, remarkably established a firm place among the mainstream canon, all the while being surrounded by dominant white narratives. The discussion session took off as students specifically talked about her books, Beloved, a Pulitzer winner, and The Bluest Eye, both Pulitzer and Nobel Prize winner which granted spaces to black women as their central characters. These books have made readers confront immensely harrowing experiences of black people including women, men, children, elderly and even the deceased, during the time of slavery. In various unauthentic narratives, black slaves have been portrayed in an awfully dehumanized manner, robbed of their identities and their traumatic past. This spurred dialogues regarding Morrison’s conscious effort to dig up the disturbing history of African- American people in order to bring the subdued narratives to the surface. Her works embrace appalling pain with the help of equally pacifying allusions to nature, yet these accounts leave an indelibly horrifying imprint on reader’s mind. On the same track, the discussion also touched upon the interplay between concepts of nature and time in Morrison’s works.
The conversation stirred up the issue of female exploitation in the slave narratives, from these books. The female characters in the books conduct themselves in an extraordinarily powerful way in spite of being placed in inhumane conditions. As for white female characters, it seems that Morrison bring about a sense of solidarity amongst the women which transcend colour and race. She dealt with collective notions such as sexuality and motherhood in an unaccustomed setting. Other than female characters, the narratives also used male characters to bring forth incidences of heinous treatment of their people in the past. Towards the end of the discussion, students talked about the importance of the usage of language, which, according to Morrison, was of utmost concern as it holds the potential to
become, both, a form of violence or a channel for quietened voices.
On the whole, the conversation heeded that Morrison’s narratives not only presented the harsh experiences of black slaves in a blatantly explicit manner but it also trailblazed the African-American canon to an unprecedented level.
Ankita Priya
2-A
Unlike usual cases, Morrison’s narratives featuring African American females as lead characters, remarkably established a firm place among the mainstream canon, all the while being surrounded by dominant white narratives. The discussion session took off as students specifically talked about her books, Beloved, a Pulitzer winner, and The Bluest Eye, both Pulitzer and Nobel Prize winner which granted spaces to black women as their central characters. These books have made readers confront immensely harrowing experiences of black people including women, men, children, elderly and even the deceased, during the time of slavery. In various unauthentic narratives, black slaves have been portrayed in an awfully dehumanized manner, robbed of their identities and their traumatic past. This spurred dialogues regarding Morrison’s conscious effort to dig up the disturbing history of African- American people in order to bring the subdued narratives to the surface. Her works embrace appalling pain with the help of equally pacifying allusions to nature, yet these accounts leave an indelibly horrifying imprint on reader’s mind. On the same track, the discussion also touched upon the interplay between concepts of nature and time in Morrison’s works.
The conversation stirred up the issue of female exploitation in the slave narratives, from these books. The female characters in the books conduct themselves in an extraordinarily powerful way in spite of being placed in inhumane conditions. As for white female characters, it seems that Morrison bring about a sense of solidarity amongst the women which transcend colour and race. She dealt with collective notions such as sexuality and motherhood in an unaccustomed setting. Other than female characters, the narratives also used male characters to bring forth incidences of heinous treatment of their people in the past. Towards the end of the discussion, students talked about the importance of the usage of language, which, according to Morrison, was of utmost concern as it holds the potential to
become, both, a form of violence or a channel for quietened voices.
On the whole, the conversation heeded that Morrison’s narratives not only presented the harsh experiences of black slaves in a blatantly explicit manner but it also trailblazed the African-American canon to an unprecedented level.
Ankita Priya
2-A
The tenth Muse
Sappho was an archaic poet, who perhaps changed the definition of poetry and eroticism ever since she first put pen to paper. Oddly, very little is known about her life for certain. All except one of her writings only exist in fragments. We know nothing about her life and death, and yet she holds such a commanding presence on literature and sexuality and its cross sectioning.
Sappho wrote about 10,000 lines of poetry but today, only about 650 survive. The question now is making the writings of this enigma accessible. There have been several contemporary as well as ancient attempts at preserving her memory. Ann Carson and Hilda Doolittle stand out in the crowd. It is important to note that Ann Carson successfully translated fragments of poems that archaeologists have found on earthenware dating back to thousands of years, and pieces of parchment buried under layers of history. She has cleverly used cascading brackets to leave Sappho’s poetry a matter of interpretation while adding to the aesthetic of the ancient poetry. Ann Carson can also be attributed to for another notable feat of literature. Much of the early translators of Sappho heterosexualised her poetry. This diminished the ideas that she wished to present. Her poems are famous for speaking about relationships and love between women. Her birthplace- Lesbos gave birth to an entire sexuality, lending it meaning and authenticity. Her name became the word "sapphic", and Sappho today is a symbol of female homosexuality.
Hilda Doolittle is another enigmatic Sapphic writer. While Carson brings the life and legend closer, Doolittle appropriates the literature as her own. She uses fragments left over by time to spring forth a new poem, lending a whole new depth of meaning to the lost poems while adding to literary legacy.
Sappho’s literary presence is hard to divorce from her symbolism and what her existence has come to mean today for a variety of people and communities. We do not know in definite terms whether she existed as a singularity, how she appeared or where she shared her exquisite poetry, but she continues to enthral, excite and empower individuals with fragments of her genius.
Shyla Sharma
1-B
Sappho wrote about 10,000 lines of poetry but today, only about 650 survive. The question now is making the writings of this enigma accessible. There have been several contemporary as well as ancient attempts at preserving her memory. Ann Carson and Hilda Doolittle stand out in the crowd. It is important to note that Ann Carson successfully translated fragments of poems that archaeologists have found on earthenware dating back to thousands of years, and pieces of parchment buried under layers of history. She has cleverly used cascading brackets to leave Sappho’s poetry a matter of interpretation while adding to the aesthetic of the ancient poetry. Ann Carson can also be attributed to for another notable feat of literature. Much of the early translators of Sappho heterosexualised her poetry. This diminished the ideas that she wished to present. Her poems are famous for speaking about relationships and love between women. Her birthplace- Lesbos gave birth to an entire sexuality, lending it meaning and authenticity. Her name became the word "sapphic", and Sappho today is a symbol of female homosexuality.
Hilda Doolittle is another enigmatic Sapphic writer. While Carson brings the life and legend closer, Doolittle appropriates the literature as her own. She uses fragments left over by time to spring forth a new poem, lending a whole new depth of meaning to the lost poems while adding to literary legacy.
Sappho’s literary presence is hard to divorce from her symbolism and what her existence has come to mean today for a variety of people and communities. We do not know in definite terms whether she existed as a singularity, how she appeared or where she shared her exquisite poetry, but she continues to enthral, excite and empower individuals with fragments of her genius.
Shyla Sharma
1-B