Chennai Mathematical Institute

CMI Arts Initiative


Indian Art in Context

A course entitled Indian Art in Context will be offered at the Chennai Mathematical Institute during the August–November, 2016 semester. The course will be taught by T.M. Krishna with Gita Jayaraj, Dr A. Mangai, S. Nandagopal, and Baradwaj Rangan.

Art includes performing arts such as dance and non-performing forms like sculpture. Context refers to the intersection of society, politics and art. The art-forms under discussion would be chosen to highlight these connections.

One aim is to sensitise students to the interplay of aesthetics and perception with geography, class, gender and caste.

The course is principally meant for CMI undergraduates, who will take it for credit.

Evaluation will be based primarily on:

  • a presentation by the students on a topic chosen based on the lectures in agreement with the instructor

  • a project wherein the student will apply the tools used in the course to analyse an Indian art-form that is not covered in the lectures.

Others, young and old, with a serious interest in the themes will be welcome to the lectures. If you intend to attend, please write on or before 25 July, 2016 to ramadas@cmi.ac.in with Indian Art in Context in the subject field.

The class will meet in the Seminar Hall, CMI for fourteen sessions, every Tuesday during 13:45–16:30, with a break of 15 minutes. The first class on 16 August will be taught by TMK, as will be the last. He will take six classes altogether; the others two sessions each.

  • T.M. Krishna, one of India's foremost musicians, is also an author, public speaker and columnist. He will focus on Classical (Karnatik) music and Bharatanatyam.

  • Gita Jayaraj wrote her M.Phil dissertation on Kerala's ritual performative form, Theyyam. She freelances as an editor and writer. She has served as the administrative head at a college of journalism. She will discuss ritual art forms, and in particular Theyyam.

  • Dr. A. Mangai is an academic, activist and artist. She teaches English in a city college and is a director, playwright and actor in Tamil. She will lecture on subaltern art forms, beginning the discussion with Tappattam.

  • V. Nandagopal is a senior and celebrated painter, metal worker and ceramist -turned-sculptor based out of the Cholamandalam artists village. He will focus on the Madras Movement of Art and his own work.

  • Baradwaj Rangan, is one of India's leading and award-winning Cinema critics. He is an author and Associate Editor at The Hindu. He will cover Cinema.

Lecture Schedule

August 16 T M Krishna
August 23 Gita Jayaraj
August 30 Gita Jayaraj
September 6 Dr A Mangai
September 10 Dr A Mangai
September 27 T M Krishna
October 4 T M Krishna
October 11 S Nandagopal
October 18 S Nandagopal
October 25 Baradwaj Rangan
November 1 Baradwaj Rangan
November 8 T M Krishna
November 15 T M Krishna
November 19 T M Krishna