The Process of Spiritualization Through Artistic Activity and Training
Traditional Indian artistic techniques are transmitted through lineages within the same family or through guru-student lineages via apprenticeship teaching. The objective of this project is to document and explain the process of creative spiritual transmission through artistic activity and training.
Rituals, symbols, and formalized artistic protocols have been incorporated into the training practices of traditional artistic communities. These practices have been acquired and transmitted through generations working on the same art forms. By documenting and explaining the process of creative spiritual transmission, our research will provide insight into the following questions: “Under what conditions and in what ways does participation in artistic activities encourage or stimulate spiritual understanding, insight, or growth? And what distinctive cognitive value does engagement with the arts generate?” We will be studying spiritual understanding and learning as well as the distinctive cognitive values that art generates on the individual and artistic community. We will also be addressing the concept of beauty. Is the expression of beauty already programmed into collective culture through artistic activities which are driven by communal spiritual factors? How much of these influences originate from spiritual/divine practice? Which particular spiritual practices? How have these rituals evolved over time and as a result of cultural influences?
We are studying two regional art forms in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India: miniature painting and phad. Through video recorded interviews of gurus and apprentices we seek to document the context of the artistic communities creating these art forms along with the patrons and buyers who commission these works, restorers, and the commercial agents who sell these art forms. We intend to take a cultural and ecological approach to understanding the origin and development of these art forms. We will document the process by which technical skills, cultural identities, and spirituality are transmitted via apprenticeship, in Jaipur. These art forms are acquired and transmitted by specialized artisan communities. We will be working with artisans who have a multigenerational history of producing miniature and phad art as their primary occupation. We also seek to document the broader artistic and cultural expertise surrounding these art forms by studying art experts, art restorers, religious authorities, and consumers of these art forms. Our broader objective is to understand these ancient art forms from historical, cognitive, socio-cultural, and religious perspectives.
Collaborators
- Project PI: Cristine Legare, Professor of Psychology and Director of the Center for Applied Cognitive Science, The University of Texas at Austin
- Alejandro Erut, Postdoctoral Researcher, Center for Applied Cognitive Science, The University of Texas at Austin
- Faiz Hashmi, Graduate Researcher, Center for Applied Cognitive Science, The University of Texas at Austin
- Akash Sharma, Field Research Coordinator
- Zach Taylor, Project Coordinator, Center for Applied Cognitive Science, The University of Texas
- Adrian Shepherd, CEO, Superfly Productions
Funding
This project is funded by the Templeton Religious Trust under its Art Seeking Understanding grant making strategy.
Field Sites
- Jaipur, India
Fieldwork
In January 2023, Alejandro Erut and Faiz Hashmi traveled to Jaipur to lay the groundwork for this study. Along with our local collaborator Akash Sharma, the team conducted extensive qualitative interviews with several phad and miniature artists, who ultimately informed the creation of our semi-structured interview tool. After Faiz and Ale returned to Austin, word about the study in Jaipur spread quickly among the local art community. Artists were eager to participate as it was seen as an opportunity to breathe life into these long-standing artistic traditions. In just 2 months, Akash and his wonderful team of data collectors interviewed over 200 artists in the Jaipur area! See some pictures from the trip to Jaipur below:
Documentary
Following data collection, the CACS team has partnered with a Jaipur-based production company called Superfly Productions. Lead by Adrian Shepherd, Superfly will collaborate with CACS to write and produce a 10 minute documentary piece highlighting the Art Seeking Understanding project in India. With this film, we hope to present Indian Miniature paintings from historical, cognitive, socio-cultural, and religious perspectives; to preserve and revitalize cultural heritage related to these art forms; and to highlight and promote the spiritual and cultural significance of the art form as well as the artistic community through an intergenerational lens. We will tell the story of miniature paintings through the lens of the artists themselves, featuring interviews with key figures in the Jaipur art community. Filming will begin in late July 2023.
Jaipur Data Collection Team
