Non Canonical Arts and Craft Trad

Primitive and Folk Arts of India

Simplification of Forms and Directness
in Expression in Painting, Sculpture, etc.
Forms, Materials and Design Sensibility
Transformations of Lived Experiences and
Nature in Toys, Puppetry, Textiles and
Decorative Arts.

Non-canonical art
Non-canonical art
An art form which is not strictly bound by any set
of rules

Craft
A skill especially involving practical art.
The purpose used to be purely commercial.

A theory of craft function and aesthetic

expression
By Howard Risatti
The art of craftsmen is a bond between the
peoples of the world.
As she suggests all the world peoples are
bound together by the creation of craft objects
offer a meaningful example of our shared
heritage as human beings, a shared heritage
that in many ways outweighs our superficial
differences. Appreciation of this can only
happen, however we can come to know and

Traditional crafts are innovations of yesterday. Crafts

define not only the cultural moorings but also the
search for economic sustenance. The craftsman derive
their inspiration from nature and their surroundings.
Crafts reflect the immense creativity of ordinary
people and their quest for self-expression and
fulfillment. Just as human evolution, crafts also evolve
over time by mixing and churning influences and
events.
A countrys creative history is decipherable from the
metal, pottery, textiles, and score of other crafts,
which were prevalent in its different regions.
There are more than 23 million craftsmen engaged in
different crafts sector and it is estimated that there are
over 360 craft clusters in India.

Why craft appreciation?

To understand human evolution.

To understand the evolution of human
intellect.
To understand original designs and
designers.
To create anything new we need to
understand craft.

CRAFT
Puppetry
Toys
Textiles
Decorative art

Forms, materials & Design sensibility

Very simplified forms.
Used easily available materials.
Studying the characteristics of a
particular characters craftsmen
translated those into simple forms for
common mans understanding using
the colors, simple proportions,
costumes and accessories.

Puppetry
It started for storytelling and became a
very strong medium of communication.
Its a way to communicate with the
audience.
The puppetry is one of the most ancient
forms of entertainment and amusement.
Besides providing enjoyment, they also
convey a meaningful message to the
village folks.
This started with mythological themes
and has moved to contemporary subjects

Indian puppetry
Stylized and symbolic
Dont follow human anatomical details.
Characters are differentiated using head size,
huge & small eyes, chest size, beards etc.
(Rama & Ravana)
Colors signify special qualities.(Devils are
depicted in black or red while divine
characters are painted in white, yellow and
blue)
Body language

Traditional Rajasthani puppets

Materials: Good
fabric for costume,
colors to give facial
expressions, plaster
of Paris or clay
modeling to make
body, wood material
for face and other
items, invisible
threads to play and
colorful papers are
used in the puppet
show.

Shadow Puppetry
Shadow puppetry is an ancient form of
storytelling and entertainment using
opaque, often articulated figures in front
of an illuminated backdrop to create the
illusion of moving images.
Shadow puppets were flat figures made
of animal skins, cut into a human or
animal shape.
Rods operated from below were

Chinese shadow Puppetry

Javanese Shadow Puppetry

ABOUT SHADOW PUPPETRY

In India, puppets appeared with wires controlling them
from above, rather than rods from below. In these
early, primitive marionettes, one string went through
the crown of the puppet, and ran through the puppet's
arms and legs. Known as "string puppets," the puppet
would move by jiggling the string.
Shadow Puppets of Andhra Pradesh are
wandering entertainers and peddlers that pass
through an Indian village during the course of a yearoffering to sing ballads, tell fortunes, sell
amulets, perform acrobatics, charm snakes,
weave fishnets, do tattoos, mend pots. It is an
ancient custom by which for centuries before radio,
movies, and television- the knowledge of Hindu epics

Contemporary puppets

Marionettes
Marionettes are puppets that are threedimensional figures with strings attached
to various body parts.
The strings run up to a controller, known
as an "airplane," that is held by the
puppeteer.
Basic marionettes have approximately
nine strings, usually attached to hands,
feet, joints such as elbows and knees, the
back and the head. More complex
marionettes can have more than 30
strings.

Toy-craft
Playing with handmade toys and fondling the
collectible dolls, the child learns his first lessons
of survival and conduct. Replicating both the
tangible and fantasy worlds, the toys and dolls
map the socio-cultural history of any given
society. From the simplest human figures carved
out of stone, to the most modern G.I.Joes and
Barbie dolls, civilization has moved on and on.
.Wood, stone, clay, cloth, fur and leather are used
to recreate figures and events from the palpable
world and also from the imaginary world of
folklore, legends and myths. They are the
repositories of traditional wisdom and cultural
heritage.

Terracotta Toys
from Chattisgarh and Bastar

intrinsically related to the social and religious rites of a

community

Bamboo Toys
Bamboo is actually a very versatile plant
Almost any wooden toy you can imagine can be
made from bamboo.
Different types of finishes can be given to
bamboo.

Coconut Toys

Sawantwadi wooden Toys

Wooden toys

Textiles
Kalamkari textiles
Ikat
Kantha

Kalamkari
Originally a Persian word meaning "drawing
on cloth". Whilst the technique probably
existed several centuries before, the style as
we know it today emerged from the great
craft schools that sprang up under the
patronage of the Moghul emperors about
three centurie ago. ...

 There are two distinctive styles of kalamkari

art in India - one, the Srikalahasti style and
the other, the Machalipatnam style of art.
The Srikalahasti style of Kalamkari, wherein
the "kalam" or pen is used for free hand
drawing of the subject and filling in the
colours, is entirely hand worked. This style
flowered around temples and their patronage
and so had an almost religious identity scrolls, temple hangings, chariot banners and
the like, depicted deities and scenes taken
from the great Hindu epics - Ramayana.
Mahabarata, Puranas and the mythological
classics. This style owes its present status to
Smt. Kamaladevi Chattopadhayay who
popularised the art as the first Chairperson of

Kantha
Kantha comprises of the simplest stitch in
the language of embroidery - the running
stitch.
Generally it has a bold central design of a large
flower with tendrils of leaves around it. A variety
of stitches are used to convey the many textures
and patterns found in nature.
Kantha is a type of embroidery popular in
Bangladesh and in West Bengal, India. The use of
kantha is popular in saris traditionally worn by
women in Bengal, but any garment or cloth with

Ikat
The word ikat means to bind. It is a
very ancient way of creating designs in
fabric by resist-dyeing the threads before
the fabric is woven. In Thailand, villagers
take the weft (crosswise filling threads)
and tie tiny bits of plastic onto the threads.
The tightly tied areas of thread, when put
into the dye pot, resist the color and
create a pattern, once the plastic ties are
removed.

Thai ikat

Ikat from Ujbekistan

Decorative art

Mehandi
Tattoos
Toran
Rangoli