Transcript

This room traces through objects elements of different design movements that have made their way into our textiles today. The year leading to independence and post-independence saw a reflection of multiple movements from Bauhaus, Art Nouveau, Art Deco, Cubism, Surrealism,Orientalism, Minimalism, etc. in different realms of crafts. Textiles found different directions in terms of the transformation of aesthetics from traditional to contemporary, which involved interventions by designers in the weaving process. An array of these interventions were displayed as part of the textile exhibition series called Vishwakarma 1982–1990, followed by exhibitions such as Khadi: The Fabric of Freedom in 2002.  These series of design movements transformed the vision of designers and craftsmen. It directly or indirectly, as a result of interactions, influenced the evolution or revival of crafts. The processes, including spinning and weaving, complimented the shift in aesthetics. A change in materials, colours, and simplified patterns with play of lines and geometric contours was a result of these influences. 

The focus on the sarees in this room reveals that the saree, although perceived here through different design movements and their influences, is really a highly engineered draped garment that is fully constructed on the loom. Each saree was designed as a marker of identity. Differentiated by material, construction technique, texture, colour, pattern, dimension they reflect diverse communities, geography, culture, language, sometimes religion cross -cultural influences that emerge as you proceed through the room.