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In two recent gallery shows in New York female artists of Indian heritage emphasized the universal appeal and power of female Hindu deities. In India， taking such artistic license can stir controversy over crossing a religious line. When the Indian ad agency Taproot released an "Abused Goddesses" campaign in India in September， Jaine Wahi， an American curator of Indian descent， had a two-part reaction. First she liked it； then she didn't. In the campaign， photographs are taken of women dressed according to depictions of Hindu goddesses， but marred by bruises and op世俗艺术与激进主义并存论文资料由论文网www.udooo.com提供,转载请保留地址.en wounds. "Pray that we never see this day，" reads the accompanying message. "Today， more than 68 percent of women in India are victims of domestic violence. Tomorrow， it seems like no woman shall be spared. Not even the ones we pray to." "Initially I liked the campaign because it brought to light a lot of the social hypocrisy，" Wahi said in a recent phone interview. "But thenwhen I thought about， the less I liked it. It removes autonomy from women and makes the issue male-centric. They are targeting the abuser. They are saying： This is what you're doing to our women. This message further objectifies women and the ads weaken the goddess figure." The subject of who can tap Hindu goddess imagery and for what reasons has been stirring rising discussion， particularly in India， where some female artists are invoking goddess power in a year of notoriously brutal gang rapes. Here in New York， Wahi and artist， Manjari Sharma， recently held overlapping gallery shows that removed the Hindu goddesses from sacred religious ceremonies and invited the universal appreciation of anyone who walked in.
At Wahi's exhibit， "The Least Orthodox Goddess，" held at Gallery 151 in Manhattan， white walls were dotted with contemporary paintings， word-art and a solid white box with a hole， that if looked into， revealed an old-fashioned Hindi film actress， mid-song， with a cathedral inthe backdrop.
A few blocks away， at the ClampArt gallery， Sharma produced a very different atmosphere in her show "Darshan，" a Sanskrit word used to describe a connection between a deity and a mortal. Vedic verses， texts extracted from Hindu holy scriptures， permeated the air and were punctuated by the anecdotal crackling of oil lamps. Vibrant photographs depicting Hindu deities--four gods and four goddesses--occupied their own dark gray walls where the shadows of the flames are enhanced. The eight god and goddesses were chosen by Sharma herself， according to her own darshan， or idea of the personality and appearance of the god or goddess. In a phone interview， Sharma said that the relics that she used in the show are "meant to inspire moments of greatness from within us."Such a liberal concept can be easier for an artist to explore in New York City than in India， where Hindui， the country's foremost religion， celebrates goddesses in such major holidays as Diwali， which falls on Nov. 3 this year， and reveres Lakshmi， the goddess of wealth and fortune. In her honor， doors and windows are left open to welcome success and prosperity. Her altar is decorated with money and images of material items desired.
In the eastern Indian state of West Bengal， Shakila Sheikh， a housewife of humble means who creates collages of Hindu goddesses in an effort to empower women， has met with opposition because she is a Muslim， The Wall Street Journal reported on Aug. 10.
In April， artist Eleena Banik， based in Kolkata， in West Bengal， painted images of the goddess Kali baring breasts， which are usually covered by a garland of skulls. Banik， who is a Hindu， said she wanted to relate the irony of a place where goddesses are respected with so much reverence and yet women continue to be raped.
Banik received death threats by Hindus in India who were reported by NDTV as saying that women "cannot be compared to goddesses." Banik's paintings were taken down from the Jehangir Art Galleryin Mumbai prematurely and she received police protection.
In New York， Wahi staunchly defended the rights of artists such as Banik to use their own renditions of goddesses and not be世俗艺术与激进主义并存由提供海量免费论文范文的www.udooo.com,希望对您的论文写作有帮助. constrained by the defensive reactions of religious adherents. "I cannot stand it when people say that someone does not he the authority to utilize cultural artifacts. Frequently， the people who do subscribe to those cultural images use them for their own gains."
At Wahi's exhibit， "The Least Orthodox Goddess，" held at Gallery 151 in Manhattan， white walls were dotted with contemporary paintings， word-art and a solid white box with a hole， that if looked into， revealed an old-fashioned Hindi film actress， mid-song， with a cathedral inthe backdrop.
A few blocks away， at the ClampArt gallery， Sharma produced a very different atmosphere in her show "Darshan，" a Sanskrit word used to describe a connection between a deity and a mortal. Vedic verses， texts extracted from Hindu holy scriptures， permeated the air and were punctuated by the anecdotal crackling of oil lamps. Vibrant photographs depicting Hindu deities--four gods and four goddesses--occupied their own dark gray walls where the shadows of the flames are enhanced. The eight god and goddesses were chosen by Sharma herself， according to her own darshan， or idea of the personality and appearance of the god or goddess. In a phone interview， Sharma said that the relics that she used in the show are "meant to inspire moments of greatness from within us."Such a liberal concept can be easier for an artist to explore in New York City than in India， where Hindui， the country's foremost religion， celebrates goddesses in such major holidays as Diwali， which falls on Nov. 3 this year， and reveres Lakshmi， the goddess of wealth and fortune. In her honor， doors and windows are left open to welcome success and prosperity. Her altar is decorated with money and images of material items desired.
In the eastern Indian state of West Bengal， Shakila Sheikh， a housewife of humble means who creates collages of Hindu goddesses in an effort to empower women， has met with opposition because she is a Muslim， The Wall Street Journal reported on Aug. 10.
In April， artist Eleena Banik， based in Kolkata， in West Bengal， painted images of the goddess Kali baring breasts， which are usually covered by a garland of skulls. Banik， who is a Hindu， said she wanted to relate the irony of a place where goddesses are respected with so much reverence and yet women continue to be raped.
Banik received death threats by Hindus in India who were reported by NDTV as saying that women "cannot be compared to goddesses." Banik's paintings were taken down from the Jehangir Art Galleryin Mumbai prematurely and she received police protection.
In New York， Wahi staunchly defended the rights of artists such as Banik to use their own renditions of goddesses and not be世俗艺术与激进主义并存由提供海量免费论文范文的www.udooo.com,希望对您的论文写作有帮助. constrained by the defensive reactions of religious adherents. "I cannot stand it when people say that someone does not he the authority to utilize cultural artifacts. Frequently， the people who do subscribe to those cultural images use them for their own gains."