Socio-Political Dynamics of Nepali Paintings

About the Author Dr. Yam Prasad Sharma teaches English, art history and aesthetics at Lalit Kala Campus, Tribhuvan University. His area of research is contemporary Nepali art. He is the author of three books: 'Nepali Painting: A Critical Analysis', 'Contemporary Nepali Paintings: A Distinct Cluster, 'Creative Motions of K. K. Karmacharya, and coauthor of 'Alternative Art: Shifting Trends in Aesthetics.' He has written more than two dozen research articles that have been published in various journals, magazines, newspapers and art exhibition catalogs.

Introduction Nepali paintings explore the social and political issues of Nepal. The contents of the artworks have been closely related to the context. Artists grow in certain times and spaces. That environment and atmosphere have an impact upon the artist, and the same things have been reflected in their works in one way or other. When we view Nepali paintings throughout history, we can see the influence of contemporary social and political situations. Social convention and political power also determine the exhibition of artworks and the publication of art history and criticism. Traditional Nepali paintings are religious, mystical, symbolic, and didactic. Similar patterns can be found in the then society - gurus, yogis, and priests were at the top of the hierarchy teaching moral lessons, religion guided the society, the focus was on invisible and intangible aspects beyond concrete reality. During the Rana rule, the trend of painting portraits reached a climax, for the Ranas were self-centered and loved their own Image. The Rana rulers were influenced by British India. Similarly, the then Nepali paintings were influenced by western realistic techniques.

After the,'end of the Rana regime in 2007 B.S., the cross flow of people increased rapidly along with artists and artworks. Then, the western techniques of impressionism,' fauvism, expressionism, cubism, Dadaism, futurism, abstractionism, and surrealism flooded into the country along with the beginning of the democratic political system. Similar changes in arts can be seen with the change in political systems like the commencement of the Panchayat system (2017 B.S.), restoration of democracy (2046 B.S.), and the establishment of the republic (2065 B.S.). The colors of paintings change according to the color of society, politics, and power. Of course, some artworks foreshadow the change and revolution, but such works are rare in the context of Nepali art. This research attempts to trace the social and political dynamics of Nepali paintings.

Social and political aspects of contemporary context have been presented in Nepali paintings across history. Some works recognizably represent the socio- political issues whereas other works present something but signify something else creating the distance between what they depict and what they mean. Nevertheless, with thorough analysis and interpretation, political undercurrents can be traced in the artworks. The paintings have been created by the existing artists in the physical space and real-time. The artworks as the physical things stand there in front of us as real as we are now. The artist presents the real world, society, events, characters, experiences, feelings, or imagination. Even abstract concepts like feelings and imagination evolves from the artists in response to real context and their experiences. In this sense, the artworks are related to the socio-political context of contemporary Nepali society in one way or other.

Early Nepali paintings like manuscript illuminations, paubha, mandala, and patachitra are magical, mystical, and religious but most of the contemporary Nepali paintings are secular presenting everyday life, social issues, and political context. There is the movement from religiosity to secularity, mythical world to real-world, mythical characters to real characters of the society, grand narratives to small and individual narratives, magical to factual, didactic to expressive, closed- form to open-ended form, fixed significance to multiple significance. In each of these aspects, society and politics have been linked overtly or covertly.

Traditional Nepali paintings

Manuscript illuminations, the earliest Nepali paintings ever existed, are paintings painted on handwritten religious texts that are related to Hindu and Buddhist myths. Miniature paintings coexist with verbal texts in the manuscripts. The vision and sexuality are presented simultaneously to motivate the readers. Paubhas are also religious paintings that have a principal deity at the center surrounded by other subsidiary deities in the periphery. Some paubhas have been created in the shape of mandalas having geometric shapes like circles and squire around the central deity.

The geometric structure is such that it leads the viewer's eyes from the periphery to the center where the divinity resides. The mandala is also used as an instrument for concentration and meditation. Patachitra is a narrative scroll painting that tells mythical stories in visual form. The dominance of religious and mythical paintings in the then society reflects the power of religion in the community. Religion was at the center of social structure.

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