The New Indian Kitsch!

^{“People want their worlds reflected on their walls and their pillows. The world isn’t a very stable place right now, and a lot of things don’t make sense to us. We don’t need our art to confuse us further. We want the familiar, the comfortable. We want to escape into an almost childish world of bold expressiveness, and a little pop art can take us just that much closer to it.”*}

^{*(As quoted by Radhika Lalla, Art and Culture critic)}

^{‘The New Indian Kitsch’ is an attempt to understand a new hybrid culture that has caught on into the contemporary Indian world in a big way. One sees a funky graphic of an Indian God on a bag, and the wearer is proud of his possession but more importantly of the statement being made. A deeper understanding of such a social psychology needs an intensive study, but never the less; this research is a brief documentation of the trend while trying to understand this symbolic and indigenous form of visual expression.}

^{What is ‘The New Indian Kitsch’? : To begin with, we first need to identify what we are looking at. This is the never before seen manifestation of everyday things from the daily life in a stereotypical Indian setting. When a local mundane thing is on a platform that is higher than the socially accepted norm, and expresses with a new vibrancy; it is The New Indian Kitsch.}

^{Its popularity lies in the fact that it instantly makes us nostalgic of a memory. In today’s clutter of a world filled with modern looking things, something familiar from our local environment fascinates and talks to us loudly and with sentimentality; even though we have been oblivious to it for the longest time ever. These are the things that we always uniquely owned, lost them and found them in a new place; although the emotion can sometimes be more superficial, it is better than not having a connect at all. As a trend, its emergence can be traced towards the beginning of this millennium. It gained momentum and peaked in the years of 2007-2008, nationally and internationally.}

^{So what inspires such expression? : ‘The New Indian Kitsch’ finds its inspiration in all the common man places; local festivals, street walls, local bazaars and markets, neighborhood people, everyday objects, etc. Such scenarios provide the nucleus from which the respective work develops.}

^{Iconography, Colours, Use and Interpretation : They iconography for such visual expression stems directly from the source of inspiration. People, Religion, Nature, Lifestyle, Transport and Entertainment can be the broader classifications of the Icons used. In the translation of the New Indian Kitsch, subjects are translated in their actual colours. As the original colours are bright, vibrant and local, that look is maintained. This is generally layered with supporting colourful graphics. Thus the punch of sentimentality is further strengthened; a black and yellow taxi with the bright yellow stripes in the back ground on the surface of a tray! Art, Fashion, Exhibits, Products, Publication, Styling; these are some of the primary areas where this trend has strongly made a presence.}

^{Contemporaries?? Contemporary design practitioners in India from various areas of design have also widely used it in their creations. One such example is Manish Arora, who is hailed as the king of kitsch in Fashion, due to his generous incorporation of the kitschy Indian world. Fish Fry was a one such label dedicated to these creative whims of Manish Arora. As he puts it, “Everybody is looking at the booming India at this moment. It is as if the world has just discovered a new land. And I am very much part of that discovery,” he said. “If outsiders are looking at us, then that makes us look at ourselves harder. That is what I am doing. We are changing so rapidly. I draw my inspiration from this moment of transition.”}

^{Krsna Mehta, a designer turned artist, has created a wide range of lifestyle products featuring India or to be more precise, Mumbai unedited. ‘Mumbai Masti’, ‘Good Earth’ and ‘Bombay Project’ have been his premier explorations into the world of kitsch. In the medium of print and interactive communication, Grandmother Design has set the example. Mumbadevi and Bhavishyawani are some of their projects that articulate their take on the Indian kitsch; “Very simply, Indian. The Indian aesthetic is an idea whose time has come. Indian design ideas are among the most unique, varied and original. This includes both the traditional, and is incredibly rich and varied street culture. We believe all this is set to make an impact globally. Aren’t we lucky to be here now?” says Kurnal Rawat, the Director of Grandmother Design.}

^{What else can be done? This kind of a visual language can be used very effectively to reach out to the masses with a message that requires basic understanding. For example an AIDS awareness campaign can be propagated creatively in such a manner. It would thus receive a direct connect from its audience.}

^{Another interesting understanding of this could be using location specific local culture in communication material. This would give an interesting variation to communication design making it indigenous and unique at every level.}

^{Why not have the Indian Currency with kitsch Indian motifs on it. It is the honest face of contemporary India. Such a series would be an interesting break from the same Money that we have been seeing over the years.}

^{For Example,}

^{Rs.5 - Bi cycle}

^{Rs.10 - Rickshaw}

^{Rs.20 - Taxi}

^{Rs.50 - Bus}

^{Rs.500- Train}

^{Or even Indian Postal stamps for that matter?}

^{Digging deeper... Due to this unapologetic expression of Indian Kitsch, people have once again started looking back into their own culture (India) for inspiration and stories. It has thus made way for a confident expression of Indian creativity in every field- Graphic Design, Fashion, Styling, etc. The same old monotonous traditional Indian inspirations were being used for too long. The Indian Kitsch refreshed the scene and set the compass once again.}

^{This is still an exploration of more superficial yet authentic life around us. But what is interesting is that it has also lead to the exploration of other serious Indian crafts as well. At the end of it all, it has made us question our Indian visual sense very strongly. Thus in the future it is likely that we will get to see a lot of creative work coming out of India which will be more rooted in our culture, colours, habits... in who we are.}















Inspiration!















'Styling' (Mumbadevi | Shilpa Chavan + Grandmother Design)













'Lifestyle' (Bombay Masti | Krsna Mehta)




















Why not?
(visual ref: Mumbai Masti)


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