Cultural Studies - Page 6

Malik F. Mukanov¹, Gulfiya T. Meldesh² & Ayaulym M. Hurbekova¹

¹Department of Fine Arts, T.K. Zhurgenov Kazakh National Academy of Arts, Almaty, Republic of Kazakhstan

²Department of the Fine Arts and Drawing, Abai Kazakh National Pedagogical University, Almaty, Republic of Kazakhstan. E-mail: mmukanov@tanu.pro

 Volume 13, Number 1, 2021 I Full Text PDF
DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v13n1.46

The Image of the Goddess Umay in the Contemporary Fine Art Culture of Kazakhstan

Abstract

The article examines the ethnographic and art-history aspects of the reflection of the artistic image of the ancient Turkic goddess Umay in the modern visual culture of Kazakhstan. The image of this goddess is one of the most widespread in the work of modern Kazakhstani artists, who refer to the symbolism of Tengrian culture in their works. Each of the masters, due to their individual worldview and creative style, interprets it in their own way, thereby enriching the modern visual culture of independent Kazakhstan. It is also necessary to mention that the embodiment of symbols and artistic images of the ancient Turkic Tengrian culture by contemporary artists of Kazakhstan in the visual arts reflects the desire to preserve and rethink the national identity in the context of globalisation processes. The study is an attempt at art criticism analysis based on the application of the hermeneutic methodology of numerous author’s interpretations of the artistic image of the goddess in the fine arts of modern Kazakhstan. The study of the problem of finding and embodying artistic images of the Goddess Umay, reflecting the sacred and mythological aspects of the Tengrian worldview, traditional for the nomadic peoples of the Great Steppe, in the visual culture of modern Kazakhstan, has an important theoretical and educational and methodological value. The conclusions of this study can be used and continued not only in the historical and theoretical works of art historians, cultural experts but also in research and educational-methodical works, when creating courses on the history and theory of fine and applied arts, scientific projects of the teaching staff, students, undergraduates and doctoral students, as well as in the artistic practice and creative activity of contemporary artists.

Keywords: Turkology, Tengrianism, Tengrian worldview, author’s painting of Kazakhstan.

Taranjeet Kaur Chawla¹ Shiv Shankar Sharma² Rayaz Hassan³

¹Ph.D. Research Scholar, Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, Manipal University Jaipur, Rajasthan-India. ORCID id: 0000-0002-5336-1964. Email id: ms.kaur011@gmail.com

²Ph.D. Research Scholar, Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, Manipal University Jaipur, Rajasthan-India. Email id: shiv.sharma6969@gmail.com   

³Associate Professor, Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, Manipal University Jaipur, Rajasthan-India. Email id: rayaz.hassan@jaipur.manipal.edu              

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­ Volume 13, Number 1, 2021 I Full Text PDF
DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v13n1.40

The Cultural Expressions and Representation of National Identity- A Study of the Indian Singing Reality Television Show “Sa Re Ga Ma Pa”

Abstract

This paper aims to understand the narrative structure of Indian singing reality television show to identify the representation of national identity. By focusing on the “Sa Re Ga Ma Pa” show format, this paper has followed the work of Vladimir Propp to examine the cultural expressions with the sequential development of the narrative plot. The convergent parallel mixed method has been using to collect quantitative and qualitative data. While using the Likert scale, the reliability of the questionnaire has been calculated and reported Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for internal consistency reliability. The quantitative data has gathered from 205 respondents and 99 episodes aired from 2017 to 2019 have analysed in qualitative data, which is followed by data analysis through IBM SPSS Statistics.  By analysing the quantitative and qualitative data this paper finds that the cultural expressions reveal the notion of national identity through the representation of ‘ordinary’ people and emphasis on performances by focusing on the structured format of Indian reality television. The paper indicates the ways where the viewers of the society can connect with cultural expressions through the genre of reality television.

Keywords: Cultural expressions, Indian reality television, Narrative analysis, National identity, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, Vladimir Propp.

Swathi Sudhakaran¹ & Milind Brahme²

¹Ph.D. candidate, Humanities and Social Sciences Department, IIT Madras. ORCID id: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9599-0881. Email id: ammusswathi@gmail.com

²Associate Professor, Humanities and Social Sciences department, IIT Madras

ORCHID id: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5427-4611. Email id: brahme@iitm.ac.in

 Volume 13, Number 1, 2021 I Full Text PDF
DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v13n1.26

Aesthetics of Excess: The Singing and Dancing of Pey in the Folktales from Ka?isial Kadu

Abstract

The article explores the singing and dancing of pey, a dual spirit (benevolent and malevolent) found in the folktales from Ka?isial K?du (the area around Tuticorin district in southern Tamil Nadu, India) as embodying aesthetics of excess. The tales have been collected by Ki. Rajanarayanan in Na?upu?a Katai Kalañiya? (repository of folktales). Although a dual spirit, pey belongs to the sacred in Ka?isial K?du. The divine world of Ka?isial K?du populated by folk deities conceptualizes sacred differently from the scriptural religion and its pantheon of pan-Indian deities. This divide in the divine world becomes apparent in an aesthetic that characterizes the singing and dancing of the pey in these stories. As a response to and a manifestation of an excess it disturbs composure and does not fit into the controlled and transcendental aesthetics of N??ya??stra. The paper studies this deviant aesthetics associated with the singing and dancing of pey and its function in Ka?isial K?du through the lens of the Nietzchean category of the Dionysian.

Keywords: aesthetics, aesthetics of excess, folk deities, dionysian, Ka?isial K?du

Diganta Bhattacharya

Assistant Professor, Department of English, Sundarvan Mahavidyalaya, West Bengal & Research Scholar, Presidency University. Email: diganta.bhat@gmail.com

 Volume 13, Number 1, 2021 I Full Text PDF
DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v13n1.16

  Post-Enlightenment Exploration and the Aesthetic of Information: Curious with a Purpose

Abstract:

Exploration accounts written during the post-Enlightenment era of European expansion relied upon the agency of a romanticized narrator who could inspire a dedicated readership since he strategically projected the ‘performance’ of exploration as necessarily hazardous and hence, awe-inspiring. The concomitant element of romance was further emphasized in such texts since the precarious and vulnerable position of the explorer-narrator functioned as a much-needed foil to the sort of objectivist-detached discourse of functional intelligence that exploration narratives were increasingly expected to generate. The elaborate, methodical, organized and professional performance of overseas exploration needs to be understood as a targeted activity that utilized specific narratorial devices with an aim to make use of the widespread curiosity about the New World.  This essay seeks to address the post-Enlightenment emergence of an ‘aesthetic of information’ along with its discursive trappings and epistemological frameworks which were ‘realized’ within a subculture of geographical exploration. ‘Knowledge’ aspired to be defined by empirical rigour, but the process of accessing and documenting it could scarcely avoid subjective variables.

Keywords: Enlightenment, Exploration, Knowledge, Information, Romantic, Aesthetic, Science, Functional, Empirical, Baconian, Curiosity

Abdesh Toleubayev¹, Rinat Zhumatayev² & Samat Shakenov³

^1,2,3Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Republic of Kazakhstan.

Correspondence: zhumatayevr@gmail.com

 Volume 12, Number 6, 2020 I Full Text PDF

DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v12n6.21

 Abstract

The article contains the reconstruction of the Shilikty “Golden Man” clothing based on multidisciplinary studies of the archeological material from the royal kurgan “Baigetobe” in the Tarbagatai foothills. The authors describe in detail the reconstruction of the anthropological appearance and the results of studying organic samples from the burial complex, as well as explain the final shape of royal attire and justify the details and components of the reconstructed costume. The methodological basis of the study is the systemic approach that allows one to view the categories of the Saka royal clothing as profound systems. Within the approach, the methodology and the recreation of ancient royal clothing rely on a wide range of analogies from Eurasian Saka-Scythian monuments and ethnographic materials. Based on these monuments and materials, the authors have established that certain elements in the clothing of early nomads of Kazakhstan have more in common with the clothing of neighboring tribes of Asian steppes in the early Iron Age. This is evident in the cut, detailing and the décor of clothing recovered from such monuments as Pazyryk, Katanda, Tuyekta and Akalakha. The methodological challenge to study clothing based on archeological data is primarily related to the condition of the source. The authors briefly characterize the organic probes from the kurgan burial chamber that have been studied using regular and digital microscopes and conclude that the clothing of the Shilikty Man was colorful. Within the framework of multidisciplinary research, the authors have conducted an anthropological study of the skeletal remains and the sculptural reconstruction of the person from the Baigetobe kurgan. Anthropologically, this person belongs to the mixed Caucasoid and Mongoloid type with prevalent Caucasoid elements, which agrees with the anthropological features of the ancient population of Central Asia in the early Iron Age. Therefore, gold jewelry, the quality of fabrics and the multilevel burial structure confirm the high profile of the Shilikty Golden Man. The conclusions and results can be used for the reconstruction of the composite image of the nomadic nobility in Central Asia in the early Saka period.

Keywords: Shilikty, Tarbagatai, reconstruction, Saka-Scythian world, clothing, Golden Man.

Daria Yurievna Ermilova

Russian State University of Tourism and Service. Email: id311@yandex.ru

 Volume 12, Number 6, 2020 I Full Text PDF

DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v12n6.20

Abstract

The article traces the transformation of visualization of a person’s ethnicity through costumes – from traditional to modern. The object of the study is to understand the costume as an informational and sign structure. The topic of the study is the visualization of ethnicity through costumes from a historical perspective. The study aims to identify the specific characteristics of visualization of ethnicity in traditional and modern costumes. The study hypothesis is that, unlike traditional costumes that demonstrated regional and national affiliation, modern “Western” clothing has mostly lost these functions. Although in some regions costumes are still relevant as a “living” tradition, national clothing is disappearing from everyday life. Ethnic style using regional and national traditions as a source of stylization does not present an indicator of a person’s nationality. Nevertheless, some examples of modern clothing visualizing ethnicity can be found. The functional and semiotic approaches to the analysis of costumes serve as the basis of the study. Since the late Middle Ages, the development of urban dress in Western Europe has been determined by fashion rather than tradition. In Russia, the process of an urban costume losing the function of visualization of ethnicity began with the reforms of Peter the Great and for peasants’ costumes, this process did not start until the middle of the 20th century. At the beginning of the 21st century, traditional costumes were mostly worn by ethnic minorities as a symbol of national identity and self-affirmation. Referring to others’ traditions as a source of fashion innovations led to the emergence of ethnic style. Ethnic style is characterized by a superficial attitude towards the source. Ethnodesign, on the other hand, follows the principle of deep and thoughtful care about the tradition which gains relevance due to the rise of glocalization manifesting in the intensification of regional differences. Although the proponents of ethnodesign insist on the ability of design to integrate traditional ethnic symbols into modern culture, the question is about the ability of modern people to understand the meanings contained in traditional forms remains. The present article identifies the cases of a costume serving the function of visualization of ethnicity in modern society.

Keywords: visualization, ethnicity, traditional costume, ethnodesign, modern costume, functions of a costume.