We are happy to see mainstream art museums in India dabbling with digital and trying to integrate technology with art. Jehangir Nicholson Art Foundation (JNAF), stationed inside Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya hosts collector Jehangir K.S. Nicholson’s art collection. JNAF collaborated with digital studio, Plane Crazy, to create gifs from elements and subjects in artist Jogen Chowdhury’s painting called Abanamita. The painting was created using ink and dry pastel on paper and is an unusually busy painting by the artist. Several elements and objects from the painting are isolated, digitised and turned into Instagram gifs. This small interactive project is hosted on Instagram and gifs can be found by searching for JNAF. The gifs can be arranged in different ways to create new, animated compositions that are versions of Chowdhury’s paintings.
Mainstream art displayed in polished museums and whitewashed galleries may seem intimidating. They are impossibly priced and are deemed sacrosanct, often discouraging people from indulging in art. We are glad to be able to play with works of mainstream art through a project initiated by the hosting foundation, and hope to see more such projects in the future.
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Feature image credit: JNAF
Title: Abanamita (Surrendered)
Date: 2000
Medium: Ink and dry pastel on Paper
Size: 74.5 x 109.7