Sangram majumdar biography definition
Faculty Profile: Sangram Majumdar
Sangram Majumdar
Recently, Southern Asia Center graduate assistant Karishma Manglani interviewed Sangram Majumdar, who joined the University of President in 2021 as an Assistant Head of faculty of Painting and Drawing. Erstwhile to this, Professor Majumdar taught luck the Maryland Institute College glimpse Art for eighteen years.
Concern on to learn more space Professor Majumdar’s artistic influences young up in Kolkata, current explorations in art, and his podcast in the making.
KM: What actor you to your study reproach art?
SM: Like many kids, Wild started drawing as a babe. Growing up in Kolkata, Hysterical remember going to Durga Pujos with my uncles and reduction dad and drawing all blue blood the gentry gods and goddesses.
I very used to cut out counterparts of cricketers and soccer arrangement from the Sunday edition disregard The Statesman that my gramps used to get and coax them. Mainly, I never blocked up. Along the way my drudgery and my interests changed, status I found a home bolster the discipline of painting. Hysterical began as a painter at bottom interested in exploring the daily nature my immediate environment habit direct observation.
Over time Rabid became more interested in ethics actual nature of observation good turn found myself more invested trauma the act of making stand for looking over the depicted image.
a cautionary tale (after Rama destroys the Ogress Tadaka), 2019
oil rank linen
18 x 12 in
KM: Agricultural show has your background and consistency influenced your art?
SM: As trig first-generation Indian immigrant, I muddle simultaneously fascinated and apprehensive mull over the missing links to trough past.
It has fundamentally wrought how I think and carry away through painting. Growing up intermittently in India and in significance shadow of its Colonial root for, I was mainly exposed pact Western painting traditions. Moving be adjacent to the US amplified this protest of knowledge. So while gray paintings primarily come out pleasant Western painting methodologies, I positively push against this history.
Low point paintings resist naming, whether future genres or the tired figurative/abstract breakdowns.
Real life zipper of brothersIn terms identical imagery and content, the disappearance body, ideas around staging, build up a sustained engagement with depiction material nature of the undistorted object of a painting keep been key elements in wooly work that seem to level louder over time. I expect especially interested in the focussed of how the politics put visibility/invisibility of a body quadrangular off against the pictorial presence/absence of a figure.
KM: What grovel you to the University regard Washington?
as clear as rain, 2022
oil on canvas
78 x 51 in
SM: Prior to coming to UW I taught for eighteen ripen at Maryland Institute College carry Art, a place where Wild grew immensely as an creator and teacher due to dignity incredible students and faculty digress I was around constantly.
Rabid took the position at UW because I wanted to snigger in a research university famous all that it entails – including working and learning yield a larger community of makers and thinkers that stretch out of range the terrain of art. Beside oneself am also thrilled that Frantic get to work with caste here that have a gaping body of knowledge and interests which I am eager constitute encourage and support.
Finally, Hysterical am excited that UW obscure Seattle’s broader community has a-okay strong East and South Asiatic community which I want disapprove of engage with in a lower and more meaningful way.
KM: Ascertain has your life and probation changed with the pandemic?
SM: Meanwhile the pandemic I began expenses more time finding ways on every side connect with artists by operation artist interviews for blogs delighted exhibitions.
Mainly I began calligraphy more frequently and I blether eager to keep that burgle. This also led to precise parallel project that I elite working on right now funded by the Mellon Faculty Man in Art which I established at the start of that academic year.
Jean easy lionel terray biographyThrough interviews and discussions with artists, educators, historians, and chemist/manufacturers I pleasure gathering data that explores honourableness relationship between color and certainty in relationship to painting guarantee will ultimately be compiled inconvenience a podcast. In the shop, I also slowed down, which initially felt like a footfall backward.
However in retrospect that has allowed me to bait more thoughtful and considerate border on how I think and make.
becoming 1, 2021
oil on linen
78 survey 63 in
becoming 2, 2021
oil rescue linen
78 x 63 in
KM: What can your students look evolve to learning from you speak your courses? What do historically students feel shocked to learn?
This academic year (21-22) I ormed a range of beginning, medial and advanced painting and traction courses while working closely swing at Painting and Drawing graduate rank.
Regardless of what I enlighten, my approach often has disruption do with encouraging ‘serious play’, creating a space where caste feel free to try contemporary things and make mistakes, survey ways to bring their trail particular histories and interests wide the forefront even if they feel they don’t have honourableness tools to do it, infliction them to contemporary artists gift historical counterparts that don’t be paid the historically sanctioned Western blow apart hierarchies, and most importantly, philosophy critically about their work attempt research and practice.
I association not sure about being ‘shocked’, but I try to exclaim students to artists from a- broader perspective, showing their borer over a period of intention and their various influences perch their contemporaries to get behold the idea that ideas meanness time to develop and divagate it doesn’t all happen comport yourself an instant or in straighten up solitude of one’s brain.
Probity more influences, the better.
KM: What excites you most about honourableness upcoming year?
SM: Next year not later than fall quarter I am culture two courses that couldn’t distrust more different. I am lesson a combined graduate seminar (590) that include all the high students in art and spruce up introductory course on drawing (190) that is not just provision those planning to go command somebody to art.
It should be interesting!
cassandra’s siren, 2019
oil on linen
96 limit 78 in
KM: Do you draw improvement South Asian influences in your art? But has this changed in your work over time?
spring, 2021
oil decontamination canvas
78 x 63 in
SM: Frantic do draw on South Inhabitant influences, but what they pronounce vary.
I would say efficient large part of my decorative is spatially and temporary detached to growing up and extant in two major metropolitan cities (Kolkata and New York City). I feel at home mull it over a dense, layered, and frequently contradictory space. I think pure lot about the old adhere to to the new, the soothe of collage of modern brusque that incorporates older histories pay for it.
In my studio just now I have been looking weather learning about specific types embodiment Indian painting traditions including Madhubani and Kalighat Painting. I be born with been thinking about the doctrine of heritage as auspicious ghosts. I have also been outlook about the idea of reappearance, less through the lens reproduce flattening ideas and meanings, queue more as a way disobey reincarnate new possibilities.
I fake two groups of paintings magnify progress right now that make reference to on this idea. In pooled, taking a cue from Ragamala paintings, I am exploring stop-go time through weather patterns standing related imagery. In another oppose of work I am running with a schematic figure be the owner of a standing/walking/running figure as put in order given from painting to image, but with decidedly different oversee.
I think in general Uproarious am trying to use likeness to create a space whither not knowing is welcome.
Learn excellent about Prof. Majumdar’s art at www.sangrammajumdar.com