What Is a Trade?: Donald Fels and Signboard Painters of South India - Softcover

Bell, Greg; Fels, Donald; Parker, Samuel K.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0924335262 ISBN 13: 9780924335266

Publisher: Tacoma Art Museum, 2008

Synopsis

What Is a Trade? Donald Fels and Signboard Painters of South India presents sixteen large-scale paintings that explore trade and globalization in India. Fels' conceptual starting point for this exhibition was Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama's 1498 voyage to Malabar, India, in search of a direct sea route for the spice trade. What is a Trade? explores the historic and modern-day legacy of that expedition more than 500 years later.

In 2004 and 2005, Fels traveled to Kerala (formerly Malabar), India, as a Fulbright Senior Research Scholar, to work with local commercial signboard painters on a body of work that examines globalization in India and traces its roots to Vasco's voyage. Most of the signboard painters had formerly worked as billboard painters -- until recently, all billboards in India were hand-painted, but cheaper and more efficient inkjet printers are making the painters obsolete. In light of this trend, Fels and his collaborators created work in the style of traditional hand-painted billboards and Bollywood advertising. The bright colors and strong graphic narratives make visually arresting statements about the historic and contemporary effects of trade and globalization.

About this title

About the Author:

Greg Bell is curator and collection coordinator, 4Culture; Samuel K. Parker is associate professor, Interdisciplinary arts and sciences, University of Washington, Tacoma.

About this edition

• Publisher: Tacoma Art Museum
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0924335262
• ISBN 13: 9780924335266
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 80