LECTURE RESCHEDULED: PLEASE NOTE THAT PROF. SUGATA RAY'S TALK IS BEING RESCHEDULED TO TUE, DEC 3 DUE TO THE POOR AIR QUALITY ON CAMPUS CAUSED BY THE ONGOING CALIFORNIA FOREST FIRES.
UC Berkeley's Institute for South Asia Studies is delighted to host a book reading and conversation around Professor Sugata Ray's new publication, Climate Change and the Art of Devotion: Geoaesthetics in the Land of Krishna, 15501850 (Global South Asia Series and the Art History Publication Initiative, University of Washington Press, 2019).
About the Book
In the enchanted world of Braj, the primary pilgrimage center in north India for worshippers of Krishna, each stone, river, and tree is considered sacred. In Climate Change and the Art of Devotion, Sugata Ray shows how this place-centered theology emerged in the wake of the Little Ice Age (ca. 15501850), an epoch marked by climatic catastrophes across the globe. Using the frame of geoaesthetics, he compares early modern conceptions of the environment and current assumptions about nature and culture.
A groundbreaking contribution to the emerging field of ecoart history, the book examines architecture, paintings, photography, and prints created in Braj alongside theological treatises and devotional poetry to foreground seepages between the natural ecosystem and cultural production. The paintings of deified rivers, temples that emulate fragrant groves, and talismanic bleeding rocks that Ray discusses will captivate readers interested in environmental humanities and South Asian art history.
Author Bio
Sugata Ray is Associate Professor of South and Southeast Asian art in the History of Art Department at the University of California, Berkeley. He is the author of Climate Change and the Art of Devotion: Geoaesthetics in the Land of Krishna, 15501850 (2019); Water Histories of South Asia: The Materiality of Liquescence (2019; coedited); and Ecologies, Aesthetics, and Histories of Art (forthcoming; coedited). His current book project is provisionally titled Matter, Material, Materiality: Indian Ocean Art Histories in the Early Modern World.
Read more about Prof. Ray HERE.
The South Asia Art Initiative, inaugurated in Spring 2018, is the culmination of a comprehensive art program, built over the past several years, that promoted conversation around the visual cultures of South Asia through talks, conferences, and exhibitions. The goal of the Initiative is to move onto the next level with local, national, and international collaborations that combine creative energies with insights drawn from scholarly research. To read more about the Initiative or to help support its various fundraising goals, please click HERE.
Event made possible with the support of the Sarah Kailath Chair of India Studies
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Event is FREE and OPEN to the public.
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PARKING INFORMATION: Please note that parking is not always easily available in Berkeley. Take public transportation if possible or arrive early to secure your spot.
