Apr. 13, 2010: Indian storytelling art at Wellesley College

WHILE INDIA'S GUNNED TRIBE

HAS PERFORMED THEIR

STORY-TELLING RITUALS FOR

AGES, IT IS ONLY WITHIN

THE PAST TWO DECADES THAT

ANYONE OUTSIDE THE TRIBE

HAS REALLY BEEN ABLE TO

APPRECIATE THEIR ART.

NOW, WE CAN AS WELL.

WITH A NEW SHOW AT THE

DAVIS MUSEUM.

JARED BOWEN HAS MORE.

>> THIS IS THE WORK THAT

STOPPED CURATOR JOHN BOWLS

IN HIS TRACKS DURING HIS

TRAVELS THROUGH INDIA IN

THE MID-1990s.

>> FOR ME TO COME ACROSS

THIS ART AND SEE IT WAS

VERY MUCH ALIVE.

IT WAS TERRIBLY EXCITING.

AND I WAS QUITE AMAZED BY

IT.

>> Reporter: ON THESE

WALLS AT WELLESLEY COLLEGE

AT DAVIS MUSEUM HANGS THE

ART OF INDIA'S GAND TRIBE.

THEY, AS A PEOPLE, HAVE

BEEN LITERARY LEGEND IN

KIPLING'S BOOK, THE JUNGLE

BOOK.

>> IN KIPLING'S STORIES,

THEY'RE THE HUMAN

BACKDROP, AND HERE THEY

ARE IN THE FOREGROUND.

THEY HAVE THEIR OWN

STORIES TO TELL.

>> Reporter: GAND ART

WAS LIFTED FROM OBSCURITY

BY THE GOVERNMENT IN THE

LATE 1990s.

THE WEST TOOK NOTICE, AND

THE ART WENT GLOBAL.

BUT ITS ROOTS AND

TRADITIONS REMAIN ENTIRELY

UNAFFECTED.

>> THEY WERE REALLY THE

TRANSMITTERS OF CULTURE

AND MEANING OF MYTHOLOGIES

AND ORAL HISTORY.

>> Reporter: THESE

PAINTINGS ARE RICH WITH

MYTHS.

THIS ONE TELLING THE STORY

OF BAMBOOS SACRED ORIGINS.

HOW IT CAME INTO BEING

WHEN A BOY BURIED SOME OF

HIS SISTER'S REMAINS AFTER

THE REST OF HER HAD BEEN

CANABALIZED BY THE REST OF

THE FAMILY.

>> THERE ARE FORKLORE. FOLKLORE.

>> THERE IS GLOBAL WARMING

AND CUTTING THE TREES.

>> Reporter: IN HIS ART

CENTER, IT IS THE WORK THE

ARTIST PAINTED IN RESPONSE

TO WHAT HE WITNESSED

DURING THE 2008 TERRORIST

ATTACK IN MUMBAI.

IT REVEALS THE TRIBE'S

RESOURCEFULNESS IN THE

MODERN WORLD.

>> THEY ARE NOT JUST

VICTIMS.

THEY ARE IN CHARGE OF

THEIR OWN DESTINY IN MANY

WAYS.

>> Reporter: OUT OF

OBSCURITY AND INTO THE

MAINSTREAM, GAND ARTISTS

HAVE REACHED MUSEUMS AND

EVEN FILM AS THEY HAVE

BEEN COMMISSIONED TO WORK

ON CHILDREN'S PROGRAMMING.

IT IS TO THE TESTAMENT OF

THE TRIBE THAT THEIR GIFT

FOR A MORE VIBRANT

STORY-TELLING HAS ENDURED

FOR CENTURIES AND RESONATE

THE WORLD OVER.

>> Rooney: AND JARED

BOWEN JOINS ME.

ARE THESE DONE BY AN

INDIVIDUAL ARTIST OR A

COLLABORATIVE?

>> SIX DIFFERENT ARTISTS

ARE IN THE MUSEUM.

AND THEN BEN HAS A SHOW AT

THE ARTS CENTER.

I WAS TALKING TO BEN CAT

ABOUT A PARTICULAR PIECE I

LIKE, AND IT TURNS OUT IT

WAS HIS UNCLE.

SO THIS IS ALL VERY MUCH

IN THE FAMILY AND IT GETS

PASSED DOWN.

BUT HE SAYS HIS CHILDREN

AREN'T TAKING IT UP YET

BECAUSE HE WANTS THEM TO

GET THEIR EDUCATION FIRST.

>> Rooney: THE TECHNIQUE

IS ALL THE SAME.

IS IT MECHANICAL OR DO

HAVE TO BE AN ARTIST?

>> THERE IS A LITTLE BIT

OF CONTROVERSY ABOUT WHAT,

SORT OF THE TECH --

ESPECIALLY WITH THE DOT

COMES FROM.

IT REALLY ORIGINATED WITH

THIS ARTIST WHO GOT THE

MOVEMENT GOING WHEN THE

STATE GOVERNMENT IN INDIA

WANTED TO ELEVATE THE GOND

ART.

THEY TAPPED HIM TO START

DOING MORE WORK, AND HIS

WORK WENT INTO MUSEUMS,

AND THE TRIBE AS A WHOLE

STARTED TO PRODUCE THEIR

OWN WORK.

>> Rooney: WOULD ABOUT

JOHN BOWLS.

>> HE SPENT A LOT OF TIME

STUDYING MEXICAN TRIBES

AND THE ART THERE.

AND SPENDS A LOT OF TIME

IN INDIA, AND STILL SPENDS

A LOT OF TIME IN INDIA.

ALL OF THE WORK IN THAT

COLLECTION WAS HIS.

HE'LL EVENTUALLY DONATE TO

MUSEUMS.

HE IS A TERRIFIC ACADEMIC

IN TERMS OF GETTING TO

KNOW THESE ARTISTS AND

SPREADING THE WORK.

>> Rooney: IS THIS A

BUSINESS FOR THE GOND

TRIBE?

>> IT HAS CERTAINLY

CHANGED.

PEOPLE -- CYNICS SAY NOW

COMMERCE HAS ENTERED THE

FRAY AND THEY'RE NOT THE

ARTISTS THEY WERE.

WELL, OF COURSE, COMMERCE

ALWAYS COMES INTO PLAY.

BUT AT LEAST NOW THEY'RE

ABLE TO MAKE IT LUCRATIVE.

IT DOES CHANGE THE

DYNAMIC, BUT THEY'RE BEING

TREATED FAIRLY.

>> Rooney: WHY WAS IT SO

OBSCURE?

>> BECAUSE THEY JUST

WORKED WITHIN THEIR OWN

TRIBE.

THEY WORKED WITHIN

THEMSELVES.

EVEN WHEN THEIR WORK WAS

FIRST ELEVATED, IT WASN'T

TAKEN SERIOUSLY.

>> Rooney: IS IT

APPRECIATED IN INDIA?

>> IT IS NOW, CERTAINLY.

>> Rooney: THAT'S

INTERESTING.

JARED BOWEN, THAT'S

FASCINATING.

WELL, WITH BEACON HILL

DEBATING CASINO GAMBLING,

WGBH AND "GREATER BOSTON"

ARE LOOKING INTO WHAT

SLOTS AND CASINOS WILL BE

FOR THE STATE.

TODAY'S QUESTION: IS THE

POSSIBILITY THAT CASINOS

COULD CREATE JOBS IN A

TOWN LIKE PALMER WORTH THE

POTENTIAL COSTS?

BOW TO OUR WEBSITE AT

WGBH.ORG/LAST RESORT.

ON THURSDAY, "GREATER

BOSTON" WILL DEVOTE THE

ENTIRE SHOW TO THE

GAMBLING, LOOKING AT THE

TWIN RIVER CASINO IN RHODE

ISLAND.

TOMORROW ON "GREATER

BOSTON," SARAH PALIN AND

THE TEA PARTY RALLY, AND

THE BOSTON COMMON, PLUS,

RICHARD PHILLIPS, THE SHIP

CAPTAIN TAKEN CAPTIVE BY

THE SOMALI PIRATES.

I'M EMILY ROONEY.

GOOD NIGHT.