Magical Script, 1995

by Lava Korwa

Painting : pencil, paper 21.7 x 29.5 inch

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About the artwork

Type

Unique work

Signature

Hand-signed by artist

Authenticity

Sold with certificate of Authenticity from the gallery

Invoice from the gallery


Medium

Painting: pencil, paper

Dimensions cm inch

21.7 x 29.5 inch Height x Width x Depth

Framing

Red wood frame with plexiglass

Artwork dimensions including frame

24.8 x 32.7 inch


Tags

Abstract artworks

Aboriginal art

Tribal art

Indian vernacular art

Writing

Text

Artwork sold in perfect condition

Artwork location: France

In the state of Chattisgharh, the Hill Korwas inhabit the regions of Raigarh and Jashpur. They speak a dialect from the Austro-Asian languages, from the Southeast Asian languages that predate the Indo-European languages. During the expedition undertaken by the French poet Frank André Jamme in 1996, only five thousand individuals remained from the Korwas tribe. The entire tribe is said to be endangered today. Long hunters of deer, wild boar, deer and bears, they were asked to become farmers when their forests were deforested and became workers, often itinerant and largely exploited by the surrounding populations. Long isolated in the forests, they have little contact with other populations. They laugh all the time and drink the same. Passionate about the tribal cultures of his country, Swaminathan went on an expedition to the Hill Korwas in 1983. Here is an extract from the catalog of the exhibition The magical Script that he organized at Bharat Bhavan: “I left Bhopal on March 3, 1983, in a jeep. , accompanied by my friend and photographer Jyotti Bhatt and the young sculptor Anil Kumar. We reached Raigarh on the 5th and from there to Sanna. Fortunately it was the weekly market day, which allowed us to establish contact with the Hill Korwas from the neighboring villages. The language barrier quickly broke when I started drawing pictures of the chef and his wife and asked them to do the same. A large number of these extravagant drawings are the result of these first contacts. Arrived at Baladalpart, we give them papers, colors, pencils. All of them start to draw without any hesitation. I expected to find drawings of animals, gods or rituals; what they gave us is so unexpected that I couldn't believe it. They are calligraphic characters, as if the artist had written rather than drawn. They can neither read nor write (…) These letters are not letters, these words are not words, these sentences are not sentences. In a sense these writings are not readable as a text, yet they are eminently palpable as a visual experience, legitimizing their place in the field of the visual arts. If I dare to offer an interpretation outside, of course, of the aesthetic merit of these drawings, I would say that they have a magical meaning. They invoke the power of written words for the salvation of their community. Having probably observed the power of writing in the city, they try to recreate it in these drawings, delivering not a readable but magical message ”. Swaminathan concludes his catalog by reporting that one of the Korwa men, arrows and shield in hand, looked at his drawing and said: "This is my report of the suffering caused by the government". “When they write, I think they take their pencil for a bow. They don't write, in fact, they shoot. They shoot signs which are arrows, ”adds the book written by Frank André Jamme following the 1994 expedition undertaken with the translator Archana. These Korwas Magical Scripts were exhibited at the Galerie du Jour in Paris in 1997 and 2012, as well as at the Drawing Center in New York in 2001.
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About the seller

Professional art gallery • France

Artsper seller since 2016

Vetted Seller


Collector’s Guide

Imagine it at home

Lava Korwa, Magical Script
Lava Korwa

Lava Korwa

India  • 1967

Lava Korka is an artist from the Hill Korva tribe living in India.

Extracts from the catalogue of the « Bharat Bhavan museum Bhopal, 1983, J. SWAMINATHAN, director »:

«… After establishing contact with the Hill Korwas of Badalarpat we gave them paper and color pens for drawing. Almost all of them started simultaneously without hesitation, without peeping over each other’s shoulders for inspiration or guidance, with a great sense of ease and confidence. I was expecting drawings of animals, birds, etc. or representation of anthropomorphic deities or even ritualistic drawings of “chowk”, etc. what came flowing out of their hands was so unexpected that I was startled out of my wits. The first thing immediately noticeable in these drawings is their calligraphic character, as if the artist is not drawing but writing. The Hill Korwas have no written script and all of them who did these drawings were illiterate.

…When one looks at these drawings, one immediately thinks of Poul Klee’s dictum of taking the line for a walk. ...In fact, one stalwart Hill Korwa with his bow and arrows in one hand and the other on his hip remarked on the drawing he did “This is my report of our sufferings to the government”.
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