Colors of Revolution: Dalit and Black Lives Movements Through Paintings in Hindi Classes

Whether it be taking a yoga class in the Duke gardens or learning how to cook an Indian dish with your peers in a communal kitchen, Kusum-ji makes sure to switch up the weekly routine by adding a variety of excursions to keep the class engaging throughout the semester. One of our many excursions involved a class trip to the Nasher Museum of Art, where we were able to enjoy the diverse exhibits, as well as bond with our fellow classmates.

Before the visit, we studied and discussed many paintings and arts from Indian artists through art gallery from M. F Hussain, Raja Ravi Varma, Jamini Roy to Malvika Raj in our classes. On the day of the Nasher museum visit, our class was separated into groups, each group tasked with taking a picture in front of a few paintings we all liked. The task of choosing a favorite painting is an exceptional team-building activity, as it allowed us to put our Hindi skills to the test, as well as learn more about the members in our group. After all, art is all about interpretation, and every person who looks at a work of art brings their own personal experiences and ideas to the discussion.

Our group headed into each collection room separately, each of us taking the opportunity to determine how we felt about each work of art on our own before coming together to discuss it as a group. We picked out a few favorite paintings, basing our choices on the subject matter, use of color, or even sheer size of the work (bigger paintings are in fact easier to take group photos in front of).

Our Nasher tour was concluded by an exhibit that incorporated video as well as sound. The exhibit was set in a pitch-black room with a single couch, and the video was projected on the wall opposite the couch. We could hear the artist’s voice narrating through a speaker as the video depicted the windows of a moving train. We as the spectators were meant to feel like passengers watching the view through the window, and many scenes and images were projected through the windows. This exhibit was the highlight of my visit to the Nasher, and it was fun to have been able to partake in a tour of the museum with my peers. After our visit, we all put our group pictures in a shared gallery and it was fun to be able to see what paintings all of the other groups picked.

Here are a few comments from Hindi students about the experience:

Nish: "I enjoyed walking around the Nasher (my second time visiting!). It was interesting not only to be able to analyze really interesting art pieces but also to discuss those with my peers in Hindi Class. The exhibit I found particularly powerful was related to equality for all, deriving many of the works from the Black Lives Movement, Pride Movement, etc. On one layer, the pieces are just cool to look at, but on a deeper layer, they make us question our own internal biases that we didn't think exist. It helps us step into the shoes of the marginalized in ways that you can't get in the classroom. The pieces evoke feelings instead of facts to make a statement.  

My 'aha moment was seeing the "Saba Taj" painting, and thinking it was super cool to look at. But, after reading the description, I realized it was about this idea of intersectionality, showing a bridge as a metaphor for the divide between religion and sexuality." 

Ali: "My favorite painting was in the current event's exhibition. I think all the paintings in that exhibit had very current and deep meaning. They all focused on the plight faced by black people in this country. Racism has deeply entrenched communities into unfortunate and devastating circumstances. The artists did a very good job capturing the pain and impact of the racist behavior the black community endures. The paintings were very powerful and contained a lot of meaning."

Divya: "I enjoyed looking at all the paintings in the Nasher Museum. I thought it was really interesting to read about the different artists and how their experiences shaped how they approached the paintings. My favorite exhibit was the one that had art from artists in North Carolina. I thought the art all told different stories depending on who created the art. My Aha moment at the museum was reading the description for the film piece and understanding how the movie and video clips all represented the effect of industrialization across America." 

Havish: "Overall, I really enjoyed going to the Nasher Museum. The combination of interesting art and familiar groups made the experience very memorable. The art I enjoyed the most was in the second exhibit we visited. My 'aha moment' came at one of the paintings we looked at. It was a collection of African American individuals, but for all of them, either their mouths or eyes were closed and blocked by wide blue strips. The 'aha moment' came when I understood the meaning of the painting. The blue represents the police shutting up the figures and shows how the African Americans cannot breathe as the blue (the police) are shutting them up and restricting their ability to breathe. This is a representation of the Black Lives Matter movement after George Floyd was killed and could not breathe due to the policy. Similarly, these figures cannot breathe because of the blue. The realization was a major 'aha moment' for me."

Kartik: "My 'aha moment' was seeing Indian Art or an Indian artist. Taking Hindi class, there is a really big focus on Indian culture, which I really enjoy. However, seeing Indian culture and its influences next to African, Asian, and so many other regions' cultures was very cool to see." 

Nirvan: "I really liked looking at all the paintings and trying to understand the author’s intent for creating that specific piece of art. My 'aha moment' was when I was looking at the blue faces of African American people in one of the exhibits - I understood that the author was portraying the incident that happened with George Floyd and how African American people across America feel 'suffocated' by the lack of support available to them." 

Pranay:  "It honestly was quite cool to see the different depictions of politics and race relation history through art. There was one exhibit that talked about the darkness of skin and it was interesting to see accounts of racism among ethnic groups as well. Overall, it was a very eye-opening experience."

Vaibhav: "The Nasher museum was a really interesting place to explore. It was also my first time visiting and I didn't realize how much art Duke had in the museum. I enjoyed the modern exhibits compared to the more historic ones – the paintings/artwork were more related to the current culture and society than the other exhibit. My 'aha moment' was looking at some artwork relating to the cold war and the tensions in the US at the time." 

This workshop was supported by Asian & Middle Eastern Studies and Duke Service-Learning.