Faculty Profile

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Dr. Santhosh Sadanandan

Qualification

PhD (Visual Art), School of Culture and Creative Expressions, Ambedkar University Delhi

Dr. Santhosh Sadanandan is an art historian and cultural theorist based in New Delhi. He is trained in Art History and Criticism with BFA and MFA degrees from the Faculty of Fine Arts, Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda. He received his PhD in Visual Art from the School of Culture and Creative Expressions (SCCE), Ambedkar University Delhi. His doctoral thesis was titled ‘Spectres of Caste: Institutionalisation of Art in Modern India.’ It examined various aspects of the institutionalisation of culture and the role that categories such as caste played in the structuration of artistic production in modern India.

One of the founding members of SCCE, he has been a part of the team that developed a vision document for the School. He has been a visiting faculty member for the Post Graduate Diploma in Modern and Contemporary Indian Art and Curatorial Studies conducted by the Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Mumbai since 2015. He was one of the Project Directors of a series of workshops on curation titled, Curating Indian Visual Culture: Theory and Practice. These travelling workshops were held between 2010 and 2013 at Vadodara, Kochi, Hyderabad, Jammu, and New Delhi. He is one of the co-editors of a three-volume publication on art writing in the subcontinent initiated by Asia Art Archive titled ‘Dossier One: Fictional Configurations’ (2017), ‘Dossier Two: Future Perfect’ (forthcoming 2019), and ‘Dossier Three: Destination Horizon’ (forthcoming 2019).

He has also contributed essays to journals, catalogues, and other important academic publications such as EPW, Social Scientist, and India Seminar. He has presented papers in national and international seminars, some of the most recent of which include Pedagogical Influx and the Art of Education (Students’ Biennale, Kochi-Muziris Biennale, 2019), It Begins with a Story: Focal Point Edition (Sharjah Art Foundation and Asia Art Archive, 2018), What Time Is It: Technologies of Life in the Contemporary (Sarai-CSDS, Goethe-Institut Delhi, 2017) and Latento: Considering the Potential of the Contemporary Moment (School of Intermedia Art, China Academy of Art, Hangzhou, 2017).

Past Experience

Dr. Sadanandan has taught Art History for two years from 2005-2007 at the Department of Art History and Aesthetics, Faculty of Fine Arts, M.S. University of Baroda. Following this, he taught Art History for two years from 2009-2011 as guest faculty at the School of Art and Aesthetics, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He also worked as an Academic Fellow for SCCE, AUD from 2011-2012, before joining as an Assistant Professor in the same School.

My Zone / Area of Expertise

His areas of interest are Critical Theory and Philosophy.

 

Awards

  • Merit Scholarship, Faculty of Fine Arts, M.S. University of Baroda, from 1999-2000 to 2004-2005.
  • V.R. Amberkar Gold Medal for academic achievements in Art History and Criticism, Faculty of Fine Arts, M.S. University of Baroda, 2005.
  • Gold medal for highest academic achievement, Faculty of Fine Arts, M.S. University of Baroda, 2005.
  • Junior Research Fellowship, University Grants Commission, New Delhi, 2006.

Publications

Books (edited)

(2017) Dossier One: Fictional Configurations, New Delhi: Asia Art Archive, co-edited with Vidya Shivadas, Sneha Ragavan and Sabih Ahmed.

[Forthcoming, 2019] Dossier Two: Future Perfect and Dossier Three: Destination Horizon, New Delhi: Asia Art Archive, co-edited with Vidya Shivadas, Sneha Ragavan and Sabih Ahmed.

Select Academic Publications (Essays and Articles)

(forthcoming, July 2019) “Dalitization of Politics and Some Ruminations on the Commons” in Manas Ray ed., State of Democracy in India: Essays on Life and Politics in Contemporary Times, New Delhi: Primus.

(2017) “Dalitization of Politics and the Suicide Note of Rohith Vemula,” Seminar, 691 Special issue on Containing Violence (March 2017)

(2016) "Questions on the Technologies of Fascism: Making the 'Modi Effect'," Economic and Political Weekly, 51: 3 (January 16, 2016)

(2015) "City as Metaphor: An Archaeology of Contemporary Artistic Production and Display," in Priya Maholay-Jaradi ed., Baroda: A Cosmopolitan Provenance in Transition, Mumbai: Marg Publications, pp. 106-119. ISBN: 938324308-2

(2015) "Tense - Past Continuous: Some Critical Reflections on the Art of Savi Sawarkar," in Joshil K. Abraham and Judith Misrahi-Barak eds., Dalit Literatures in India, New Delhi: Routledge, pp. 309-319. ISBN: 978-1-138-19131-0

(2012) “What was Modernism (in Indian Art)?” Social Scientist, Vol. 40, Nos. 5-6, May-June.

(2012) “Specters of Radicals or Where Have All the Radical’s Gone” in Deeptha Achar and Shivaji K. Panikkar eds., Articulating Resistance: Art and Activism in India, Tulika Publications, New Delhi.

(2012) “Mapping the Trajectories of a Minoritarian Aesthetics and Cultural Politics”, in Parul Dave Mukherji, Kavita Singh, and Naman Ahuja eds., In-flux: Asian Contemporary Art, Sage Publications, New Delhi.

(2009) “About the (not so) Fine Art of Protest’, Art Etc. Magazine, Special Issue on Protest Art, Vol. 1 No.2.

(2008) "Adhunikatvathinteyum Desiyathayudayum Ashanti-Niketanangal" (The Un-Peaceful Institution of Modernity and Nationalism) in Akhyanathile Apara Sthalikal (The Other Spaces of Narration), edited by Arun A., Subject and Language Press, Kottayam. (Malayalam)

(2005) “Hegemony Maintenance in the Process of Inclusion: Pahari and Rajput Paintings” in Art of Medieval India: Contextualizing Social Relations, Shivaji K. Panikkar and Abha Sheth eds.,, M.S. University Press, Baroda.

(2004) “Towards an ‘Anti-History’ of Indian Art: Nationalism and Modernity” Nandan: an Annual of Kala Bhavana, edited by Sanjoy Mallik, Visva Bharati, Santiniketan.

(2004) Translated Dipesh Chakrabarty’s "Minority Histories, Subaltern Pasts" from his book Provincializing Europe: Postcolonial Thought and Historical Difference, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 2001 with P. J. Benoy for the selected volume of Subaltern Studies in Malayalam, edited by Susie Tharu and S. Sanjeev, published by D.C.Books, Kottayam.

Other Publications (Online Magazines)

(2018) “Politicising Sadness and Angst” Raiot.in February 5, 2018.

http://www.raiot.in/politicising-sadness-and-angst/ Last accessed 05 May 2019

(2016) "Dalit Politics and/as the Future of Politics," Raiot.in April 22, 2016. www.raiot.in/dalit-politics-andas-the-future-of-politics/ Last accessed 20 May 2016

Other Publications (Catalogue Essays for Art Exhibitions)

  • ‘On/Of the Absent Presence of Spaces and Images’, catalogue essay for Lokesh Khodke’s solo exhibition The Three Worlds and Other Spaces, The Guild Art Gallery, Mumbai, 2009.
  • ‘The Cultural Turn and the Political Takes: A Short History of Contemporary Indian Art’, catalogue essay for group show A New Vanguard: Trends in Contemporary Indian Art, The Guild Art Gallery and Saffronart, New York, 2009.
  • ‘A Copy without an Original’, catalogue essay for T.V. Santhosh’s solo exhibition Countdown, Guild Art Gallery, Mumbai and Nature Morte Gallery, New Delhi, 2008.
  • ‘Tense - Past Continuous’, catalogue essay for Savi Sawarkar’s solo exhibition, Eyes Re-Cast, curated by Prof. Parul Dave Mukherjee, Rabindra Bhavan, New Delhi, 2008.
  • ‘De-Order of Things’, Catalogue essay for Zakkir Hussain’s solo exhibition, Re-turn of the 'Unholy', Vadhera Art Gallery, New Delhi, 2008.
  • Untitled catalogue essay for K.K. Mohamed’s solo exhibition From the Archive: Study for War Memorials, Exhibition Hall, Faculty of Fine Arts, M.S. University of Baroda, Vadodara, 2007.
  • ‘The Politics of Everyday Life’, catalogue essay for K.P. Reji’s solo exhibition Just Above My Head, Guild art Gallery, Mumbai, 2006.
  • Interview of B.V. Suresh for his solo exhibition Facilitating the Beast, (collaborated with Deeptha Achar), Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi, 2006.
  • ‘Perhaps (nothing is) Beyond Credos’, catalogue essay for Beyond Credos: Contemporary Painting in Baroda, curated by Prof. Shivaji K. Panikkar, Birla Academy, Calcutta, 2006.

Book Reviews

Erjavec, Ales, ed. Posmodernism and the Postsocialist Condition: Politicized Art Under Late Socialism, University of California Press, 2005. Review published in Journal of Contemporary Thought, No: 22, Winter, 2005.

Seminar / Conferences

Professional Activities

  • (2019) Conversation with artist Aryakrishnan Ramakrishnan titled “already-not-yet” organised by Sahapedia, held at Kerala History Museum, Edappalli, Kochi, March 2019.
  • (2019) Visiting Faculty for a lecture series “On the Apparatuses of Art”, Govt. College of Fine Arts, Thrissur, Kerala, January 2019.
  • (2018) Conducted workshop on “Technologies of the Self: Body, Art and the Question of Labour” at Chithra Kala Parishath, Bangalore, November 2018.
  • (2018) Conducted workshop on Art and Technology as part of Expanded Education Programme, Students’ Biennale, Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2018, Faculty of Arts, Sri Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, Kalady, Kerala, September 2018.
  • (2014) Moderated a talk by artist Vasudha Thozur “Institutionalizing Practice and Practicing the Institution”, organized by Foundation of Indian Contemporary Art (FICA), FICA reading room, New Delhi, 6 September, 2014.
  • (2014-ongoing) Visiting Faculty, Post Graduate Diploma in Modern and Contemporary Indian Art and Curatorial Studies conducted by the Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Mumbai.

List of Conferences, Seminars and Workshops Organized

  • One day seminar on Edward W. Said, The World, The Text and The Critic in the Department of Art History and Aesthetics, Faculty of Fine Arts, M.S. University of Baroda, November 6, 2004.
  • Co-coordinated U.G.C National seminar Cultural Practice and Discourses of the ‘Minor’ with Prof. Shivaji K. Panikkar, in the Department of Art History and Aesthetics, Faculty of Fine Arts, M.S. University of Baroda, February 5-7, 2007.
  • Project Director along with Prof. Shivaji K. Panikkar, of the Curatorship Programme “Curating Indian Visual Culture: Theory and Practice”, a series of five travelling workshops and a colloquium on curation, an initiative of India Foundation for the Arts, Bangalore, India, 2010-2013.
  • Curating Indian Visual Culture: Theory and Practice, Workshop on Curation, held at Conference Hall, Revival Lords Inn, Vadodara, Gujarat, September 13-18, 2010.
  • Curating Indian Visual Culture: Theory and Practice (Thematic Focus: Questions of Region, Gender and Sexualities), Workshop on Curation, held at RLV College of Music and Fine Arts, Thripunithura, Kerala, 7-12, February 7-12, 2011.
  • Curating Indian Visual Culture: Theory and Practice (Thematic Focus: Interfaces of Art History, Museum Practices and Popular Visual Culture: A Curatorial Enquiry), Workshop on Curation, held at Department of Fine Arts, Sarojini Naidu School of Arts & Communication, University of Hyderabad, 12-17, September 12-17, 2011.
  • Curating Indian Visual Culture: Theory and Practice (Thematic Focus: Art in the Context of Conflicts), Workshop on Curation, held at University of Jammu, Jammu-Tawi, February 6-11, 2012.
  • Curating Indian Visual Culture: Theory and Practice (Thematic Focus: Artistic Productions and Questions of Region and Identity: Curatorial Propositions), Workshop on Curation, held at SCCE, AUD, October 9-13, 2012.
  • Select Paper Presentations in Conferences/Workshops/Seminars
  • “Teaching-Machines: Ruminations on ‘Technical Mentalities’” in international conference, “Pedagogical Influx and the Art of Education” organised by Students’ Biennale, Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Kochi, March 2019.
  • “Art, Aesthetics, and Politics: A Minoritarian Perspective” at the Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Mumbai, September 2018.
  • “The Contemporary as a Dissensual Paradigm” in international conference, “What Time is It: Technologies of Life in the Contemporary” organised by Sarai-CSDS and Goethe-Institut/Max Muller Bhavan, New Delhi, December 2017.
  • “Short Notes on the Supplementary Manifesto (and the Production and Distribution of Commons)” in International Symposium titled “Latento: Considering the Potential of the Contemporary Moment” organised by the School of Intermedia Art, China Academy of Art, Hangzhou, June 2017.
  • “Parasitical Imagination” in seminar “The Future of Indian Art Education” organised by Students’ Biennale, Kochi-Muziris Biennale, March 2017.
  • “The Dissensual Paradigm,” in International Conference on “Human Studies and the Future of the University” organised by the Centre for Comparative Literature, University of Hyderabad, held at Hyderabad, 28-29 November 2016.
  • “An (Indian) Experiments with Craft” in the international colloquium “Art of Dissemination: Writing Cultures” organised by Asia Art Archive and Centre for the Study of Social Sciences, Calcutta in February, 2015.
  • Presented paper at “Fields of Legibility: Disciplines and Practices of Art Writing in India – Colloquium and Anthology Workshop III”, organized by Asia Art Archive, HK, with the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, MA, USA, held at The Clark Art Institute, USA, from 13-14 September 2013.
  • “Ramkinkar Baij: A Chronicle of Redemption Foretold,” in National Seminar 'Awaaz Do: The Legacy and Relevance of Progressive Cultural Movements in India', organised by SAHMAT, at Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, Teen Murti Bhavan, New Delhi, October 13-15, 2011
  • “Craft of Art History and Art History’s Craft: ‘Primitivism’ of/in Indian Art History,” in International Seminar 'Rethinking Art History: Objects, Methods and Politics', organised by Department of Fine Arts, University of Jaffna, Sri Lanka, March 4-5, 2011.
  • “Crafting the Craft and Crafting the Nation: The Construction of the National Spectator,” in UGC National seminar ‘See-Saw: Context of Spectatorship’, organised by Department of Fine Arts, S. N. School of Arts & Communication, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad, February 25-27, 2010.
  • “The Politics of the Poetics: Re-pre-sentation of Radha,” in International Workshop, ‘Radha: Transformation from Gopi to Goddess’, organised at School of Art and Aesthetics, J.N.U, New Delhi, January 29-30, 2010.
  • “Some Notes on the Postmodern Fables of Our Time,” in National Seminar, ‘Intervisuality: Imitations/Innovations’, organised by RLV College of Fine Arts and Music, Tripunithura, Kerala, January 14-16, 2010.
  • “Nationalism in Search of a Nation,” in UGC National Seminar ‘The Revision of History: Region, Literature, Culture’, organised by Department of English (UGC SAP DRS-I), M.S University of Baroda, March 20-21, 2009.
  • “Archiving the Living,” in International Seminar ‘Archiving Art Histories: Exigencies and Challenges in Pedagogy and Researches’, organised by ACUA, Baroda, supported by IFA Bangalore, February, 5-7, 2009.
  • “Architecture without a Center,” in KRIVIA Annual National Conference 'Interdisciplinary Paradigms of Architecture', Mumbai, December 17-18, 2007.
  • “Towards a Minoritarian Aesthetic and Cultural Politics,” in International Seminar ‘Elective Affinities, Constitutive Differences: Contemporary Art in Asia’, The Biennale Conference, New Delhi, March 9-11, 2007.
  • “Thinking about ‘New’ in the Age of New Conventionalities,” in National Seminar ‘Interrogating ‘New’ Art History: Decentering Disciplinary Premises’, Dept. of Art History and Aesthetics, M.S University of Baroda, 2006.
  • “Is the ‘Popular’ in the Popular art the ‘popular’ in the pop(ular) Art?,” in National Seminar ‘Elite’ and ‘Popular’ Interface: India’s Art History', Dept. of Art History and Aesthetics, M.S University of Baroda, January 6-8, 2005.
  • “Towards an (Anti) History of Indian Art: Nationalism and Modernity,” in One-Day Seminar on Edward W. Said, 'The World, The Text and The Critic', Department of Art History and Aesthetics, Faculty of Fine Arts, M.S. University of Baroda, November 6, 2004.
  • “Brahmanical Cultural Imperialism and Hegemony Maintenance: With Reference to Rajput and Pahari Miniature Painting,” in National Seminar 'Theorizing India’s Pre-Modern Visual Culture: Issues of Caste, Class Gender and Sexualities', Dept. of Art History and Aesthetics, M.S. University of Baroda, February 21-23, 2003.