Dalit Art: Visual Imagery and Caste Identity in India

Iowa State emeritus professor Gary Tartakov taught art history in the Department of Art and Design for twenty-two years. He will discuss his new book, Dalit Art and Visual Imagery, a study of contemporary Indian culture as it has been expressed through the images of the people the caste system has long labeled Untouchables. The group is now referred to more broadly as Dalits, or "oppressed." Gary Tartakov's research has long focused on the art of ancient and contemporary India and Orientalism. He is also a contributor to the recently published edited collection Articulating Resistance: Art and Activism and author of The Durga Temple at Aihole, a study of India's art history through the lens of a particular Hindu Temple.