Kathakali

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Arya J.

colored pencil

• Artist Statement

  this work was inspired by a recent trip to india where i witnessed the performance of the kathakali dancers. kathakali is a form of theatrical dance originating in south india that uses extreme facial expressions and manipulation of one’s features to display an emotional narrative. I found it beautiful that these dancers committed their entire lives by training their faces to perform such radical actions in an effort to convey our cultural stories in such an engaging unique way. They have very unique makeup and garments they use to accentuate their performance and highlight their exaggerative faces. I tried to capture the intensity they are able produce in their art with my own.

• Creative Statement

  Creativity to me is a means to repurpose something from its default nature into a beautiful new thing through craftsmanship.