A visual archive
I moved to New York City in 2018 to further my education. Over the course of these five years, I've observed a significant deepening of a connection to my culture. Perhaps because I have been away from my country and I am certain this is a shared sentiment for anyone who has left their country.
As a design student, I frequently caught myself pondering over the meaning of graphic design within my own cultural context when examining a poster from the Bauhaus movement. These historical art movements are the foundation of graphic design and have been pivotal in facilitating our understanding of this field. Nonetheless, all the study materials available predominantly hail from Western culture. This is when it struck me..
..it's ironic that I grew up learning about our struggle for freedom but never fully realized how art and design quietly played a pivotal role in conveying patriotism to the masses during the Swadeshi movement. The Swadeshi movement was a response to the attempts to Westernize Indian culture, and it inadvertently gave rise to what I would describe as an unspoken art movement.
Now, I can discern how I was constantly surrounded by visual graphics, even from my early childhood. These graphics were present on the packaging of my food, on the streets during our walks back from school, on the storefronts of small shops, on food carts, on trucks (known as lorries in India), and the list goes on. I simply didn't pay them much attention because they seemed ordinary to me."
The need
Now, as a designer, this is my attempt to establish a dedicated space for India's 'Graphic Design,' recognizing that it has been an integral part of our cultural heritage for a very long time. It simply wasn't formally labeled as 'graphic design' due to it being an unfamiliar concept.
This initiative is called 'Chitra Kala,' which translates to 'the art of visuals.' It serves as a digital archive encompassing advertisements crafted from the 1950s to the 1990s. My primary objective here is to impart knowledge about graphic design through the prism of these vintage advertisements, offering insights and historical context about design that extends beyond the Western culture."
