This site does not give a comprehensive "history" of Indian Art or its culture. It does not cover a specific timeframe or area of India. What it does provide is five very specific examples of how Indian art is defined and presented to the Western consciousness and then proceeds to challenge and deconstruct those definitions.

Some of the questions raised and answered in this site are: How do Europeans respond to Indian characteristics? How do the notions of sexuality and exoticism get created and perpetuated in all aspects of India? How did Colonialism redefine the work? Can you remove the Western lens? What if the Other was the definer? What was the meaning of the work in the moment it was created and what is the meaning today? How is a work of art historized?

Finally, the production of this web site would not be possible with out the extensive knowledge and inspiration of my professor Diane O’Donoghue, at Tufts University. Her class was invaluable for me, in terms of giving me a whole new understanding of my heritage. Even though my father was from India and I have visited and studied India for many years, this course challenged many of my basic assumptions and values of Indian culture and Art. This course also challenged my art work, which now continues to grow from my new understanding of colonization.