Curtis H. Jones Photography and TerraKlay Traditional Artwork

The artist Mantu Chitrakar hails from Noya, Midnapore, in West Bengal. At a young age he began patua painting and singing in the nearby villages to earn a living for himself and his family. He has exhibited and demonstrated in India as well as abroad. In 2007 he exhibited at the International Folk Art Convention at the Nek Chand's Rock Garden in Chandigarh as well as at the Learning Department of the National Museum in Liverpool, UK. His works are at the private collection of American artist and art patron Scott Rothstein, Ann Oppenhimer - President of the Folk Arts Society of America, Dr Stephen Huyler and at the Museum of Visionary Art, Baltimore, USA and National Museums, Liverpool, UK. He continues to exhibit his works internationally and nationally.
This Pat' or painting is the art from the State of West Bengal. The image of a cat with black and orange spots on a yellow or white body and with a bird or fish in its mouth has been interpreted as a satire on the hypocrisy of some religious priests who were Vaishnavas (devotee of Lord Vishnu) and who professed to be vegetarians but in fact ate meat and fish in private.

The artist Mantu Chitrakar hails from Noya, Midnapore, in West Bengal. At a young age he began patua painting and singing in the nearby villages to earn a living for himself and his family. He has exhibited and demonstrated in India as well as abroad. In 2007 he exhibited at the International Folk Art Convention at the Nek Chand's Rock Garden in Chandigarh as well as at the Learning Department of the National Museum in Liverpool, UK. His works are at the private collection of American artist and art patron Scott Rothstein, Ann Oppenhimer - President of the Folk Arts Society of America, Dr Stephen Huyler and at the Museum of Visionary Art, Baltimore, USA and National Museums, Liverpool, UK. He continues to exhibit his works internationally and nationally.
The Bengali scroll tradition is an ancient one, featuring single image paintings known as Pats or long vertical multi paneled scrolls known jorana patas' (scroll paintings)This Pat' or painting is the art from the State of West Bengal.
Animals are either deeply revered or are a threat to the human race. Either way they have occupied a special place not only in the Indian psyche but also mythology. In this Bengali Pat, the tiger is shown in its elements ready for the game of hunt.

The tribal rudimentary art of the warlis, uses a circle, a triangle and a square. The circle and triangle come from their observation of nature, the circle representing the sun and the moon, the triangle derived from mountains and pointed trees. Only the square seems to obey a different logic and seems to be a human invention, indicating a sacred enclosure or a piece of land. Human and animal bodies are represented by two triangles joined at the tip; the upper triangle depicts the trunk and the lower triangle the pelvis. Their precarious equilibrium symbolizes the balance of the universe. Warli art reflects the tribal philosophies and culture. This distinct style depicts the everyday life of the people keeping in mind the humans and nature share the same space and the peaceful coexistence. In this artwork, the artist Anil Vangad shows the worship of their local deity which may be an annual visit across jungles on top of a mountain. Many pilgrims can be seen in this storyboard like depiction of the event.

The tribal rudimentary art of the warlis, uses a circle, a triangle and a square. The circle and triangle come from their observation of nature, the circle representing the sun and the moon, the triangle derived from mountains and pointed trees. Only the square seems to obey a different logic and seems to be a human invention, indicating a sacred enclosure or a piece of land. Human and animal bodies are represented by two triangles joined at the tip; the upper triangle depicts the trunk and the lower triangle the pelvis. Their precarious equilibrium symbolizes the balance of the universe. This distinct style depicts the everyday life of the people keeping in mind the humans and nature share the same space and the peaceful coexistence. This artwork, denotes the good omen from their spiritual gods of good times to come. The local may translate this event of circling birds as a sign to sow the seeds for an abundant crop, name a child or proclaim a marriage. This highlights the Warli tribal philosophies and culture.

The artist Anil Chaitya Vangad hails from a small Warli tribal village in Maharashtra north of the cosmopolitian city of Mumbai. He has been paintings for the last 18 years in the traditional art style of the Warlis, experimenting with themes of gods and goddesses as well as the more contemporary issues of our times. It was the artist's mother who influenced and taught him how to paint.
He still prefer to use the traditional mediums of gerue, cow dung, charcoal and rice paste without the use of use synthetic dyes and paints in his paintings and encourages his family members to do the same.
He is not just passionate about painting but also about farming which is the traditional occupation of the Warlis. He has the vision and zeal to take the Warli life forward incorporating the good of the modern world while retaining their traditions which reflects in his artworks.
Vangad's works have been exhibited in the USA as well as Britain and France.
Recently in July of 2014, Anil Vangad's work was introduced to the Santa Fe Folk Art market for the first time and in September 2014 he was awarded the WCC Award of Excellence from UNESCO for his painting bringing Warli art on everyone's attention.

The artist Anil Chaitya Vangad hails from a small Warli tribal village in Maharashtra north of the cosmopolitian city of Mumbai. He has been paintings for the last 18 years in the traditional art style of the Warlis, experimenting with themes of gods and goddesses as well as the more contemporary issues of our times. It was the artist's mother who influenced and taught him how to paint. The tribal rudimentary art of the warlis, uses a circle, a triangle and a square. The circle and triangle come from their observation of nature, the circle representing the sun and the moon, the triangle derived from mountains and pointed trees. Only the square seems to obey a different logic and seems to be a human invention, indicating a sacred enclosure or a piece of land. Human and animal bodies are represented by two triangles joined at the tip; the upper triangle depicts the trunk and the lower triangle the pelvis. Their precarious equilibrium symbolizes the balance of the universe. This distinct style depicts the everyday life of the people keeping in mind the humans and nature share the same space and the peaceful coexistence. The artist Anil Vangad likes to experimenting with themes of the village spiritual divinity as well as day to day trappings of contemporary life including their folktales and legends. This artwork showcases and gives tribute to the Father of the Nation emphasizing independence movement in British-ruled India, and his teachings.
He still prefer to use the traditional mediums of gerue, cow dung, charcoal and rice paste without the use of use synthetic dyes and paints in his paintings and encourages his family members to do the same.
He is not just passionate about painting but also about farming which is the traditional occupation of the Warlis. He has the vision and zeal to take the Warli life forward incorporating the good of the modern world while retaining their traditions which reflects in his artworks.
Vangad's works have been e

The arist Anil Chaitya Vangad hails from a small Warli tribal village in Maharashtra north of the cosmopolitian city of Mumbai. He has been paintings for the last 18 years in the traditional art style of the Warlis, experimenting with themes of gods and goddesses as well as the more contemporary issues of our times. It was the artist's mother who influenced and taught him how to paint. The tribal rudimentary art of the warlis, uses a circle, a triangle and a square. The circle and triangle come from their observation of nature, the circle representing the sun and the moon, the triangle derived from mountains and pointed trees. Only the square seems to obey a different logic and seems to be a human invention, indicating a sacred enclosure or a piece of land. Human and animal bodies are represented by two triangles joined at the tip; the upper triangle depicts the trunk and the lower triangle the pelvis. Their precarious equilibrium symbolizes the balance of the universe. Warli art reflects the tribal philosophies and culture. This distinct style depicts the everyday life of the people keeping in mind the humans and nature share the same space and the peaceful coexistence. According to Warli folktale, Shiv and Parvati created Earth with the help of demi or spiritual gods which were brought to earth hidden inside the stomach of a bull. They created the vegetation and prepared the soil to receive humans who thereafter would be the caretakers of mother Earth. The Warli believe that everything in this world interacts: the actions of humans and the harmony of space. The universal harmony is maintained by the implicit unique communication between humans and deities. The warlis extremely rudimentary paintings uses a circle, a triangle and a square. The circle and triangle come from their observation of nature, the circle representing the sun and the moon, the triangle derived from mountains and pointed trees. Only the square seems to obey a different logic and seems to be a human invention, indicating a sacred enclosure or a piece of land. Human and animal bodies are represented by two triangles joined at the tip; the upper triangle depicts the trunk and the lower triangle the pelvis. Their precarious equilibrium symbolizes the balance of the universe. The central motif in these ritual paintings is surrounded by scenes portraying hunting, fishing and farming, festivals and dances, trees and animals. Water the life source has been beautifully employed to create negative spaces to talk about the daily lives of the village folks in this art. Whether it is farming, fishing or just taking care of daily chores, all have a part to play in this uniquely simple art tradition by rendering pared down pictorial language in white geometric designs of circles, squares and triangles. Careful attention is given to show a variety of trees which are drawn in great details forming decorative patterns. Animals are also shown in action giving the painting vibrancy and movement.