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A thing I've been curious abt is, what I personally think of as "the old style of Hindu iconography".
If you look up Hindu gods now, there's a very distinctive aesthetic. Eg, here's a pretty iconic depiction of Krishna revealing his cosmic infinitude to Arjuna before the battle
If you look up Hindu gods now, there's a very distinctive aesthetic. Eg, here's a pretty iconic depiction of Krishna revealing his cosmic infinitude to Arjuna before the battle
you'll find images like these everywhere in India, and they are sacred – people put stickers of these on their cars, carry them in their wallets, adorn them with flowers in altars at home.
What fascinates me is how distinctive the style is. It's effectively a genre of holy art
What fascinates me is how distinctive the style is. It's effectively a genre of holy art
I think of this as "contemporary style", though it's probably at least a few decades old at this point. It feels a little "frozen in time" to me. These are the canonical images of what Hindu gods look like, and you'll find representations of them in Hindu homes, establishments
Here's a comparison between "old" Mariamman and "new" Mariamman. I think we've made our gods look friendlier and more approachable over the years. (And, um... more... white?) This painting on the left is from ~1820. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariamman
it's surprisingly challenging (for me, so far) to find these older images online. This is Indra, and he's an interesting character because I believe(?) that he may actually be more popular in Southeast Asia than in India?
That's him on the seal of the government of Bangkok
That's him on the seal of the government of Bangkok
Thai and Indonesian depictions of Hinduism are fascinating and very cool, here's a Thai depiction of Vishnu, and a Balinese depiction of Saraswati
(me: ok but can we stick to the topic at hand
visabrain: no)
(me: ok but can we stick to the topic at hand
visabrain: no)
an older style of Brahma the Creator, but I can't figure out the backstory or context. I'm guessing it was probably also around 1800s?
I really like this image of Trimurti – Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva
there's something about the older styles that I find very compelling, I can't quite articulate what exactly
there's something about the older styles that I find very compelling, I can't quite articulate what exactly
side-thread about eroticism in older representations of deities
Lord Jagannath, root of the word juggernaut
some of the art has a slightly terrifying psychedelic quality
and some of the modern stuff seems... cute?
as the Lord of the Universe, I'd imagine he's supposed to be at least little terrifying
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jagannath
some of the art has a slightly terrifying psychedelic quality
and some of the modern stuff seems... cute?
as the Lord of the Universe, I'd imagine he's supposed to be at least little terrifying
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jagannath
It's fascinating to me how you can see certain universal motifs across cultures:
Ai Aipec, the chief deity of the Mochica culture (Peru)
the Kirtimukha, face of glory, guardian of the threshold (Hindu)
Hannya, Japanese mask in Noh theater, common in tattoos
the Maori Haka
Ai Aipec, the chief deity of the Mochica culture (Peru)
the Kirtimukha, face of glory, guardian of the threshold (Hindu)
Hannya, Japanese mask in Noh theater, common in tattoos
the Maori Haka
L: Old Ganesh
R: Default Ganesh
Ganesh is an extremely popular deity with many names – I could probably do a whole separate thread about his depictions alone
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganesha
R: Default Ganesh
Ganesh is an extremely popular deity with many names – I could probably do a whole separate thread about his depictions alone
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganesha
Some alternate depictions – some of these were from the 1500s, some from the 1700s. The first and last ones are from Tibet
