User:2601:603:900:B51D:FD10:51BB:D70F:277E/gap analysis

Navjot Altaf

 * What is the title of the article in which you identified a gap. If no article exists at all, what should the title be?

Navjot Altaf


 * Document the gap you found, describe how you identified it, and analyze its impact on knowledge.

I realized Navjot did not have a page when I looked her up during the fourth week of class to see some of her other works of art. Typically a Wikipedia page is among the first results of any web search. When hers did not appear after I searched her name I went directly to Wikipedia and searched for her name again, but the only results where on other people’s pages and one dedicated to her (Untitled) Blue Lady. Representing her through a single piece of work gives the impression this is her only notable accomplishment and reinforces the idea that art is meant to be displayed and viewed inside a museum. The way in which the Blue Lady is discussed on its page segregates Navjot by stating it is one of the most important South Asian pieces of art. The distinction of South Asian makes the piece seem less important in a global context. Only mentioning her tangentially by relating her to other people’s pages undermines her credibility as an artist. Wikipedia has become one of the main sources the public goes to for knowledge and her complete lack of a page effectively erases her and her other artworks because the information is not readily available. Without a page no context is provided and her importance as a feminist activist artist living and working in India is lost. Her water pump series and temples for children are of special import because she collaborates with local Adivasi artists to bring useful but also beautiful structures to isolated communities of India. The annihilation of these works reinforces the idea that art is made by Euro-American men and it is supposed to be displayed inside of a museum for the viewing pleasure of those with taste and wealth.


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Navjot was born in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India in 1949. She attended Sir JJ School of Art Bombay, the name of which has been changed to Mumbai, from 1967 to 1972 where she earned a diploma in Fine Arts and certificate in Applied Arts. Navjot's artwork ranges from video installation to sculpture and she is known for being a collaborative artist. A series she is well known for is her water pump sites. Parts of India do not have access to running water and people must go to a community site in order to collect water for domestic use, a process that can be very time consuming. Because drinking contaminated water can cause diseases, access to clean water is necessary. Navjot has worked with local Adivasi artists to make the collection of water safer and easier for communities in India. The water pump project is closely related to her temples for children project in which she and Adivasi artists create recreational spaces for children. These spaces are meant to encourage socialization and the exchange of knowledge, culture, and tradition within a community. Among her famous pieces is the (Untitled) Blue Lady which is on display in the Sir Christopher Ondaatje South Asian Gallery of The Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Canada. Mary Wants to Read a Book (2014) is an installation that is meant to draw attention to the importance of literacy in Kerala while also highlighting the temperature change of the earth over the past 2000 years, which is meant to be a critique of the consumption of resources and its effects on the environment.
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 * http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/after-tate-modern-in-london-painter-sculptor-navjot-altaf-showcases-her-work-in-mumbai/1/234176.html
 * http://furtherfield.org/user/navjot-altaf
 * http://groundworks.collinsandgoto.com/navjot-altaf-mumbai-india/
 * http://www.guildindia.com/Novjot/CV.htm
 * http://www.cultura21.net/topics/sustainability/navjot-altaf-at-kochi-muziris-biennale-201415/