User:Calmcleod/gap analysis

Navjot Atlaf

 * 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 Atlaf


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

When looking for a gap, I searched “Collaborative Art” to see what information was there. I then searched Navjot Atlaf, a female Indian artist who has done many collaborative projects. When searching her name, I did not find a wikipedia page for her. However, I did find a page for her sculpture, Untitled, more commonly known as Blue Lady. This article briefly mentions Navjot, but, considering there is no page for her, there was no link to her name and no way to learn more about the artist herself. The only reference to Navjot within the article is in regards to the modes of creation an inspiration. I think it is important for there to be a place to go to learn more about Navjot, in order to fully understand her artwork. I propose to create a page for Navjot Atlaf in order to fill this gap of information about her. Amidst the western canons of non-western work, Navjot is continuously overlooked, despite her dynamic work in India. This exclusion continues the pattern of centralizing the west, and marginalizing the non-west. It is important to bring marginalized stories to the forefront. Navjot is an excellent story to centralize. Her work is collaborative with local communities in India and is a great example of activist art. It also explores gender, in reference to the feminine. Her art is not simply art. It is complex and explores and executes many different subjects of art. Therefore, it is important to fill the gap that is present around her.


 * Propose a paragraph of new or substantially edited content based on reliable sources. (If you are editing existing content, post the current version along with your edited version, and clearly mark which is which.)

Navjot Atlaf (born in 1949) is an Indian artist based out of Mumbai, India. She works with a variety of mediums: video, installations, photographs, and sculptures. Her work crosses the boundaries of art and political activism. It bridges the gap between pre-existing Indian and indigenous art and contemporary art, and destabilizes what is considered to be modern art in India. It also focuses on subaltern subjects, exploring postcolonialism, and the pull between the local and global aspects of Indian life. Navjot crosses the boundaries of caste and class within India. Because of this and her basis in Marxist Feminism, Navjot can be considered a feminist artist, as well as artist activist.

Navjot studied at Sir J. J. School of Art in Mumbai, graduating in 1972. From there, she began her careet. Since 1973 her works have been shown in New York, Germany, and India. Navjot has been invited to show her work in countless other exhibits.

In the 1980’s Navjot began a nomadic existence between Mumbai and Bastar, India. She went to Bastar to unlearn her academic training, and transform her art. In 1997 Navjot moved to Bastar. Here, Navjot immersed herself in the Adivasi community. She worked collaboratively with local Adivasi artists, creating a small art center for the benefit of the community. In 2000, Navjot and her collaborators restructured water pump sites in Nalpar and surrounding areas. This project served as way to rethink gender labor and patriarchy within village life.


 * List the reliable sources that could be used to improve this gap. (You can use the Cite tool from the editing toolbar above to input and format your sources.)


 * Kapur, Geeta. "Navjot Atlaf: Holding the Ground." In Digitized Personal Archive of Geeta Kapur. Hong Kong: Asia Art Archive, 2010.
 * Kester, Grant H. The One and the Many: Contemporary Collaborative Art in a Global Context. Durham: Duke University Press, 2011. 76-95.
 * Kapur, Geeta. "Navjot Atlaf: Holding the Ground." In Digitized Personal Archive of Geeta Kapur. Hong Kong: Asia Art Archive, 2010.
 * Kester, Grant H. The One and the Many: Contemporary Collaborative Art in a Global Context. Durham: Duke University Press, 2011. 76-95.
 * Kester, Grant H. The One and the Many: Contemporary Collaborative Art in a Global Context. Durham: Duke University Press, 2011. 76-95.