User:Ejchoate/gap analysis

Gap analysis

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

Women Artists of Bangladesh


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

During my independent studies of feminism and art I found myself wanting to branch out beyond western art practice. Wikipedia’s labyrinth of information was initially overwhelming, until I stumbled across a page listing women artists of Bangladesh, none of whom I was familiar with. The name Nasima Haque Mitu grabbed my attention, and then my interest, for she is one of the few female sculptors present in the rich world of Bangladesh modern art. Disappointingly enough, other than her name on this Wikipedia list, she has no page of her own. The information is scarce but intriguing. The brief summary beneath her name only scratches the surface level of what she’s accomplished and makes no references to her work as a professor or the many awards she accumulated over a continuous career. If this were not lacking enough, the list fails to include any actual images of her work (or the work of any other artist) making it even harder to get any real sense of what her work is about. After further research, I found several articles regarding Mitu, as an artist and beloved professor, making me question why an obvious talent had very little recognition on Wikipedia? This giant in the world of accessible information very often only dives into surface information. Mitu’s name was just another to add to the laundry list of glossed over Bangladesh artists who create outside the realm of easily understood western art.


 * 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.)

The absence of a page for Nasima Haque Mitu means a lot can be done to expand on her life and work. Even the basic summary beneath her name on the “Woman Artists of Bangladesh” wiki page could benefit greatly from fresh, in depth research. The following information should be included. Born in 1967 and educated in Fine Art has gone on the receive the following awards; 1986-7 Best Work in Drawing Media at Rajshahi College, 1990 Best Work in Sculpture Annual Exhibition at The Institute of Fine Arts in Dahka, 1994 Best Experimental Work in Sculpture  Annual Exhibition at The Institute of Fine Arts in Dahka (4). Her sculptures border on formalism, and through her clean, minimal approach to stone carving, Mitu conveys themes of memory, gender, and identity. Much of her style was influenced by Russian formalism, as with artist Constantin Brancusi (3). As an artist Mitu has modernized a distinctive Bangladesh style whilst also striving to achieve “pure form[s]” in minimal sculpture. Her work has been displayed at the following exhibits: 1984-87 Annual Exhibitions of Arts & Crafts College, Rajshahi, 1988-95 Annual Exhibitions of the Institute of Fine Arts, Dhaka University, 1994-2000 National Young Artists Exhibition, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy,1992-98 National Art Exhibition, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy,1995, 1997 Asian Art Biennial, Bangladesh Shilpakala (4). Mitu was also included in The 11th Annual Asian Art Biennale at the Shilpakala Academy in 2003 (2), and The Other Voice: Exhibition of 21 Women Artists at the Bengal Gallery of Fine Art in March of 2006 (1). She is currently working as a freelance sculptor and instructor at The Shilpakala Academy in Bangladesh (5).


 * 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.)

1) Anne, Atia Islam. The Other Voice: Exhibition of 21 Women Artists = Anya Svara. Dhaka: Bengal Gallery of Fine Arts, 2006. Print.

2) Choudhury, Subir. 11th Asian Art Biennale Bangladesh 2003. Dakka: Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, 2003. Print.

3) Moishan, Shahman. "Historicity, City and Sculpture : Contextualizing Two Outdoor Sculptures by Novera Ahmed and Nasima Haque Mitu." Depart Magazine. Web. Feb. 2016. http://www.departmag.com/index.php/en/detail/216/historicityand-city-and-sculpture-and-contextualizing-two-outdoor-sculptures-by-Novera-Ahmed-and-Nasima-Haque-Mitu

4)"Nasima Haque Mitu." Bengal Foundation. Web. 16 Feb. 2016. http://www.bengalfoundation.org/artist/nasima-hoque/

5)"Slade School of Fine Art." The : British Council INSPIRE Exchange with the University of Dhaka. Web. 16 Feb. 2016. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/slade/research/projects/inspire