The pictorial representation in art or film displays the values of human life in a society that would be good or bad, right or wrong depending upon the perception of an individual person. The dual character of a particular person might reflect his or her internal perception upon the specific reaction to the external image. Therefore, a nude picture could be ascribed as innocence or simplicity, while another onlooker might interpret in vulgarity; or even the same person might have doubtful misconception without clarity. The content in the pictorial frame along with other subsidiary elements might influence the mind of an individual to relate with situations in history or certain significant social situations in the surrounding environment or elsewhere in the world. The human mind registers certain imagery that prevailed in society and could be permanently imprinted if there is a regular bombardment of the image associated with a specific activity. The mass media is usually responsible for creating certain entities associated with any activity that is universally accepted as the standard format. For example, a splash of bright red colour usually represents violence, whereas it could be associated with vibrancy or courage; similarly, a bagful of treasure represents the accumulation of wealth or corruption, while it could represent hard work or prosperity. In this manner, there are other images that are typically branded with a certain specific activity. In the current universal situation a white cap persona is typeface as a terrorist, which is against the Islamic faith; a cross as a religious symbol of Christianity, while the different design of a cross might represent otherwise; a hallow on a person’s head as holy, a pair of horns on the human head as the devil. There could be a contradictory perception of a particular image with dual perception like the armed warrior is a revolutionary figure on one side and a rebellious militant on another. In the modern system of civil administration, an image of a tribal forest dweller is termed as a poacher or intruder by the white collar officials and the urban inhabitants, ignoring their inherent knowledge about nature and its ecology. The perception evolved according to the prevailing situation and the urban elite always had an upper hand over their rural counterparts, where second-hand information gathered from all over the world dominated the essence of firsthand knowledge derived from the land of origin of any particular community.
For an artist, the human nude figure is a precise model for understanding the anatomy, irrespective of the perception of innocence or vulgarity. The form and the content are equally important in the portrayal of any artwork. The artist needs to understand precisely and elaborately the skeletal frame and the flesh and muscle structure for every stature, movement, and dynamics of the animated creatures, whether human or animals or birds or aquatic creatures or even insects. The other aspects of application skill are the additional ingredients that an artist can interject upon the other forms within a frame. The techniques, strokes, and textures are the cosmetic layers that will enhance the beauty of the content as a visible image, whereas the proper and profound understanding of the content is the forms that can be literal or distorted according to the specific expression of an artist. Essentially, there should be a balance between the application of skill and the intellectual expression through the image. In the garb of liberal expression, many intellectuals become artists without an iota of technical skill, even as art is not the exclusive domain of visual expression. Therefore, it is important for every creative person to be engaged in the interactive exercise to articulate intellectual interpretation of any particular work of art: be it literature inclusive of drama, poetry, prose, short stories; theatre, music, dance including other performing arts, visual arts inclusive of cinema, painting, sculpture, printmaking, design, illustration, cartooning, photography and digital arts. For every expression, there is further scope to analyze, scrutinize, and fine-tune the artworks by the art critic for assessment of the quality of the artworks. This is the healthy growth of art in an atmosphere of universal consideration of aesthetics.
It is interesting to note that several other crafts also possessed certain elements of intellectual involvement although the scope of expression is more inclined towards creative technical skills. The weavers are intimately attached to the thread, the fabric, and the tools; the craftsperson are engaging in dialogue with the bamboo, cane, reed, and tools from the moment he or she cuts or slices the bamboo strips to the time of plaiting each basketry item. The emotional connection could be the process of learning the skill from the veteran expert of the family or the community, or it could be nature and its surroundings like the forest, the river, the grassland, the stone, the soil, or even the spirits. Furthermore, in every craft, there is an element of scientific knowledge that every craftsperson is acquainted with a profound understanding of nature. They know the season of planting and harvesting the cotton; they know the time for nurturing the silkworm in the mulberry tree, then deriving the silk thread from the silkworm, and the climatic situation for weaving; they know the season for cutting the bamboo or cane, the preservation method, the effective working situation and everything about basketry. The most significant aspect of this phenomenon is that the true artists are none other than the simple farmers who know everything about nature, ecology, and all the sciences and arts of the universe. In the Khasi context, the treasure of folklore has an enormous amount of knowledge that is yet available in written form, which contains oral literature that needs to be explored.
This treasure of knowledge is an amalgamation of ethnology, sociology, theology, philosophy, geology, geography, ecology, astronomy, and all the other branches of sciences. Further, within that stock emerged the various art forms like folk music, dance, theatre, and several cultural expressions. However, there is a limitation of visual expression in Khasi culture for certain reasons that need further research and analysis. The root cause of this situation is because Khasi is prohibited from the creation of any image, particularly of the entity that the society reveres; even the divine concept is not in any form or structure, and without gender or number; rather the idea of God is abstract.
The root of every culture germinates in various forms and grows according to the prevailing situation in the surrounding environment, and with time it matures within the ambit of that source that has blossomed in its distinct entity. However, the slavish imitation does not have any origin and is a superficial element that shall gain momentum instantly and instantly fade away in no time. Therefore, imitation is a fascination and an influence from other cultures and the west has created this trend to be followed elsewhere around the world. The slavish simulation of any artistic expression is superficial. There is no harm in copying or taking reference from any source as long as it can be recreated with the innovative application, but it is always authentic to create an original piece. In the context of the Khasi tradition, where there are limited images in any folk materials, it is imperative to discover a visual entity related to Khasi identity. Therefore, the other folk practices in material culture and intangible heritage could be the vital source of imagery that can be created to introduce the Khasi folk art. Some Khasi artists have indicated an element of folk character in the image-making practice, in spite of the fact that they are already exposed to contemporary art. Another method is to derive the ritual images and ceremonial forms that prevailed with the royal or priest clan within the Khasi community. Moreover, the organic material used for dying the fabric could be introduced for the creation of colourful images and designs. The present generation of artists with sensitivity towards the other folk expression will be able to generate folk imagery with authentic characteristics of Khasi tradition.
Thereafter, the subsequent generation of artists will be able to obtain certain elements of folk art that have been set up by their predecessors. These elements could be incorporated in other forms of expression including contemporary art. Therefore, the classical form emerged after a few years through the artworks of the finest artists of the earlier period. Perhaps, the situation in the Khasi visual art tradition might be able to produce a separate genre of aesthetic expression. With modern development and digital technology, other diverse expressions shall emerge to distinguish between urban and rural creative folk art. However, with the postmodern approach, the various styles of expression could be combined and produced a different identity of Khasi art that may not be necessarily folk but contemporary in nature.
