By: Jon Kanzler
Abstract
Shahzia Sikander is a Pakistani-American artist who was initially trained in Indo-Persian miniature painting, but now works in a variety of mediums. Much of her works play with the concept of culture and identity, two concepts that she believes are unstable, abstract, and constantly evolving. Her breakout piece, The Scroll, flipped traditional miniature painting on its head by challenging the traditional scale of miniatures and by depicting scenes from her own life rather than traditional courtly scenes. In The World Is Yours, The World Is Mine, she focuses on the interconnectivity of the world and highlights how many people just want to pick and choose side-effects of globalization, which is not a luxury that anyone can afford. The last piece I explore is Hoods Red Rider II. This piece is packed with symbolism and explores the concepts of culture an identity. There are various depictions of Hindu gods blended with traditional elements of Muslim culture that blend the two religions and cultures. The woman in the center of the frame also has mismatching hands, which I believe shows a clash or a confusion of identity for the woman. I chose Sikander because I like how her work blends traditional styles with new mediums and because of how she addresses complex, abstract themes in a way that makes the viewer think about the themes without outwardly making a polarizing statement.
Annotated Bibliography
“NPT Hindu Gods and Godessespp.” Puppet Theatre, puppettheatre.co.uk/media/dContent/uploads/Gemma/NPT_Hindu_Gods_and_Godesses.pdf.
I used this source to research Hindu gods and goddesses while learning about the Hoods Red Rider II.
“The Scroll.” Shahzia Sikander, www.shahziasikander.com/timeline.
This was Shahzia Sikander’s website. I used this source to get some background on the timeline of her artwork as well as some of her own personal insights on her work.
Sheets, Hilarie M. “Shahzia Sikander: Maximalist Miniatures.” ARTnews.com, ARTnews.com, 18 Nov. 2019, www.artnews.com/art-news/artists/shahzia-sikander-maximalist-miniatures-2202/.
This was a news piece written on Sikander that included many direct quotes from interviews with her. I used this piece to learn about some external analysis of her works, as well as her own personal thoughts on her work and what it means to her.
Sikander, Shahzia. “The World Is Yours, the World Is Mine.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 4 Dec. 2014, www.nytimes.com/2014/11/04/opinion/shahzia-sikander-the-world-is-yours-the-world-is-mine.html.
This piece by the New York Times was focused on The World Is Yours, The World Is Mine. It provided some critical analysis as well as some overall discussion on Sikander as an artist.
Walker, Philip. “The World’s Most Dangerous Borders.” Foreign Policy, 24 June 2011, foreignpolicy.com/2011/06/24/the-worlds-most-dangerous-borders/.
I used this piece to learn about the border between Pakistan and India and how militarized the border is. This article also explored relationships between the two countries which I used in my analysis of Hoods Red Rider II.