Kolam, Kalam e arte contemporanea. L'appropriazione nella prospettiva dell'agency

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to use the theory of Art nexus, from the famous book Art and Agency by the anthropologist of art Alfred Gell, and his concepts to analyze a case of artistic appropriation between actors from different cultures. The example is taken from a multi-sited ethnography conducted by the author between 2011 and 2012, in Paris and Southern India and focused on Indian artifacts kolam and kalam and on strategies of some french artists, appropriating these cultural materials and creating new works of art. In these pages, one exhibition of the artist Marie-Thérèse Latuner is analyzed in particularly, together with kolam and kalam in their native contexts, from the point of view of agency, in their respective social relations. The question arise is: can the theory of agency and art nexus, be useful to observe artistic practices distinguished by intercultural appropriation?