A lecture by Deepali Dewan, Curator, Royal Ontario Museum, and Assistant Professor, Department of Art, University of Toronto
Deen Dayal, Buddhist Stupa at Sarnath, from approach-road Benares, c.1888, albumen print, ACP 2005.05.0082Part of the 2009 - 2010 Speaking of Photography Lecture Series
Organized by the Department of art historyWhen:Nov. 12 at 6:30 p.m.
Where:1515 Ste. Catherine Street West (Metro Guy-Concordia), EV-1.615
Cost:Admission is free. Everyone welcome.
In a field dominated by Europeans, Raja Deen Dayal (1844-1905) stands out for the high degree of success he achieved in the early period of photography in India. Dayal established three important commercial studios and produced almost 30,000 images over a nearly four-decade-long career in an era marked by British colonialism, the beginnings of nationalist sentiment, and the changing tide of modernity. this talk focuses on how Dayal was able to master the practice of photography in three distinct but overlapping cultural arenas: the British colonial administration; the Princely States, where he was the official photographer of the most wealthy 'native' ruler of the time, the Nizam of Hyderabad; and the emerging commercial centre of what was then called Bombay. While Dayal's career is central to the history of the early period of photography in india, his practice also has important contributions to make to our understanding of photographic history more broadly in terms of photography's use of painted models, its identity as art or science, and its relationship to 'truth.'
Deepali Dewan is an art historian of South Asian visual culture. She joined the Royal Ontario Museum in January 2002 as associate curator of South Asian Civilizations. Deepali is cross-appointed as assistant professor in the Department of Art at the University of Toronto, is part of the department's graduate faculty, and is affiliated with the Centre for South Asian Studies. Dewan's research interests span the 19th- and 20th-century visual cultures of South Asia and the South Asian Diaspora. Most recently, her research has focused on history and theory of photography in india.
Speaking of Photography is made possible by the generosity of an anonymous donor, with additional support from the Gail and Stephen A. Jarislowsky Institute for Studies in Canadian Art; the Concordia University Research Chair in Art History; Ciel Variable magazine; and Château Versailles Hotel. All lectures in the 2009-10 series will be held in the York Amphitheatre, EV-1.615, on the ground floor of the Engineering, Computer Science and Visual Arts Complex, 1515 Ste-Catherine Street West. Metro Guy-Concordia. Lectures are free and open to the public.
