Gods in the Bazaar is a fascinating account of the printed images known in India as ldquo;calendar artrdquo; or ldquo;bazaar art;rdquo; the color-saturated; mass-produced pictures often used on calendars and in advertisements; featuring deities and other religious themes as well as nationalist leaders; alluring women; movie stars; chubby babies; and landscapes. Calendar art appears in all manner of contexts in India: in chic elite living rooms; middle-class kitchens; urban slums; village huts; hung on walls; stuck on scooters and computers; propped up on machines; affixed to dashboards; tucked into wallets and lockets. In this beautifully illustrated book; Kajri Jain examines the power that calendar art wields in Indian mass culture; arguing that its meanings derive as much from the production and circulation of the images as from their visual features.Jain draws on interviews with artists; printers; publishers; and consumers as well as analyses of the prints themselves to trace the economiesmdash;of art; commerce; religion; and desiremdash;within which calendar images and ideas about them are formulated. For Jain; an analysis of the bazaar; or vernacular commercial arena; is crucial to understanding not only the calendar art that circulates within the bazaar but also Indiarsquo;s postcolonial modernity and the ways that its mass culture has developed in close connection with a religiously inflected nationalism. The bazaar is characterized by the coexistence of seemingly incompatible elements: bourgeois-liberal and neoliberal modernism on the one hand; and vernacular discourses and practices on the other. Jain argues that from the colonial era to the present; capitalist expansion has depended on the maintenance of these multiple coexisting realms: the sacred; the commercial; and the artistic; the official and the vernacular.
#1261253 in eBooks 2013-08-13 2013-08-13File Name: B00EHK9T24
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. The genius inventor of the modern flute describes how he invented it in his own words.By CuriousMarcUsually instruments evolve and improve gradually over centuries; every maker contributing a little refinement. Not so with the flute. Theobald Boehm; genious flutist and silversmith; figured it out all by himself in a lifetime. There is the forgotten flute before him and the flute as we know it after him. If figured out every aspect of the modern flute. The material; the dimensions; the oh-so-clever mechanism. And it has hardly changed since. In this book he explains how he did it; with a clear intent to teach other flute makers. He says he was inspired by flute physics; but there is really little of that - his approach is almost entirely and very cleverly experimental; and very practical. Mr. Boehm was definitely a genius craftsman and flutist; but not so genius a writer. His approach is as straightforward as the text is dry. If you are curious into understanding the inner workings of a seemingly absurd mechanism and of an inventive mind (I am for both); here you can have the unadulterated thinking from the master. Up to you to understand it from the terse explanations; and imagine the story behind the mind that did this. And finally I understood why the C# is so sharp - the one note he had to find a compromise for. Will it help you be a better flute player? I sincerely doubt it. Is it an intriguing book for the technically inclined and an insight into an inventive mind of the practical kind - you bet.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. 1964 Edition - a surprisingly fascinating (I concur!) read with insights into the accoustical evolution of the Boehm fluteBy AgogoLiveThe tale of why your flute does what it does when you do what with it.A true classic that is deserving a spot on your bookshelf in honour of the man who dared challenge convention to deliver us the silver boehm flute today a far superior instrument to that of its predecessor over 180 years ago. And saved us from a till then largely unchanged primitive flute which is near impossible to play.Upshot: Purchased the book as an afterthought; nearly dismissing it as relic work; I stand corrected and found intriguing insights on accoustical aspects in here which helps a little in the artistic aspects of flute playing. A knowledgebase of historical development of the boehm flute and its anatomy with precise measurements. I concur with my fellow reviewer that Boehms openness and technical journey does make fascinating reading.1964 (Second English) Edition - What are the changes between this and the 2011 2nd Edition?Ive just procured a 2nd hand copy of this book via .com and just realised its an old 1964 Edition.There does not appear to be any change in the contents of this publication compared with later publications.THIS ONE IS A Dover Publication NY: A dull blue cover paperback (8x6") with darkened silhouette images of (the mid joints of) two flutes (not per inset pic which is purplish)It is a good quality 1964 reproduction of Dayton C Millers 2nd revised 1922 English edition. Though paperback its print and paper quality is excellent and the book opens up easily; stays flat.Preface XXIXContentsList of Illustrations #I-VIFigures #1-50 PagesPart I : On The Flute 3-134Part II : On Flute-Playing 135-161Appendix 165-190Index 191-197Images are as clear as you can hope for BW reproductions of old images.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. The fundamental book for all flute players; by the inventor himself.By Windy DankoffThis is a historical and a practical document by one of the greatest artist-inventors of all time ndash; a hero to flute players. Boehm single-handedly invented the "modern" flute; way back in 1847 and it took over the market. His story is fascinating; and so is the presentation; which he wrote around 1870 as a part of his legacy. If you are a flute player with 1/2 inch of space on your favorite bookshelf; then get this book!