Books
How Big Cats Once Symbolized France’s Colonialist Ambitions
Myth and Menagerie urges us to view lions as sentient beings and not as timeless, passive objects of representation for 19th-century French artists.
Nageen Shaikh
Nageen Shaikh is an art historian and critic. She is most interested in production over ideation in South Asian art, early modern and contemporary art, artist studios, languages, and collaborations between art materials, design, and science.
Books
The Legends, Luxuries, and Dreams of Imperial Mughal Ateliers
In Brush of Insight, Yael Rice charts a Mughal “visual economy” thriving between the 16th and early 17th centuries in India.
Books
Can AI Be Better at Art History Than Us?
Artificial Intelligence may efficiently sort images but loses out to a humanistic approach.
Books
Redefining Modern Art in the Muslim World
Though at times a puzzling read, artist Rasheed Araeen’s latest book critiques Western scholarship that ignores Islam’s influence on modern art.
Art
How Are Pakistani Artists Grappling With the Climate Crisis?
Local artists invoke nostalgia, probe policymakers, and take aim at public perception to shift attitudes toward natural resources and waste management.
Books
Bani Abidi’s Conflicted Ode to Karachi
The Artist Who lets readers peer into a postcolonial space through critical engagement and visuals designed to both educate and entertain.
Books
The Evolving Nature of South Asian Bookmaking
A new publication contextualizes the historical and contemporary book traditions in South Asia.
Books
Katy Hessel Kicks Men Out of the Western Art Canon
After reading The Story of Art Without Men, educators may aspire to redesign their art history surveys and syllabi — and trade some Picassos for Gegos.
Books
How Did Early Modern European Craftspeople Pass On Their Knowledge?
A new book about object making critically examines a written history of working with materials.
Books
A New Sourcebook of Indian Art
20th Century Indian Art: Modern, Post-Independence, Contemporary surveys the many distinct aspects of art in South Asia.
Art
Inside the Wondrous Studios of Three Pakistani Artists
Contemporary artist studios in Karachi prioritize pragmatism; many resist a traditional understanding of spaces with singular purposes.
Art
Aisha Khalid Examines Women's Roles and Spirituality Through Textiles and Geometry
In her current retrospective viewers can see the beginning of an oeuvre that scrutinizes personal, social, and cultural issues such as prescribed societal norms associated with the female gender.