Center for the Study of Hindu Traditions

A lecture by Dr. Vidya Dehejia.

Vidya Dehejia provides a preview from her forthcoming book, “The Body Adorned” that addressees the dominance of the human form in India’s art, the sensuous nature of the imagery used to portray deities to be approached with veneration, the intimate portrayal of divine couples, and the manner in which sacred spaces happily accommodate what might be termed “profane” imagery. A public lecture and graduate/faculty seminar. Dr. Vidya Dehejia is the Barbara Stoler Miller Professor of Indian and South Asian Art at Columbia University. The Roy C. Craven, Jr. Memorial Lecture is co-sponsored by the Center for the Study Hindu Traditions and the Harn Museum of Art.

Dr. Deehjia has authored over twenty major books and numerous articles on Indian art history, Buddhist archaeology and inscriptions, and Tamil devotional poetry. As the deputy director and chief curator of the Smithsonian’s Freer Gallery and the Arthur M.Sackler Gallery from 1994-2002, she organized several important exhibitions, including ‘The Sensuous and the Sacred: Chola Bronzes from South India,” (American Federation of Arts, New York, jointly with Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., 2002), “India Through the Lens: Photography 1840?1911.” (Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.,2000) and “Devi: The Great Goddess.” (Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., 1999.)

Dr. Dehejia received her PhD from Cambridge University, England. Over the past thirty years, she has combined research with teaching and exhibition-related activities around the world. Extensive field travel in South Asia, with visits to sites of importance in Southeast Asia, has given her first hand familiarity with the art of the region.

Dr. Dehejia incorporates her knowledge of classical Sanskrit and Tamil, her lyrical translations of ancient poetry, and material from unpublished manuscripts, to illumine art. She has explored the theoretical basis for the portrayal of visual narratives in the context of India?s sculpture and painting, and has examined issues of gender and colonialism. Over time, her work has ranged from Buddhist art of the centuries BCE to the esoteric temples of North India, and from the sacred bronzes of the South to the art of British India. Management and curatorial experience at the Smithsonian’s Freer and Sackler Galleries has provided broader scope to convey the excitement of her field to non-specialist audiences.