VTS Recap: Claiming Land by Rupy C. Tut
Claiming Land by Rupy C. Tut, 2022, Jessica Silverman Gallery, San Francisco, CA, USA (Sold)
Last week we had a VTS (Visual Thinking Strategies) discussion about this intriguing painting by contemporary artist, Rupy C. Tut.
Who is Rupy C. Tut?
American Sikh Punjabi, born in India in 1985, immigrated to America early teens
BS in Evolutionary and Ecological Biology with Minor in South Asian Studies, UCLA, 2005
CA MPH in Global Health Loma Linda University, 2009
After finishing her studies in science and health, she decided to pursue her lifelong passion for art and sought individual training under master traditional miniature painter Dr. Susana Marin at the Prince's School of Traditional Arts in London.
She is a “painter dissecting historical and contemporary displacement narratives around identity, belonging, and gender. As a descendant of refugees and a first-generation immigrant, Rupy’s family narrative of movement, loss, and resilience is foundational to her creative inquiries. Her work engages in the strict practice of traditional materials and methodology associated with traditional Indian painting as she continues to add contemporary images and characters to a centuries-old visual language.” - www.artbyrupy.com.
What is the history and significance of this painting?
Claiming Land (and the other pieces in the Search and Rescue Series) seem, at first glance, to be paintings from the past.
Search and Rescue Series, Rupy C. Tut, 2022, Jessica Silverman Gallery, San Francisco, CA, USA (Sold)
The handmade paper, use of natural pigments, idealized human hands and arms, and other traditional Indian motifs are juxtaposed beautifully with both modern objects (e.g., a bright orange life preserver) and modern issues of displacement, belonging, and what it means to be part of a group. As a BIPOC artist, Tut expresses a unique point of view while touching on universal themes that many people, regardless of their background, can relate to and feel a connection to.
Common natural pigments
While researching this art and artist, I came across some interesting information about natural pigments.
Courtesy of Invaluable (https://www.invaluable.com/blog/natural-pigments/)
Many natural pigments come from minerals, plants, and animals.
As a painter, I had heard of all of these colors and as a rock geek, I was aware of many of the mineral-derived pigments, but had to do some research on the animal-derived pigments.
Cochineal: made from ground-up Kermes insects
Carmine: obtained from cochineal extract and carminic acid found in Kermes insect blood
Indian yellow: made from cow urine (from cows fed primarily on mangoes) that has been boiled and strained to produce sediment that is then rolled and packaged
Sepia: obtained from the ink sacs of cuttlefish and squid
Tyrian purple: made from ground-up Murex, a predatory sea snail
Tyrian purple was very popular in Ancient Rome and purple has continued to be associated with royalty throughout much of European history. The process involves a significant amount of labor to extract the dye from thousands of snails (250k for 1 ounce of dye), hence it was highly valued and referred to as “royal purple.”
A typical royal purple mantel (those fancy capes you often see European monarchs wearing) weighs approximately 20 pounds. It takes around 4 ounces of dye for each pound of fabric… that’s 80 ounces, or 20M sea snails for one royal purple mantel.
Another “natural” pigment
While doing research, I came across another interesting and disturbing natural pigment that I had never heard of… Mummy Brown. It was a favorite of the pre-Raphaelite painters of the mid-late 1800s as it had a nice soft brown color that was useful for translucent glazes and flesh tones. It was used extensively in this 1815 painting by Martin Drolling.
Interior of a Kitchen by Martin Drolling, 1815, courtesy of Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mummy_brown)
Many artists thought Mummy Brown was just a name describing their beloved soft brown color, not an accurate description of the main ingredient. It fell out of favor considerably once the real origin was known, but it didn’t disappear entirely.
In 1964, the manufacturer who made Mummy Brown reportedly ran out of mummies saying, “We might have a few odd limbs lying around somewhere, but not enough to make any more paint. We sold our last complete mummy some years ago for, I think, £3. Perhaps we shouldn't have. We certainly can't get any more.”
Is it just me, or is the real “oopsy” making paint out of real human mummies in the first place (not running out of them)? Oh art history, how I both love and despise thee.
What were some things that were noticed during the VTS discussion?
“These are the same people in the same land separated by artificial political borders and they are working together to help each other succeed.”
Evidence: the hands are all same color (same people) and the land in the background is the same, there are just bright yellow/gold borders placed on top of the land, as you move up, you can see that because the people are working together, they are able to bend the borders
“This is one person's inward journey from depression and struggle to cooperation and finally peace and happiness.”
Evidence: the hands are all the same because they belong to one person, there is struggle and a need to survive at the bottom because of the life preserver and the choppiness of the water in the background. As you go up, the hands start to touch each other more and have more intimacy and the water in the background becomes calmer. The single hand at the top has more space and peace and room to continue growing and is holding the flower as a metaphor for success.
“This represents an organization where those at the top benefit from the hard work and cooperation of those further down.”
Evidence: the hands at the bottom are struggling and it’s chaotic, as you go up, they are showing more teamwork by touching each other and pulling each other up, at the top there are fewer hands (representing fewer people) and the seedling that is sprouting and flower represent the success or fruits that the people at the top get to enjoy.
What do you see in this painting?
