Gates of the Lord: The Tradition of Krishna Paintings

The Pushtimarg, a Hindu sect established in India in the fifteenth century, possesses a unique cultureandmdash;reaching back centuries and still vital todayandmdash;in which art and devotion are deeply intertwined. This important volume, illustrated with more than one hundred vivid images, offers a new, in-depth look at the Pushtimarg and its rich aesthetic traditions, which are largely unknown outside of South Asia.

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Original essays by eminent scholars of Indian art focus on the style of worship, patterns of patronage, and artistic heritage that generated pichvais, large paintings on cloth designed to hang in temples, as well as other paintings for the Pushtimarg. In this expansive study, the authors deftly examine how pichvais were and still are used in the seasonal and daily veneration of Shrinathji, an aspect of Krishna as a child who is the chief deity of the temple town of Nathdwara in Rajasthan. Gates of the Lord introduces readers not only to the visual world of the Pushtimarg, but also to the spirit of Nathdwara.

The Swami Vivekananda's speech to the World's Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893 is the centerpiece of Indian artist Jitish Kallat's new work, Public Notice 3. The installation went on view at the Art Institute of Chicago on September 11, 2010, exactly 108 years after Vivekananda delivered his groundbreaking address calling for an end to "bigotry and fanaticism."

The text of the speech appears on the risers of the Art Institute of Chicago's Grand Staircase where it is illuminated in the five colorsand#8212;red, orange, yellow, blue, and greenand#8212;designated by the United States Homeland Security Advisory System to signify threat levels. This companion book, which documents the installation, is the first full-scale exploration of Kallat's work published by a North American institution. Along with an interview with the artist, essays contextualize Public Notice 3 within the space of the installation and evaluate Kallat's oeuvre within an international context.

This beautifully illustrated catalogue examines the historic and contemporary art and culture of the Hindu Pushti Marg sect and the tradition of temple paintings known as pichhvais.

Madhuvanti Ghose is the Alsdorf Associate Curator of Indian, Southeast Asian, Himalayan, and Islamic Art at the Art Institute of Chicago.