Art and Life in Bangladesh Book

It's unfortunate that most people associate Bangladesh with starvation, natural disasters, and political turmoil, as if this region of the world existed in a perpetual state of emergency. It is true that life in Bangladesh is not easy--there are crop failures, typhoons, and political unrest--but there is also a long and rich tradition of art, ranging from the potter's craft to amazing works of painting, engraving, weaving, sculpture, metalwork, and more. In Art and Life in Bangladesh, Henry Glassie, a professor of folklore at Indiana University, introduces readers to the people of Bangladesh through their artwork. But Glassie's book is not a coffee-table volume filled with gorgeous images and a thin trickle of print; rather, art is simply the medium by which he guides the reader through the history, culture, and community of this small land situated on the world's widest delta. Glassie is not content merely to survey Bangladeshi art; instead, he introduces readers to individual artists, allowing each of them to speak at length about his or her work and motivation. It soon becomes clear that in Bangladesh, art and everyday life are inextricably linked. Photographs are liberally sprinkled throughout the text--if only some of them were in color. Perhaps with Art and Life in Bangladesh, Glassie, who has performed similar ethnographic marvels in books about Irish and Turkish art, will help promote a more positive image of this ancient land.Read More