Adaptability and Innovation

Design Resource

Shivarapatna Stone Crafts II

The Craft of Stone Carved Sculptures and Idols

Prof. Bibhudutta Baraland Antony William

Adaptability and Innovation

Adaptability has become a part of Indian craftsman these days. Scarcity of resources and other constraints put pressure on artisans and craftsmen to become more adaptable and innovative in their daily life, and a lot of examples of this is kind has been observed in contemporary Indian craft scenario. The craftsmen of Shivarapatna have adapted to new types of raw material such as re-enforced plastic and acrylic to make life size statues of politicians and saints. They not only make statues in stone but carry out metal casting processes in their in-built foundries to meet requirements of the market. Adaptability is also seen in the education system of the craftsmen families. Traditionally craftsmen hardly had any choice of pursuing different careers other than crafts of their family. He had to take the craft of his family as his career as he was the only son of his family. Children of the previous generation crafts people have gone to colleges and their children are going to good schools with intention of making it good in education.

The craftsmen have started to adopt new means of technology/ mechanization of production. In the modern industrsy set-up also use of traditional methods of measurements are still in practice. The designs are drawn on 1:1 scale in Auto-CAD, whose print outs are taken and pasted on the stone for carving purpose. Unlike traditional workspace, the workers’ health issues are taken care of by providing protective gear and signage systems around the factory. Innovation was seen in the form of tools, protective gear, sitting place, etc. to utilize the material and the human resources optimally. In one of the instances, a craftsman was using cut out of tire/ tube rubber to make a glove to protect his hand and to absorb the vibrations of the tools. Tire or rubber baskets were used to carry and store tools as they could withstand the weight, shear and tear form the tools.

Multiple Dimensionalities:
Craftsman shows multiple dimensionality in the form of their crafts and complexity of their expression is also seen in the form of detailing in the carvings. In the streets, letterforms take on shades of anthropomorphic life—sophisticated, three-dimensional, visually complex expression, where the very surface on which the painter works often becomes part of the message itself. The sign painters have turned letters into form, which are commonly seen in the crafts. The fonts printed on their advertisement had similar motifs which are seen in their sculptures. This adds a new dimension in the fonts to portray their complexity and inculcate the forms seen in their structures.

Different dimensions are added to the already existing sculptures to make them more complex and appealing. The statues seen in the industrialized stone carving industry (factory setup) had next level of complexity in the statues, for example, a chain made out of a single piece of stone and a stone ball in the mouth of the tiger statue. This portrays not only the complexity of expression of the craftsmen but also the skill. This is possible due to their acceptance of new forms of technology. According to the owner of the industrialized setup, these complex forms are possible due to complex tools which were also present long ago in different ways but got lost in time. The signboard with the name of the industrial setup, signs of safety and precautions put in the industry had mere simplicity depicting the life and form of expression of craftsman and his everyday life.

Modularity:
Modularity, as a characteristic of design thinking, has efficiency as its guiding principle. Born of the competition for space and resources, the modular impulse in design seeks simple solutions to problems of everyday life. Modularity not only allows for space-saving efficiencies; it also allows one unit of the module to perform dual functions. Displays of food, cloth, and tools in shops across India are powerful evidence of the importance and persistence of Gestalt grouping principles. But the marketing of ordinary goods—which often are sold on the sidewalk or from a wooden hand-cart, or even on a basket carried on the head—also often involve elaborate design, display, and sales patter that have remained unexamined.

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Shivarapatna Stone Crafts II