The Utah Museum of Fine Arts is scheduled to showcase two exhibits of Hindu art in upcoming months.
The first show is a traveling exhibition “Moksha: Photography by Fazal Sheikh,” which showcases black-and-white photographs that tell the story of outcast widows taking refuge in a holy Indian city, Vrindavan.
“According to their scriptures, Vrindavan was where Krishna, the eighth incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu, spent his childhood, and that it was this time that he drew legions of gopis or ‘cow herd girls’ who abandoned everything to be with him,” said Luke Kelly, associate curator of antiquities at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts.
“They were symbolic of Bhakti—unconditional love and devotion to the God. Krishna himself set out that this was the path to Moksha—release from the Hindu cycle of death birth, rebirth. Today many in the late stages of their life hoping for that release, including these widows.”
Kelly said the women featured in Sheikh’s work have difficult lives, but he believes Sheikh’s art is important because it showcases the woman as being strong—finding new family and faith while striving for Moksha.
In order to educate the public concerning the significance of the exhibit, Kelly said the museum decided to create a sister-showcase of the Hindu Lord Krishna, which will run from Aug. 8 through Nov. 20.
“The audience in Utah, many would question, ‘Who was the God Krishna? What is Vrindavan,’ and so this show, which was drawn from our permanent collection, enlightens viewers to that,” Kelly said.
The exhibit includes sacred and secular pieces from both medieval and contemporary society, Kelly explained.
The Utah Museum of Fine Arts has been located at the University of Utah campus since 1951 and aims to bring world art to the citizens of Utah.
For more information on the show, visit the Utah Museum of Fine Arts website.