International Conference on the Humanities (ICH)
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Item Meanings of Sri Lankan Aborigines’ Stone Paintings; A Visual Analysis of Gira Pokunu Hela Stone Paintings(Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, 2023) Ilangasinghe, I.M.T.Stone paintings, an art form produced by a pre-literate society, can be identified from many continents across the world. Stone paintings of Sri Lankan aborigines are also found in many places across the country. Gira Pokunu Hela aboriginals have used visual factors (characters, materials, environment) in relation to their own attitudes in painting stone paintings. The aim of the research is to identify these signs and their meanings. “What are the implicit meanings of the Gira Pokununa Hela Aboriginal stone paintings?” is the present research problem. Through on-site observations, data such as photographs, drafts, and information were gathered by accessing Gira Pokunu Hela, an uncelebrated sacred site. The ABC triangle theory by the Norwegian philosopher Johan Galtung was used in the stone painting analysis. According to the ABC triangle theory, the end result of any process (conflict or otherwise) is the visible behaviour or process. But Galtung points out that the visible process is not a single event, but an invisible cognitive and emotional process. This political analysis can also be substituted for the analysis of the creative work of stone paintings. Visual conflict, or the expression recognizable as behaviour, becomes the visual process to the viewer of the stone paintings. It is theoretically identifiable through the ABC triangle that the conflict, opposition, or expression is an invisible reflection of the intellectual and emotional feelings, understanding, and beliefs in the form of the attitude of the painter who drew the stone paintings, whereas the historical conditions related to the political, cultural economy of the painter is reflected as the context. Therefore, it was analyzed that the invisible context (the nature of social structures) and attitudes directly contribute to the visible creative conflict of the painter’s act of stone painting. By identifying the invisible attitudes and contexts of the Gira Pokunu Hela stone paintings, their meanings can be better understood. Their implicit meanings reflect symbols of social attitudes and family, love and sexuality, power and pride, attitudes towards nature, and relationships with animals. It can be concluded that they reflect the unique characteristics of the indigenous people.Item A Study on the Contemporary Utilisation of the Creative Ability of the Artist to Illustrate Buddhist Proverbs in Paintings(Faculty of Humanities University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2021) Ilangasinghe, I.M.T.Soon after the arrival of Arahat Mahinda in Sri Lanka or the ‘Mahindagamanaya’ (250-210 BC), Sri Lankan literary art and mural art were formally established with the patronage of the state. Buddhism was one of the founding conduits of classical literature in the Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa periods. Artists inspired by Buddhist literature have used literary documents as sources of creativity for murals. Accordingly, the primary objective of the research is to identify the artist’s creative ability in drawing a detailed portrait of a literary document. The purpose of the research is to explore the applicability of the creative ability of the identified past artist to the contemporary artist. The research endeavours to investigate what visual techniques have been used by the artists in the past to illustrate Buddhist literary proverbs. This study aims to conduct a comparative analysis of the artist’s portrayal of the Dimbulagala ‘Mara’ street, the murals of the Thivanka Statue that depicts the ‘Sasa Jathaka’ story and the ‘Sasadavatha’ inspired by it, in order to examine the identity of each visual symbol. This research study will be conducted via a semantic approach as its main methodological framework. The study observes that, although the mural was created in such a way as to symbolise visual techniques such as the elaborate moon, ‘Sakdevindu’, ‘Valakula’, the placement of the moon as well as the positioning of the moon, the use of space, the process of formation of meaningful impressions through those signs becomes the end result of the creation. Furthermore, this study analyses the utility available to the contemporary artist based upon the feasibility of the work of the past artist. Hence, the study concludes that the artist of the past developed murals as an independent medium, where the visual signals that are intensified in the portrayal are the ones that reveal the contemporary cultural identities.Item A Study on the Influence of Buddhist Literature on the Independent Development of the Contemporary Artist’s Medium of Painting(Faculty of Humanities University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2021) Ilangasinghe, I.M.T.Buddhist literature and murals can be identified as major art forms of the Sri Lankan culture. Visual cues such as symbols, shapes, elements, objects, tools, animal and human figures provide different meanings to murals. For instance, in the murals that signify the ‘Themiya Jathaka’ story; the costumes of Prince Themiya, the gardener and the hoe, the horse cart and the trees as well as the costumes in Thivanka’s statue that depict the ‘Chullapaduma Jathaka’ story are visual cues that symbolise ideologies of both the artist and his/her contemporary period. Accordingly, this research study seeks to investigate the meanings, ideas and ideologies that are conveyed by the visual styles of Sri Lankan murals. This research is conducted via the application of the philosopher Johan Galtung’s ‘ABC Triangle’ theoretical framework. This study examines that, despite the inspiration of Buddhist literature, when analysing the visual symbols and signs, the invisible concepts that intensify those visual factors such as the Sri Lankan identity, culture, and the and the way in which the artist has developed mural painting as an independent means of expression can be observed. Furthermore, this study reveals that the visual elements in murals provide a political reading and a reflection of the Polonnaruwa and Anuradhapura periods, as well as the concept of eco-friendly green cities, the nature of the oppressed class system such as the capitalist ruling class and the disenfranchised classes that sheds light on the social inequality prevalent in those periods. This political analysis also becomes a representation of the cultural identity acquired by the ancient Sri Lankan society. Therefore, this study concludes that the visual imagery in the mural depicts the artist’s invisible attitudes and ideologies via the painting and also the manner in which it becomes the cultural identity of Sri Lanka. Furthermore, it portrays the way in which the contemporary artist has developed an intensified form of independent painting tradition inspired by Buddhist literature.