Martand Singh (textile conservator)

2021-05-25T08:27:28Z

2405:201:4006:CF2A:54DE:5E01:D9E4:706B: common name

{{short description|Indian textile conservator}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Martand Singh
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = 10 February 1947
| birth_place =
| death_date = {{death date and age|2017|4|25|1947|2|10|df=y}}
| death_place =
| nationality = Indian
| education = [[The Doon School]]<br>[[St. Stephen's College, Delhi]]
| relatives = [[Sita Devi (Maharani of Kapurthala)|Sita Devi, Maharani of Kapurthala]] (mother)<br>[[Jagatjit Singh]] (grandfather)
| other_names =
| known_for = [[Textile conservator|Textile conservation]], Conservation of Indian arts and crafts
| awards = [[Padma Bhushan]]
| occupation =
| residence =
}}
'''Martand "Mapu" Singh''' (10 February 1947{{spnd}}25 April 2017) was an Indian [[textile conservator]], curator, and [[cultural historian]] who championed the revival of traditional Indian textiles, [[weaving]] and [[dyeing]] traditions. He served as the director of [[Calico Museum of Textiles]] in [[Ahmedabad]] and was one of the founder members, and former head, of [[Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage]] (INTACH).<ref name="auto">{{cite web|author=Aatish Taseer |url=https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/oCKD77DOOy93Moo26A48bL/Martand-Singh-revisited.html |title=Martand Singh revisited |publisher=Livemint.com |access-date=28 May 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/21/fashion/fine-crafts-in-india-go-the-way-of-fairy-soap.html|title=Fine Crafts in India Go the Way of Fairy Soap|first=Guy|last=Trebay|date=21 November 2004|via=NYTimes.com}}</ref> He was a trustee of the [[Mehrangarh Museum]] in Jodhpur.<ref name="auto2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/RaPpbXIt9dDRpfKyI4RxNM/Martand-Singh-The-man-who-gave-us-Vishwakarma.html|title=Martand Singh: The man who gave us Vishwakarma|first=Komal|last=Sharma|date=12 May 2017|website=Livemint}}</ref>

Singh has been described as India's "best-known textile revivalist".<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web|url=https://openthemagazine.com/art-culture/heritage/weaving-a-legacy/|title=Weaving a Legacy|date=21 February 2018}}</ref> In a 1997 interview in ''[[The New York Times]]'', Singh said about the Indian crafts community: "People assume that we will always have these craftspeople, but at the current rate of change, these skills may soon be a thing of the past."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/04/27/magazine/losing-the-thread.html|title=Losing the Thread|first=Guy|last=Trebay|date=27 April 1997|via=NYTimes.com}}</ref>

==Biography==
Singh was born in [[Kapurthala State|Kapurthala]], a former princely state in Punjab, to [[Sita Devi (Maharani of Kapurthala)|Sita Devi, Maharani of Kapurthala]] and Karamjit Singh.<ref>{{cite web|author=Ritika Kochhar |url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/beyond-business/martand-singh-the-master-of-weaves-117042801456_1.html |title=Martand Singh: The master of weaves | Business Standard News |publisher=Business-standard.com |access-date=28 May 2020}}</ref> He attended [[The Doon School]] in Dehradun, and then went to [[St. Stephen's College, Delhi]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Laila Tyabji |url=https://thewire.in/culture/martand-singh-textile-man-understood-tradition-technique |title=The Textile Man Who Understood Both Tradition and Technique |publisher=Thewire.in |date=28 April 2017 |access-date=28 May 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/art-and-culture/textile-exhibition-remembering-the-life-and-times-of-martand-singh/story-zPSCobLkjdhHSMRoq0YahJ.html |title=Textile exhibition: Remembering the life and times of Martand Singh – art and culture |publisher=Hindustan Times |date=10 February 2018 |access-date=28 May 2020}}</ref>

In 1985, he was the co-curator, along with [[Diana Vreeland]], of the celebrated exhibition ''Costumes of Royal India'', at the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] in New York.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1985/12/23/where-all-that-giltters-is-gold/8a177ea5-c603-4aa8-885f-3291cb80e767/|title=Where All That Giltters is Gold|first=Nina|last=Hyde|date=23 December 1985|via=www.washingtonpost.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Bandana Tewari |url=https://www.vogue.in/magazine-story/why-the-death-of-martand-singh-has-been-an-immense-loss-to-fashion/ |title=An ode to beloved textile conservationist, Mapu |publisher=Vogue.in |access-date=28 May 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15324coll10/id/195530/ |title=Contentdm |publisher=Libmma.contentdm.oclc.org |access-date=28 May 2020}}</ref> Along with [[Pupul Jayakar]] and [[Rajeev Sethi]], Singh documented the diversity of textiles and weaves across India, and all three were in the organising committee of the Festival of India, a state-sponsored six-month exhibition of Indian art and culture, held in London in 1982.<ref name="auto"/><ref>{{cite web|author=site admin |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/society-the-arts/story/19810815-festival-of-india-biggest-longest-jamboree-of-indian-art-and-culture-to-open-in-london-773150-2013-11-14 |title=Festival of India: The selling of India|publisher=Indiatoday.in |date=15 August 1981 |access-date=28 May 2020}}</ref> In 2018, the Japanese designer [[Issey Miyake]] held the exhibition, ''Khadi: Indian Craftsmanship, Homage to Martand Singh'', at his [[Tribeca]] store in New York, which came about as the textile director of Miyake Design Studio, Makiko Minagawa, had earlier worked with Singh and was greatly influenced by his efforts in textiles and design conservation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.isseymiyake.com/en/news/5096|title="Khadi: Indian Craftsmanship" exhibition started at Issey Miyake / New York|website=Issey Miyake Inc.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnbctv18.com/views/indias-fabric-of-freedom-in-america-japanese-designer-issey-miyake-brings-khadi-to-new-york-4186151.htm|title=India’s fabric of freedom in America: Japanese designer Issey Miyake brings Khadi to New York|website=cnbctv18.com}}</ref>

Before his death in 2017, Singh was working as the chief consultant for the exhibition ''Peacock in the Desert: The Royal Arts of Jodhpur'', which was displayed at [[Museum of Fine Arts, Houston]], [[Seattle Art Museum]] and [[Royal Ontario Museum]]; the shows, which opened in 2018 after his death, were dedicated to his memory.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/museums/peacock-in-the-desert-offers-a-rare-look-at-indian-art-and-a-royal-court/2018/05/17/6a1e4ee4-58ca-11e8-b656-a5f8c2a9295d_story.html|title=Review | ‘Peacock in the Desert’ offers a rare look at Indian art and a royal court|first=Sebastian |last=Smee|website=Washington Post}}</ref>

===Vishwakarma exhibitions===
Between 1982 and 1992, Singh curated a series of seven exhibitions, titled "Vishwakarma" (Hindi for "all-creating", meaning the personification of the ultimate reality, and in the current context "master artisan"), which for the first time captured the diversity of Indian textile arts under one roof.<ref name="auto2"/> The 1981 exhibition, which brought together textiles from every Indian state, travelled to London as part of the state-sponsored cultural programme ''Festivals of India''. The later exhibitions toured Russia, Japan, France, Italy, Sweden, China and the United States.<ref name="auto1"/> The exhibitions, as a whole, systematically showcased India's textile heritage for the first time, and were instrumental in reviving interest in handmade textiles, weaving and dyeing traditions of the country.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.vervemagazine.in/arts-and-culture/delve-into-mapus-memory-of-indigenous-handlooms-in-delhi|title=In Mapu’s Memory: Discover Indigenous Handlooms In Delhi At This Exhibition|date=12 February 2018|website=Verve Magazine}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.indulgexpress.com/fashion/2019/jan/21/the-saree-registry-puts-on-a-new-iteration-of-khadi-with-the-exhibition-meanings-metaphors-12329.html|title=The Registry of Sarees puts on a new iteration of khadi with the exhibition, Meanings, Metaphors|website=www.indulgexpress.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.architecturaldigest.in/content/exhibition-martand-mapu-singh-national-handicrafts-handloom-museum-new-delhi/|title=Remembering the legacy of textile revivalist Martand ‘Mapu’ Singh|date=18 January 2018|website=Architectural Digest India}}</ref>

==Awards==
Singh was awarded the [[Padma Bhushan]] by the Government of India, for his contributions in the field of Indian arts and culture.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/art-and-culture/weaving-gilt-into-tradition-6007834/ |title=An exhibition of textiles presents the range of experiments done in pattern and material in Varanasi | Lifestyle News,The Indian Express |publisher=Indianexpress.com |date=19 September 2019 |access-date=28 May 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://pib.gov.in/Pressreleaseshare.aspx?PRID=1584565|title=Union Minister of State for Culture (IC) Shri Prahlad Singh Patel inaugurates the exhibition PRA-KASHI on finest trends of contemporary weaving|website=pib.gov.in}}</ref>

==Bibliography==
*{{cite book |last=Singh |first=Martand |last2=Chishti |first2=Rta Kapur |date=1985 |title=Saris of India: Madhya Pradesh |publisher=[[Wiley (publisher)|Wiley]] |isbn=9788122401875}}
*{{cite book |last=Singh |first=Martand |last2=Chishti |first2=Rta Kapur |date=1985 |title=Saris of India: Bihar & West Bengal |publisher=[[Wiley (publisher)|Wiley]] |isbn=9788122408300}}
*{{cite book |last=Singh |first=Martand |last2=Chishti |first2=Rta Kapur |date=2000 |title=Handcrafted Indian Textiles: Tradition and Beyond |publisher=[[Roli Books]] |isbn=9788174360847}}
*{{cite book |last=Singh |first=Martand |last2=Chishti |first2=Rta Kapur |last3=Kelkar |first3=Renuka |date=2010 |title=Saris of India: Tradition and Beyond |publisher=[[Roli Books]] |isbn=9788174363749}}

==References==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Martand}}
[[Category:1947 births]]
[[Category:2017 deaths]]
[[Category:Conservator-restorers]]
[[Category:The Doon School alumni]]
[[Category:St. Stephen's College, Delhi alumni]]
[[Category:University of Delhi alumni]]
[[Category:Indian art curators]]
[[Category:Exhibition designers]]
[[Category:Indian textile designers]]
[[Category:Indian royalty]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts]]
[[Category:Indian historians]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian historians]]

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Martand Singh (textile conservator)