lstor

NOvEMBER DECEMBER i l 1 ~
zflu a n g Wuhl n : II h ilt l' h c
_ "ith lk.llll) / .\ t'\\t'llllnlf) tt
,(aCtllll<' lllary fJH!/tct alumtt ht /lt't;/)1<'
o_( \ng allliUi i ll mlltlltn\l[lltfln. It ll' tl.\
ti ll flllt'lll/11 lo lllltftrMIIIItf )"(HI/'
I .
roots. lOIII' .fllthtt " '" ' luw11 '" 1),11.
01

(TIIt "OI' ). lhL' -'lluflltriiii/0\1 jlfll/
Ill'""''"": Jfyou utwletllo <'.\"/)lore!
1
he
ofitftllt ity. 11'/Jy tlitl11 't yotttmr. \lw
ltrn"mtll' t1s yout P<'r.Hnullttot k l
. .
I O)(t'thtt "tth
,,
1
her lndt.tn ... 111\ I.Hhtr .rnd Ju, 1.
11111
"
kit \I\.Ulll1.tr lor lndt.l dunrl)( tlw '>tumd
\\mid \\.11 Thc1 '''lktd thmu)(h ) ,lfl)(on
tR.mgt>on) .tnd \l.lnd.tl.l} , .md t'nth:d up ,
11
Ll'tftl tn non hL\t 'IL'rtl I. l lj)Oil lltl'l'llll)(
thl' f\i.tg;t ptoplc, Il l\' I.Hhcr, l.tll lll)
11

trl'ttl'd 11 ith Thq 11 L're g
11
c n
,hcitl'l .tnd food. II t httt: ll'l'l'c nn I nod
111
tht \lll.lgt.', .tnun.t!... or iltrd ... would b..:
,l;tughtered for I hem. Thl''l' II crc thL h..:d-
UOll' ... th;H Ill) f. Hiwr told nw when
1 w.t, younger. llowt'l cr unrtal rnr tdeas
Pablo Bartholomew from Th N
still exists in som f ' a agas- ""!arkod wtt/1 Boouty serios A lemporary morung (though the mstltubon
been built f orm, the actual bulld1ngs that served as the dormltorres have long ceased to exst) had
mock

ritual of the fesbval. The party of Yaong (Phom Naga) warnors would engage
1
n
lhe rl t
1
. uchu (Ao Naga) warriors to capture morung In lhe past both s1des would perform
sfnous lntenlion of emerging as the w1nner In thiS case, the figh11ng was largely fnendly and a
P c e. evokrng great exc1tement amongsl lhe audrences The palm frrnges can only be worn after
a successful headhunt.
of the i\;lg;t pcopll' might ha1e
t>een. there 11<:rc LL'I1J rn im:tge'
th.H I had COI1Jlll"l.'d up '111t't' I
".., a ktd At the ttmt.
I\ t' ;tl\\ a}' been f.t,onatcd h}
border-. lndta nutnt;un .... uch
J long pohtllal houndal) '' nh
other countnc' th.n 11 ' hard
nOt to be tntcre,tcd In the'L'
area,. arc nc1 cr fhcd
or ,tagnant
In 1983. I '''h b)
Satronal Gengraphtc to auempt
a >101} on \\ "e dt(ln"t
>ucceed but I <lblc to
take a peep of the country. She
wa> not a particularly rich or
poor country but he r
ted a I "CI")' traditional wa) of lrfc.
The temples a ncl mo nasteries
Pabl o Bartholomew, from The Nagas - Marked with Beauty series Log drums
were used for celebrating victory, taking of heads, mourning the passing or great
men, and during the solar or lunar eclipses. Each occasion featured a different
way of playrng the drums This ceremony is being performed after a gap or 30
years. When the log drum arrived at this destination, it was smeared with the
blood of animals to appease it.
wctc: H'l). nhrant hut people
"ould not t.tlk or engage: "tth
me \\ 'hc:n I returned m 19H9.
th mg' scc:mc:d more desperate
Pm1p' ,t.tned turning up Jl Ill\'
hotc:l to offer young college grb
for sc:'
I ha1 ent engaged .\1) an
mar as a pc:r'>(>O.tl project be
I ha\ c \"L't to lind .tn angle
. '
to enter the n>Untr\ I ha1e
10 to strong 1mages of the
count I"} but I cant call dtt' m1
pcr,onal work \\ henc\ cr I "as
1n .\I) .mmar. I felt ltke 3
tramcd profe,stonal lookmg 111
from .1n out"der's pointof-\ ic::"
1\nyom.' ran do \\hat 1 ha\e
done tn ,mmar 13ut I doubt
;tnynnc tmdc::r,tands the culture
th Beauty senes The powerful
Pablo Barthol omew, from Tho Nagos- Marl<od WI as Lower Konyaks) In th1s
Y"llage or Shangnyu once existed lor the Thendu

ex
1
sts Every 11me a
Vllage a configurallon of megaliths symbOhzmg to the trophy
human head was taken the village erected
0
that when the Amerrcan
The Bnt1sh banned 1n the
misSionaries converted many ofthe Naga lrlbOS, I ey S villagers still retain the
and all other aspects or their animist bollel a::O:tors had token
Pablo Bartholomew, from Tho Nagas- Marl<ed w1th Beauty senes Worn by the
Tangkhuls of lnda and Myanmar. th1s IS one of the most spedilC\Jiar headd1'9sses
amongst all the Naga tnbes lntormomagestlll oxrsts between the northern Tangkhuls
of Mampur 1n lnd1a and the Sornra Nagos of Myanmar The he<lddress 1S adorned
w1lh hornbill leathers, a brass dsh, and human hmr The rawpiOO& IS made or wood
embedded wrth red and white seods
anrmst behef by hrd1ng the human skulls thO
ASIAN ART NEWS 97
IO{ff-I!BEP /DECEMBfR 2007
I
Pablo Bartholomew, from The Nagos- Marked W1l/1 Beauty senes The young
Naga people are exlremely fashion-conscious, often adopling lhe worsl of lhe
western slyles Here, kids lmllele e rock bend Rock music and pop are popular
amongsllhe Naga hllllnbes
Pablo Bartholomew, from The Nagas - Marked ":''th Beauty senes Today
Christianlly Is an accepled and vital part or Naga Identity. ;oung_ nower of the
Angami tribe particlpale In a wedding service at the Khed1 Baptist Church tn Bara
Basti, Kohima, l he largesl village in Nagaland.
of the '\,aga pcoplc a' much ;a, I do. i\ few
1car. batk, lklgi.an pholojourn;ab'' Thicny
thd .a 'umLar ptct't' ol work but the
''on " flat.
class life. lVbatturnedyouto tbe.fringe? family. My father, Hichard Bartholome'' ,
nw ,\ agm - llarked tl'ilh l3r!mtll'
fulfilled the emouonal role of thc pcr,onal
work I not donc in \I) .tnmar h a
thmkmg photographer, vou ha1 c to deal
w tth quc,uon' of tdentll) 'omeho11 or an-
othcr in \'Our work wll\ I Gill! 'ee
how half the Europ<:an phorographer' can
ltve bt:mt.:en llong Kong, Camlxxlta. and
Bangkok For them. the) tngage the rcgton
for l'ariou' rea,on' \layne n, ca'>icr 10
have a bt:ner ltfc 'rvlc here "nrc rhey gel
more out of their Euro'>. II em e1 er there\
alway' a d"ranw tn rhetr work \cl) few
go beyond rhat. Phorography h all about
enough ltme
In any "''c thi' 'crte'> i' l't'r') much
work-m-progrcs'>. \\hen I liN Maned 11, I
wok a lot of tillages 1n tht :tnthropo-
logtcal trad111on, documenung their rilll :ils
and prawccs careful l} ' I hat dt'CI'>ton wa'
imponam betauw w ilh tht onslaught of
Chrisuant!) Clef) I lung was dtsappc:11 1ng.
' I (,da} I ha 1 e some ol
rhc meN ohst urc image'>
of rhe :-.aga pcople that
nobodv dst has ltkc

I he skull-hou,c, '' hidl
\\as g<mc by tht early
19')(h I \\:h Mtppowd
l<J '>tan ''" tht mod-
crn ol thctr lt1 es
a ft"\v > h.tt k hu1 1
found Ill) self hurru out
,\npl a> , I M.tncd gomg
hat.k ,,, . g.tl.tnd tn
,lrJ06. II \\til he llllerc't
tng lo JUXtapose rlw l\\11
'' hcn c\ er) tlung
l'i J, Jilt'
At th:ll time, people seldom married out-
">ide their elhnic groups. Bur my grnndma
<lid. And my mum. "ho!>e family c:unt
from Paktstan. \X'est Bengal in Indian, and
by mar') an Indian from
\ly<tnmar ,\ly mother fled Pakistan during
the Panirion in As refugee'> 10 'e"
Delht. they mer in college 10 rhe law 19 tO'>
and married for love, IYhich wn'> rare 111
tlm'>e da,s. Toda\. I have rclarl\ C'> from

Pakistan to the Punjah, from Dhaka 10
Chmagong Hill Tracts, and from Kolkaua
10 \lyanmar. where I I ha1 c f.umly
members of" hom I' m una" arc lm from
all rhese places but m a \\'<I}. l m I rom none
of them. At home. I Englt">h-that
was my fir'>t language. And r h:l\ e th"
funny name, which doesn't '>uggt,t that
I m Indian.
I grc11 up in a famtl) . \\ 'l'
didn't have a phone until I "'"' I 1. \\'c
alway'> rented a place rather rhan bough!
a hou'><.: . Evcr')' one in class had a t. tr \X'l'
didn't. I abo came from a 1ct') .art''' it
wa'> a p:unter, poet, writer, curator, and,
above :111 , on<.: of India's prolifi c an
nitics .. \ ly mum, Hati Banholome\\ ,
an Lnglbh profe">sor at Delh1
founder o l , .... , era I important theater groups
and, most tmponant, a .treet-theater actll-
"' "ho worked "ith group'> across rhe
sub-conunenl
\1 the ">ame umc. my parenL'> prac-
uced no I gucs.. my parent'> were
probabl} 'l'l) alienated from mam">tream
lndta 111 the fir.,t pl;tce \ly upbringmg left
me '' tth !he freedom ro look at India w tth
unanathed eng;tgcment It allow' me not
w he hta,ed ag.un">t Gl'>te. religion. or
n:gaonal pOtnt'>Of-1 tc" Bemg not from
.lll) locaton allow., me to
e\ cryone and c1 thmg.
\\.hen I """ our of that
lamou., '>thool. I bctame ,a '>t.mdal Delhi
tlll'n a '>mall. 'rraulied sonet\. Clef\-
. .
ont tolllll' to kncm n11. Th.mkfull). rhc
cultural collattral hack home """ a resc.:ue
11L'l. \'Uth so much nmlu"on 111 Ill\ he.d.
phorog1.apll\ provided me "nh a '>Cn'>C of
pmpo'>e and identity I
'>t.url'd photographing
111\ fritnd,, f.untl\. ,lrt
''h and pamler' "ho
1\ ould ''"' mv f.Hhtr
.Ill .tnd rock
'>he l\\ " But 1111 n .. ,tk,,-
",,, 1101 lulfillt.'d
( hw ol thl' grl'.ll
t uhur.ll upht',l\,11' tn
tlw ... "'' lup
PK' moHnw11r rhe ul-
llul'l1t ol dru..:' ,ulll
lllll.,tl "" "tdt .1nd
ptofound. II "'' my
\\ .1\ of connLTllng 111th

thl \\ l''>tt'l n "orld rh.u
After )' our famllr
11101 etl to f)e(IJ/, 1' 011
led a Hlfl'
Pablo Barthol omew, from lhe Eorly Work senes On
1
...
nclress Nof1so Ali ts seen w11h her make-up ellendanls ocatlon near Lucknow for lho film Junoon,
"'' lookllljol (0 !he rt'>l
po'>l \ tl'lll.llll I 'lliOkt:d
dopl' lhl'l1 .llld I '>ltll do
110\\ I hal kand ol hol.a-
98 ASIAN ART NEWS
NOVlMBER/DECEMBER 2007
uon n.mu.tll} k-d m( t ,
the fnn).!<:' llw tm.gt"
"cnt tnto l:'ad1 \1 orl.!
dues M:h
ntg nl\ -.elf <-"\ t:f) thmg
,thout
!1111 l nc\ cr dsd turn
oespif(' ll' inning ffi) he.ld a\\;!) from
tbl' lT PP Auwrtl, it the In \lumha
'
ditln 't do mucb for 1 ,taned photograph-
rOll,. career anti mg tlu: extra' and the
'roll found yourself ,luntmen I al-<> 't'lt<:d
-uorking as n opmm the
pbotog,apller on red-hght c..lt,lriel,, and
tbe film sets of Sa- quaner-
trajil Ray in Kolkt1ta \.., a ) ou n g
jenlcuNa). TIJrougiJ photographer, I took
Ra{s int,oduct ion, pKtun.-... to '"11"1)
JOII subsequently mnc:r need'> \\'hen my
sbot stills for RiciJ- work on the fringt: wa ....
ard ANenborougiJ's ... ho\'.n m Delhi in 1980
Gandhi and .Uer- and th<.:n m \lumhai
cbant ltory's Ileal the foliO\'- ing }ear, it
and Dust. lT7Jal did Pablo Bartholomew, rrom the Early Work senes_ Roadside photo slud1o, Bombay 1979 ,, a., a defining point
10
you pick up as a jJIJotograpber on '>on ol that. It wa;, very enlightening to -.ee wrm.., ol our t:ng,tgc:menl '' tth the "other"
film sets? ho\1. Sat} ajtt Ray worked. lie wa ... a c.:Ja,'lc \\ orld '\o one had documentt:d the fnnge
\\"orkmg on the -.eh \\ "' the fiN ltmc I
mone\ I dtc..l theater ''hen I
\\as younger ami I treatt:c..l filnh a-. an cxtcn-
filmmaker who wrote his -,cript'>. <:ompo'>ed rm:' In rltro..,pc:ct. tht: work
the mu ... tc. and shot film'> An} film groundbreakmg
'>tudem would give their left eye to '>ee
Ray work. Looking back. I paymg 111}
, .....


, , ..
'* , 0
#I ', a
I I
', ....
',',,oo
.. ,, ."
.... , . ...
o'r'',oo "
0
I I 0
e I I I 0
0 0
I I A
""'" ,. # ,.,
' c ii(/AI
I I ,.
, , I
-
lVitiJ The Indian Emigre series uere
1
Work A ounuch dresses up at the
Pablo Bartholomew, lrorn the) Bornbny
eunuch quarters around Shukla eo '
Pablo Bartholomew, from the Early Worl< sonas Dnmsh woman prepares ror a
morphine fix In a Delhi hotel
'IOVEMBEP./DECEMBER 2007
ASIAN ART NEWS 99
Pablo Bartholomew, from rhe fncl!an tmtgnl senes A GuJarali couple poses 1n front of thetr motel al Fresno. Callforma
you to t.,plon l'OIII' itltlltity of Indta- to look .11 lhl' lnth.lll on !Ill' In IOta!, I 'Pl'lll ntarl} l\10
from a tliffi,tllt nugranh in .-\mericr .rnd 10 <::">..lllllllt' "h.u on /he lndwn
I m nor 'urt rl \ ou rt".td mort rruo rhrnw or
)"ll .tllu.tlh rt.tlllt mort '' lwn you wm1
oldl'r In .tllrhrn wl' of Ill} IWr,on;tl work.
lhl'rt."' ,L ddinllt' dt''lll: IO L'XJ'IOLL' 111) 'lilll'
ol-mmd and lll} nol t<Hl of tdl'nlll} .11 lh;ll
pornrrn tinw luntkd h) the A'L.Ll1 Cultutal
Counul lornwth knm1 n a' tlw .John ))
Ro<:kddkr Ill Fund 111 NL'\\ York, I
.rille to Plll''llL' I hi' J'HlJL'L L \\ 'h1k L"\plor ng
lll\ tdtnttt\, I tlnrdnl ro t.lkt 111L'
Pablo Bartholomew, from 1ht lntltrm t:,,, rtl aonu
thq kepi or "hen rhe} rmgr.llcd
\\ ilh the prOJect. I'm dealing wnh rlw Jed
rng of bemg and bdonging I' m lookrng
.11 rhc two worlds that \\l' all ll\ t' rn-rhc
one rh:u '' c bring with .md thl' world
1 hal Wl' assimilate into . .VlorL'O\ er, I wa.,
working then for a cw York-hal-<.:tl pho1o
:lf.(l'ncy but l knew li11 le al>mu A 111\.'rk:l .
Till' projccr allowed nw 10 .1 ppro:1ch rlw
rounrry difTcrenr ly. For the monllb,
I I hrough the archh l:S to
In tmotber intet'l'ien, J'OII spoke at
l<ngth a/}(ntt your fatber as mr iuflu
(' nee to your l(fe. Was be J 'OIII' first
teacher in jlbotografJIJy?
i\' .1 photogt.tphvr. he 1\0trld tak<: pKtUrt''
ol h b .ut bt II it'ntb. \\ h1.n "l: '' t'nl to our
I would b1. wit h him tn the
d:1 rk roo 111, looking .11 t h1. i m.tg<:.,
in till' tll'l doping I\ Th.tt '',,,purl' magrr
0 a 0 on :e Comp.tny eniOY thfl vrnw of lho ld a Mombors or lho Chllresh
0., .. ''on" of 1he m,ony d.tncnr
1
,
10
d

': <;;te Bndgo Pandlt Chnrosh
nre11 Thu All Akb " School or music
11
nlso localodoln around the B<1y
Pablo Bartholomow, from lho
10
lhe bnckynrd or n ch h
1
lndtun tmtgro senos lndtan migrants hold o weddlll9
hove to moke do With Jorsey Olton, tho Indian communhes
'Poco lor tholr ceron1onlos ond 11tuols
100 ASIAN ART NEWS
NOVJ MBER/DECEA ZOO'
H<' drdn t tc.tdl lll1.
111
,
11 . . till).:
. pt.'<tl I( about photo).(ra pll\
\\ h.ll I t<x>k tmm hun "'' tht
ll('t"tlto be :1 more '<>phr'll<.lltd
n\.tn--.1 Rtn,w .. ,tnu m.tn,
hrm-" hom I Ill not 1 thrnk
.. ho" "'<.1 m hr, l it,
pK'tttR" "<:'rl' more 1. omplc\ .md
h.td more I.n er.. than Ill\ "mk
\rlmt p1omptttl you to I'<'
risil Earl) \\ ork in 20061
\\ ht.'ll I P'''L'd 'iO two \L\trs
L'.Kk. I felt ' u lncrable
this 1:-. p;.ychologrc.tl E' l' n
though I han: readwd a cl'rt;tin
high pomt. I f cd I can go tkm n
,en quick!). Physically and
memally. rm slo" ing down
Ho"' then do I lhl' m) e'l.pcri-
c:>nce' to b.mcr effect'
About ten pcrn:m of
the tmages that Ill) " ' N'tam ha,
are too pri' to tx-
-.een In any Che. all of them
told Ill\ commg-of-age -.ton
'Orne of the people m Ill\ prc-
rure' ha,e become incredihh

bmou-. Some didnt 'u" 1\ e the
drug .. I m still findmg a "a' to
p1ece eYerything together
In recent \ear .... there
are many young photogmpher-
who like to hang out wrth me.
perhaps hoping to get some
worcb of wrsdom or bullshll
In 191C. I '' " c ornmr'>-.toned
h\ !IN to do a hook on '>outh
( lunt:'l Ull'lne. I \\a-. flO\\ n
to London to the an direc-
tor and .1 food -.pccialtst. The;:
a"rgnmtnt \\ .r-. to la't for '>ix
\H'cks 1:\tntually, ll \\as ex-
tended by .mother three \\ eck'>.
Then the ed1tor talled to ..ay
that the prowo \\3'> off, ha,ing
li>r e\ er)'thing. Thoo,c were
the day.,.
:'\tJ\\aday'> there are
too many photographt:rs in
tht market At the same time,
there ., a lot more fluff now
even in magazines like Time
and .Veusweek. You have to be
based m a count!') where the
media I'> Interested to be able
to suni\'(; "" a photographer.
That \\h) so many photog-
mphers go to Afghamstan and
Iraq '\o\\ and then. I meet
foreign photogmphers in Delhi
;rnd the\ will tell me that thev
. .
are domg some '\GO work
and a bit of edrtorial stuff Two
years later, the} "Jll pack therr
bags and
Toda,, 1 !>eL' Earll n-om
. -
"' the mo't rmponant project
that I han: done Photography
can bt: done rn a personal way.
You rna\ l"Jm \our mone\ else-
. . .
from me But I d lrke them Pablo Bartholomew, from the Indian Emtgre senes. Dunng the annual Dtwall Meta
to know that you don't have on South Street Seaport, New York, an Indian man sells Krishna posters and caps
defintte a ll the tune. made In the design of the Statue of liberty.
"here and keep photography
as a \nd you the
out of e' t:'1lhing around
you Don't be afrard to take a
long-term \ IC\\' of the work.
\\'hen I lefl agency work in 1999. it took
many rears to find mr balance. I put
ffi} photography and went to develop a
technology for and agcn
cies to store and dtstribute their im:tge
It t'> complete '' ith tracking
toob, that photographer'> and agencie'>
can '>ee whert: the diem '>eardl ha' fallen
through. We han: been offering a priung
and e-commer<.e platform to our d1enh
bt:fore the more popular Drg1Wl Ha1lroad
followt:d '>Uti in rccent month-.
from 2001 to 2001, I tould only
30 pcr<:cnt of my tunc on photogra
phy. The re-.t had to go tnt<' de' cloprng the
lt:(.hnology. :\'o'' . the 111nc -.pent on pho
tograph}' ha-. gone b;rtk up to perctnt
Its good but the IL'ar of Luhtn is nt'H'r f.rr
behrnd It keep-. > ou .rt till'
ll lhi.\ desire to rel'ioft htrl y Work
related to boll photojournall\m litH
clumged 111 tiJe ptnl 15 ) ' l'tll'\ ultll the
tllergen and acquhltlon\ td photo
agencies?
t)'f[ '-1\BER/OE' EMBER "L001
Pablo Bartholomew, from the lndtBn emlgrflsortes
A gtrl prepares for a Kathak performance dunng the
August 151ndependence Daycelebra!lons on Mnd1son
Avenue, New York
lVitiJ I be ,edlscoletJ" ofEarly Work.
you btwe also become more proaclite
in promoting y our II'Ork 'Wby so?
I'm gr<l\\ mg older If I don't do rt. who
cbc '' 111' So h of hr , ton b no"'
dl'pcndent on markl'ttng. In or
\ 111l'nta. ''hen the\ dr .. the\
'' rll pu'h for thtrr '' ork Tlu' dO<.' ' n t hap-
(X"n tn lntlt.t It' up 10 \'OU 10 do tl
a look .u Ill) l.llher I k ".h of the
mo't rmpon.tnt .In trill<' but he'
\\ h.ll I "rll do m the L't>mmg
montlh '' to bring out .1 book of Ill\ t.uher ,
photo).tr.tplt- o! tndr.tn .tnt''' \ t -..tme
llllll' , '' hrk 111\ thrL'l' 'C" ot p<:r,on.tl work
ll.t, dtll).( to dt!krtnt 'ho''' I m .t(,o
ll'lll).t thl' oppnrtunll\ to '''tl tht photo-
flo,tl\.t(, .rnd to 'l'<' "h.tt"' h.tpf><.'mng m
tlw photn).tr.tphlc "odd de1.rdrng
'
Ill\ Ill' \I lllll\ l'
/.huang \\ uh111 '' a one/
r11t' II Til<'' hu, .. cl 111 lit unte,,-
"" \ .. r.tn
,\11 :\t'\\'
ASIAN ART NEWS 101