In an image-saturated world, shored up by ubiquitous smartphone cameras and a plethora of photo-sharing platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Flickr and SmugMug, visual literacy skills are naturally in great demand. A degree in art history can teach you to read the language of images — to observe, analyse, interpret and empathise with them.
It can teach you to discover the aesthetics as well as the meaning of a cave painting in Bhimbetka, Madhya Pradesh; a sculpture in Konark Temple in Odisha; the town planning of the Indus Valley; a terracotta artefact of Bengal; a modern video installation; graphic art or even an AI-generated image. It also teaches one to think critically and comprehend how the world is shaped by context — a powerful lens to study value systems, norms, history, people and even human evolution.
A degree course in art history may turn you into a skilled professional if you follow up on the basics with higher study and research. With advanced and specialised training, you can become an art curator, a teacher, a critic, a conservator or an advisor who helps decide what pieces should be added to a museum’s collection, what is the significance of historical artworks and how they fit into culture.
And even if you don’t aspire to become an art historian or a curator, visual literacy skills can be applied to build careers in diverse sectors such as archives and libraries, heritage conservation, advertising, marketing, event management, filmmaking, publishing and so on.
Shreya Mukherjee, an art historian who teaches at the College of Art & Design in Burdwan, says, “Art history has never kept me confined to books, museums and paintings. It opened doors to various avenues, from curating exhibitions to working as an education officer in a museum to becoming a consultant at auction houses, guiding heritage walks and even art therapy, where history and creativity work in tandem to heal a person.”
Art history students can get a bachelor’s degree with honours, a master’s and a PhD. These degrees provide advanced research, project and writing skills. Postgraduate study can also lead to a career in teaching and research. Soumik Nandy Majumdar, assistant professor at the history of art department at Kala Bhavana, Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan, says, “Career opportunities for art history graduates in India have witnessed a remarkable growth in recent times. Some of the new avenues include documentation and archives in various organisations.”
Adegree in art history exposes students to a broad range of artistic traditions and processes from across the globe in their historical and cultural frameworks. In recent times, art history has opened the path to an art curator’s job. An art curator manages and oversees art collections and exhibitions by researching, selecting, acquiring and preserving artworks. He or she then develops exhibition themes, writes interpretive material, coordinates with artists and institutions, and oversees budgets and logistics. An art curator acts as a liaison between art and the public, creating engaging and educational experiences through displays and public programmes.
Soma Bhowmik is an art curator and academician at Sister Nivedita University, Calcutta, who has curated several significant exhibitions in art galleries and museums. She says, “Curators play a vital role in shaping artistic narratives, preserving cultural heritage and making art accessible to the public. We have the opportunity to work with a wide range of art forms, from traditional painting and sculpture to contemporary installation and even performance art.”
The writer is an assistant professor in the department of art history at the College of Art & Design, University of Burdwan