Victorian Visual Culture

Bangalore, the city I grew up in, is an odd concoction: tucked away amidst its metropolitan sky-scraping apartments, trafficked streets, and metro lines is a quaint sanctuary of sprawling colonial-style bungalows. Tiled terracotta roofs, dome-arched doorways, decorative parapets, and stained glass windows set the houses apart as visually striking unique structures of a hybrid architecture. The buildings display styles of east and west coming together, blending the medieval Hindu and Islamic styles of India with Victorian England’s Neoclassical styles.

The bungalows in Bangalore are few amongst a vast set of structures across India that capture in their pillars and roofs the history of the nation and its trysts with colonialism. Amongst the family is a classic example of the hybrid architecture — the famed Chhatrapati Shivaji Train Station of Bombay, formerly known as The Victoria Terminus Station. Designed by the architectural engineer Frederick William Stevens in 1878, the sprawling station wears a contemporary Victorian Gothic style, closely resembling the London St Pancras Railway Station. The building fashions an iron framework, church-like countered arching roofs, multiple stories, and round turrets, all characteristic of a Victorian architectural style that was emerging at the second half of the nineteenth century. In addition, amongst other things, gargoyles, such as dogs, crocodiles, and lizards, distinctive Victorian Gothic ornaments, are used as drain spouts on the building. Amidst all this is a figure of Queen Victoria herself, after whom the building was initially named. However, Chhatrapati Shivaji station blends this Victorian Gothic architecture with a traditional Indian model. While the main structure of the building is modeled after Victorian architecture and built to suit the functions familiar more to the British (over Indians), aesthetics reach towards incorporating Indian styles as well. A stone dome and deep verandahs, for example, make the building look more like one of the Indian palaces or forts. This is supplemented with detailed engravings on the structure that closely resemble the stone sculpting done at traditional Indian temples.

This structure reveals the historical and colonial relationship of the British with India: They successfully remodeled India to suit their own needs while retaining some aspects of the culture for aesthetic pleasure. This architectural blending dates back to the nineteenth century when Indian architecture was veered toward western styles by the British to civilize South Asia and bring a sense of law, order, and beauty to its construction. Stations, courtrooms, bungalows, churches, and forts were built in Victorian models, with architects and engineers coming in from England. Chhatrapati Shivaji is one such example. However, as with this station and other buildings, Indian styles remained for a degree of a new visual appeal. These Hindu and Islamic styles were adapted to suit the western building requirements and more as wall hangings and visual aesthetics pushed to the back as mere accents for the looming Victorian architecture. Bombay itself is one such locus of this architecture: the Rajabai Clock Tower, the BMC building, the Bombay High Court, along with Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminal, fashion Victorian buildings with Indian accents.

These historic buildings are not alone. Bangalore bungalows are a clear example of the domestic being influenced by this design: the houses are Victorian in style with South Indian elements here and there. The large houses are marked by square architecture, detailed pillars, and high, sloping roofs adapted from Victorian architecture. Verandahs and Indian floorings accent these to adapt to the climate of India. These houses still prevail in the city and are a part f Bangalore’s identity. while apartments and modern houses slowly permeate their way into the city, these bungalows are reminiscent of a previous history and visual world of the city. Following are some images of both Indian and Victorian buildings that capture the visual similarity and differences between the structures.

Following are Victorian style building from England

Works Cited 

1. A city icon – Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus – Google Arts & Culture. Google. Retrieved December 6, 2021, from https://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/a-city-icon-chhatrapati-shivaji-maharaj-terminus/yAICfPyC2jrBIQ?hl=en. 
2. St. Pancras Station, London. (n.d.). Retrieved December 6, 2021, from https://victorianweb.org/art/architecture/pancras/1.html. 
3. An illustrated guide to the victorian gothic architecture of Mumbai. https://www.outlookindia.com/outlooktraveller/. (n.d.). Retrieved December 6, 2021, from https://www.outlookindia.com/outlooktraveller/explore/story/70002/an-illustrated-guide-to-the-victorian-gothic-architecture-of-mumbai. 
4. Imperial India. A Tradition Created: Indo-Saracenic Architecture under the Raj. (n.d.). Retrieved December 6, 2021, from https://www.britishempire.co.uk/maproom/india/indosaracenic.htm.
5. Houses of history: Bangalore’s Art Deco and Colonial Heritage. RoofandFloor Blog. Retrieved December 6, 2021, from https://roofandfloor.thehindu.com/real-estate-blog/bangalore-art-deco-colonial-heritage/. 

On November 13th, I attended Transpire, a collaborative dance concert choreographed by Mount Holyoke and Amherst faculty. It was the first live dance performance that I had attended since the beginning of the pandemic, and I was acutely aware of the experience of being an observer, which is interesting to think about in the context of visual culture. I am a theatre major and took dance lessons for a long time as a child, so I am very familiar with the experience of being in or watching a performance. Being watched and watching others in the context of dance and theatre has been a part of my life for a long time, and has never felt particularly unnatural to me. After a year and a half, however, the experience of watching people onstage felt foreign and unusually intimate, and I felt, in some ways, as though I was intruding on something private, even though the performance was explicitly meant to be viewed by an audience.

There were five pieces in the show, all distinct from each other and utilizing different styles of dance. The first piece was high-energy and exuberant, and involved direct interaction with the audience, with the dancers coming to the front of the stage and encouraging the audience to clap along to the music. While the other pieces were different from the first, this set the tone for the evening by establishing a link between the dancers and the audience. Despite the strange feeling of intrusion that came with seeing a live performance for the first time in a while, this routine made it clear that the audience members were not being viewed merely as outside observers.

Another routine that I found interesting was one that depicted the process of a caterpillar hatching into a butterfly. There were several different ways in which the meaning of the piece was made clear: first, several of the dancers were wearing strange restrictive garments that represented cocoons, which they “hatched” out of partway through the piece. Additionally, throughout most of the piece, someone was standing onstage speaking into a microphone about rebirth and renewal. Finally, at the end of the piece, a screen behind the dancers showed a video of a butterfly hatching out of a cocoon. At first, I thought the piece was a bit too heavy-handed, but as I thought more about it, I found that I appreciated the heavy emphasis on visuality and the way it was combined with verbal storytelling. Repeatedly emphasizing the theme of rebirth was a deliberate choice, and perhaps not one that I would have made, but I thought it worked nonetheless.

One of my favorite pieces in the show was the last, which was called “Batty Moves” and was choreographed by dancer and choreographer Jawole Willa Jo Zollar. Before the piece was performed, a video was played that showed Zollar talking about the background behind it. “Batty,” she explained, is a word meaning “backside,” and she created the piece as a celebration of all body types, particularly those that are often mocked, ignored, or either desexualized or oversexualized. I enjoyed learning about the context, and I also greatly enjoyed the routine itself. Because it focused on the backside, the dancers largely faced away from the audience, but I still felt connected to them despite rarely being able to see their faces. There was a certain level of discomfort at first—this piece, even more than the rest, made me feel as though I was intruding on something very intimate. However, it didn’t take me long to be swept up in the joyful energy of the piece, and I began to feel as though I was celebrating with the dancers rather than observing them from the outside.

Even though seeing a performance was somewhat of a strange experience after such a long time, I really enjoyed Transpire and thought it was an excellent reintroduction to watching live dance. The choreographers and dancers were all immensely skilled, and the pieces made me think a lot about the concept of visuality in the context of performance.

VariAsians took place on Friday, Nov. 12 from 6-9 in Chapin Auditorium. The event was organized by the Asian Student Association and is the largest Pan-Asian performing arts showcase on campus. ASA was founded in 1974 to serve as a community of support for Pan-Asian students at Mount Holyoke. Their goal is to celebrate and spread awareness of Pan- Asian culture and to promote Pan-Asian voices, experiences, and political engagement through various events and programs. VariAsians began as a potluck, however, it evolved into a show in the year 2000. It has since become an annual tradition and has even garnered support from the Five Colleges.

 The event featured catered dining, a fashion show, and performances by student groups from across the Five College Consortium. The theme for this year’s event was “Hope.” Sarah Nam ASA co-chair said that the return to an in-person event was a big priority for the organization, as well as for them personally. “The Board chose this year’s theme to be ‘hope’ to serve as a gentle reminder that there are better things to come, especially for the members of our Pan-Asian community,” said Nam ASA co-chair. “We wanted to mark a celebration after returning from a very arduous year. For decorations we wanted to choose things that were full of light,” said Hiba Nawaid design coordinator.  According to Ayesha Binte Khalid, the outreach coordinator for ASA, it was not always clear that Mount Holyoke would host the event in this capacity this year, due to COVID-19 concerns. The largest question revolved around inviting guests from the five college area since they do not participate in the College’s testing program. Despite these concerns, the event was able to happen and involve members from the Five College area. 

The event began with a catered dinner. Food items included spicy rice cakes, lo mein, spring rolls, and chana masala. There were many options for vegetarians and vegans, as well as gluten-free. I am vegetarian and I had noodles, tofu, and a spring roll. My favorite food item was the spring roll, it had real avocado, which was a nice change from Blanch spring rolls, which contain guacamole.  I think this portion of the event was my favorite, Blanch food has not been good this semester, so it was nice to have good food for a change. For dessert, there was rice pudding as well as thai tea. Everyone at my table rated the rice pudding a 10/10. It was so sweet  – almost everyone at my table went for seconds. 

During dinner there was a fashion show walked by members of the ASA. Students came down the isles wearing traditional clothes. It was so cute to watch everyone walk past the isles and wave to their friends. After students made their way down the isles there was a show and tell about their item of clothing. Some of the traditional dress included the Indian Saree and the Ao Dai from Vietnam. I thought everyone looked really great and it was nice to have dinner and a show. 

Following the fashion show, there were dance performances from members of the Mount Holyoke Community, as well as groups from the Five College Area. Some of the groups performing included Mount Holyoke College Vietnamese Student Association, Kpop Dance Club at UMass Amherst, Jhumka, and Rainbow Jelly. My favorite performance was Rainbow Jelly. I think their energy was the highest. What made this performance, however, was the song choice. They danced to a mashup of  “Alcohol-Free” by Twice “Backdoor” by Stray Kids. The crowd was screaming the lyrics of the entire song. 

While I was attending this event, I was reminded of the Q&A portion from the Hortense Parker Celebration. Keynote speaker Zakiya Collier was asked how she would imagine what life would be like without digital collections documenting the history of people of color. She replied that she would imagine that history being shown through food or dance. I think that representation of history was seen through this event. Through the food that was served and through the various dance groups that performed through the night. It truly was an immersive event. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this event. I thought the food was very good. I left the event very full and energized by the dance performances.

I was curious to know more about Willoughby Wallace Hooper after seeing his famine photographs from India between 1876-1878. Googling his name, one of the top results is the title of an article from an India-based website: “Who was the photographer who took these dehumanising images of the Madras famine?” That title bluntly asks a question similar to my own: Who was Hooper, and what was his motivation in taking these disturbing photographs of the dying?   

The motivation question came to my mind first, due to the fact that some of his photographs appear to be carefully constructed, with the individuals facing the camera, some people sitting, some with arms wrapped around others, the kind of positioning one associates with traditional, ordinary family portraits. Hooper’s images are anything but. In this image available through the Getty Museum, the individual seated in the middle is so sick and emaciated that it’s difficult to believe he or she is still alive. What was Hooper trying to accomplish by asking individuals in such a horrific situation to essentially “pose” for him?

It was actually difficult to find information about Hooper via Google, the article mentioned above with the pointed title wound up providing the most details. Written by Sujaan Mukherjee for Scroll.in, the article coincidentally opens with a mention of Kevin Carter, the same photographer discussed in great detail in KJ Brown’s “Regarding the Pain of the Other: Photography, Famine, and the Transference of Affect.” Both writings touch on the role of the audience when viewing such images of individuals in extreme suffering, where death is presented as an immediate certainty. Her article ends with “it becomes essential to account not just for the photographer’s actions but the entire technological and state apparatus that is involved in framing and circulating images representing the most extreme of man-made human situations.” 

Hooper was a member of the British military, rumored to have had an unfeeling attitude towards the people he photographed. Whether true or not, if the photographer’s intent is apathetic, or even malicious, is the viewer of the image also apathetic and/or malicious? This question is applicable to both Hooper’s photographs, and Carter’s, taken a century apart. I think the photographer’s intent and the viewer’s reaction can be separate entities, and can vary greatly. It’s possible for a person to visit that museum to see Hooper’s images, and to view them as “artworks,” as an image put on paper, and that there isn’t greater complexity. Brown takes a similar stance in her essay, where she sees the role of the audience as having potential for othering. Then there are unintentional audiences, like a photograph of a deceased Syrian child on a beach, an image which permeated news outlets and social media. The way a person chooses (or doesn’t choose) to view photographs of famine, suffering, death is a separate issue from the photographer’s intent.     

In July of 2020, in order to brighten spirits during the height of the pandemic, the Russian State Ballet and Opera House released a recorded version of The Nutcracker on YouTube. I have always been incredibly impressed and fascinated by ballet and wanted to take this opportunity to write about my thoughts not only of this performance, but how it reflects Victorian society. The first performance of the piece was in 1892 in Russia, composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s homeland. Despite life in 19th century Russia and Victorian England being quite different, the story, staging, set, and costumes are all incredibly British. This ballet offers an interesting case study of not just art from the era, but how other nations viewed the United Kingdom. 

Firstly, I would like to start by discussing casting in this production compared to others I have seen. I tend to prefer the newer interpretations of the story that certain companies tell. The New York City Ballet, who follows the Balanchine choreography, fulfills the roles of Clara/Marie, Fitz, and the Prince/Nutcracker from the students in their junior company, the School of American Ballet. This 2020 production used the original 1892 choreography by Lev Ivanov, which slightly disappointingly used an all-adult cast. It is understandable why this choice was made in the 19th century as ballet performances were almost entirely adults, but in documentaries I have watched, age appropriate casting gives the entire production a greater sense of magic, and, in real life, is an exciting opportunity for younger dancers to meet those who are signed to a company. The Clara in this production was likely in at least her late 20’s from what I can tell, making her obsession with the Nutcracker doll appear a smidge odd and her journey through the wondrous land feel a tad more like a drug-induced nightmare than other versions. Furthermore, due to the young age of the protagonists, there should be no romantic tension between Clara and the Nutcracker. When she is crowned as queen of his land at the end of the first act, it is because she saved him, not because he has a romantic attraction towards her. This is further highlighted when the two sit up-stage for the entirety of Act II while the professionals perform for them in a show of gratitude to Clara for saving them. 

Another part of what irked me about this production were the costumes. When watching a ballet, it is always my main focus. In the opening scene of the party, all the women playing the parents are covered in their jewels, and all their gowns are made from a variety of golden thread. In what I believe was an attempt to distinguish the dancers playing parents versus the children, the adults all have donned Marie Antoinette style white wigs, making them look more like members of British parliament than party goers. All the younger girls are wearing knee-length dresses made of fluffy tulle and lace, each with a different ribbon. In American and British productions, the clothing is often far more historically accurate to the time. Clara is usually the only one permitted to wear a brightly colored dress, with those around her in far more muted mustards and maroons. In the Russian production, her dress looked so similar to everyone’s that I could not hope to distinguish her. I feel the grandeur of the dresses in the Russian version reflects how the world might imagine a Victorian Christmas. They were by no doubt lavish, but upper-middle class people were certainly not wearing gold dresses. 

On a final note about the costuming, I have no grand point to make here, but I just really disliked the Snowflake tutus. It is my favorite scene in any ballet from the choreography, to the costuming, the sets, and of course the music. The Russian version looked promising until the first dancer sashayed onto the stage with half a snowflake on her head.

To return to my original point of an outsider’s interpretation of Victorian culture, similarly to the extravagance of the gowns, there appear to be further comments on the consumerist nature of the British people in the 19th century. The entire plot of the ballet revolves around toys and delightful sweets coming to life, both objects that were very expensive at the time this ballet premiered. This theme is highlighted through smaller aspects of the ballet, for example, all the girls have dolls at the beginning of the show with whom they dance. The toys look eerily like their new owners. Furthermore, the sets within the house are stunning and appear incredibly expensive. I believe the claim could be made that the English obsession with the home transmitted across the world, with the country promoting an image of all having rather extreme wealth, when in reality, many people were suffering at this time. 

I would sum up my observations of the Russian production as enjoying the parts that remained more akin to the Russian culture. The performers on stage looked thrilled to be showcasing numbers which are inspired by elements of Russian dance that are not usually included in ballet. Furthermore, due to Clara being played by a prima, she had many costume changes, which meant that she was a far more dynamic and active character in the story. I now plan on trying to find other ballets by this company, perhaps Firebird, which do not have as much of the cultural baggage as The Nutcracker. However, this production was not The Nutcracker was not The Nutcracker of my childhood. It was a story about two young adults falling passionately in love and ruling a kingdom. Yet, the dancing was lovely, and the performers were incredibly talented, so it was an enjoyable production to watch. 

Works Cited

The Nutcracker. Russian State Ballet and Opera. 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tR_Z1LUDQuQ 

Macaulay, Alastair. “10 Ways to Tell if Your ‘Nutcracker’ Is Traditional.” New York Times. 2017. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/21/arts/dance/what-makes-a-traditional-nutcracker-ballet.html