Rickshaw art

Rickshaw art or auto art is a form of neo-romanticism emerging in the Indian subcontinent.

The art in question consists of oil paintings on the rear of the canvas roof of rickshaws, done by local street artists, who also paint the various landscape, portraits and personal statements of the driver.

History

What began as an amateur portrayal of local Hyderabadi street art, went on to spawn more sophisticated computer-generated images for all kinds of vehicles, and was soon to become one of the best-loved personalizations of people's cars in India.

In Bangladesh, rickshaw art dates back to the 1950s and every conceivable part of the rickshaw is painted. In addition to geometric designs, there are depictions of flowers, birds and even popular actresses. The rickshaw can be decorated to show the driver's religious beliefs and sometimes even a commentary on current social issues. In Bangladesh, rickshaw art is looked down upon by the elite population.^[1]

Gallery

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  A decorated hand rickshaw from Bangladesh

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  Bollywood actress Smita Patil depicted on an interior decoration from a rickshaw in Mumbai

References

Moving Pictures: The Rickshaw Art of Bangladesh (2010) by Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt and David Williams Published by Mapin Books, Ahmedabad

1. ^ Marshall Cavendish Corporation (2007). World and Its Peoples: Eastern and Southern Asia. Marshall Cavendish. pp. 479. ISBN 0761476318. http://books.google.com/books?id=5ZBaVhmRvCkC&pg=PA479&dq=rickshaw+art&client=firefox-a&cd=4#v=onepage&q=rickshaw%20art&f=false. Retrieved March 6, 2010.