ABSTRACT
Much of writing in India on modern/contemporary art practice has presumed the language of discourse to be English. This is acutely felt in art and art history, in light of which this chapter asks, What constitutes the ‘vernacular’ and how can we explore it? And what could be the role of the digital? In particular, we explore a project by Asia Art Archive titled ‘Bibliography of Modern and Contemporary Art Writing of South Asia’. The project compiled an annotated bibliography of art writing in the form of a digital, searchable, online database of more than 12,000+ texts in more than twelve languages.
The chapter asks: While with the availability of digital resources, there have been shifts in how we undertake research, has there been any shift in what constitutes ‘research’? In short, the chapter argues for the ways that digital art histories must be a step towards democratising the field.
