We are pleased to present the 1981 documentary Mithila Painters, Five Village Artists from Madhubani, India. Produced and Directed by Ray Owens, founder of the Ethnic Arts Foundation, and Joe Elder, the current Treasurer of the Foundation, this is truly an invaluable historical record of early Mithila art on paper and the life of its artists: Sita Devi, Baua Devi, Ganga Devi, Shanti Devi and Krishnanand Jha.
The accompanying Film Guide was prepared as a teacher’s aid in the classroom but it is well worth reading by anyone interested in the artistic and social history of Mithila painters. Ray Owens spent considerable time in the Madhubani area, was well acquainted with the art and the artists, and gives us a first hand account of their lives that goes beyond that portrayed in the film.
Munni:Childhood and Art in Mithila is another film by Ray Owens and Joe Elder out of the South Asian Area Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison. The film follows an 11 year old girl growing up in the village of Jitwarpur and learning to paint by watching and helping her older ‘sister’ and her grandmother.
Ethnic Arts Foundation 