In 2017, Ithaca's Community Arts Partnership continued the painted utility box program started in 2012. Richa Sardana was influenced by the art of the Warli people of India which inspired her to create this painted utility box.
Richa Sardana has provided a detailed description and explanation for painted utility box "The Lives We Live". (
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“The Warli people are an indigenous tribe living in the state of Maharashtra in western India; many still live on the northern outskirts of the city of Mumbai. The brick red and white paintings
of the Warli tribe decorate the walls of their houses. The paintings are simple and distinct, and are considered an ancient prevailing art. Basic shapes – triangles, squares, circles, and crooked lines – are used to depict complex scenes, such as wedding, field harvest, celebration, dance, musicians, nature, landscapes, farming, animals, rituals. The art is really a depiction of how the community lives,
celebrates, hopes, and supports. There is nothing abstract in the depiction, and still it leaves room for you to recreate the atmosphere of happiness and music in your mind.
I was introduced to Warli paintings in a fleeting way several years ago. Riding in an auto-rickshaw that trailed through the traffic in Mumbai, I was looking out in a nonchalant way. Suddenly my eyes caught sight of an old woman painting something in white on a brick red background, while a little child played around her. The traffic suddenly cleared, and the auto-rickshaw accelerated ahead. I looked back, trying to capture more, but neither time nor speed did justice to the scene. There was something about this scene that left a vivid snapshot in my memory – an old woman, painting, two plain colors, simple geometric shapes, the little child, the humid afternoon. It was so plain, and yet so captivating. She was clearly an artist with no recognition – and one who didn’t seek any.
Ithaca is home to people from diverse backgrounds and a lot of flux. The beauty and hospitality of the town, and its natural beauty win the hearts of anyone who cross their paths here. At the same time,
the town is enriched by the uniqueness of all the people who come and go, and the many who continue to stay on. This sense of community is best felt on the Commons where everyone gets together, whether it is for food, or art or a glass of wine. When I saw the request for proposal for the utility boxes, I felt using Warli art would be a perfect medium to blend the symbolic features of the tribal art while capturing and celebrating the welcoming spirit of Ithaca. To me, there is an unbroken line from early tribal art such as Warli to today’s street art."