Author Biography
Maureen Drdak is a graduate of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. She is the recipient of numerous honors, including the 2011-2012 U.S. Fulbright Senior Scholar Award for Nepal. Her previous work, Lung-Ta-- an interdisciplinary collaborative with international composer Dr. Andrea Clearfield inspired by the Kingdom of Lo in Nepal's Mustang District-- enjoyed premieres in Philadelphia and Chicago. Her work is found in numerous collections, among them Asian art collectors Berthe and John Ford and Shelley and Donald Rubin. Her exhibition history includes numerous solo exhibitions and international arts festivals; she lectures at museum and academic venues by invitation. Drdak is currently the President of the Fellowship of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.
Abstract
The Prakriti Project, visual artist Maureen Drdak’s 2011-21012 Fulbright work in Nepal, pioneered and established the first synthesis of Newari repoussé and contemporary painting. Drdak explains the impetus, concept, and working methods which culminated in The Flying Nagas, her statement artwork. Her study with the venerable Rudra Raj Shakya family of repoussé masters in Patan illuminates the potential of a rare art practice for modern expression, addresses cultural dislocation and environmental degradation, and serves as a model for future investigations of the expressive potential for contemporary art inherent in Nepali traditional practices.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Drdak, Maureen T.. 2014. The Flying Nagas. HIMALAYA 34(2).
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/himalaya/vol34/iss2/14
