In the 1990s, installation became the contemporary art form in India. Where did most of the early installation artists come from?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Big cities
Option (1) Rural areas — Incorrect. Installation depended on technology, and the impact of globalisation was felt first in big cities, not villages.
Option (2) Small towns — Incorrect. The back alleys of small towns are where the Baroda painters found popular art forms. The early installation artists came from big cities.
Option (3) Big cities — Correct. Installation was more dependent on technology, so most early installation artists came from big cities, such as Nalini Malani from Mumbai and Vivan Sundaram from Delhi.
Option (4) Tribal regions — Incorrect. No early installation artist is linked with a tribal region. The two named come from Mumbai and Delhi.
Note: This topic was not named in the CUET 2026 syllabus, but it was part of the NCERT chapter. In 2025 and 2026, NTA also asked questions on topics in NCERT that the CUET syllabus did not name. So our mocks have questions from every part of the NCERT chapter, to give you enough practice. Read the whole chapter, not only the sub-topics named in the syllabus.
NCERT (2026-27): “New Media Art: from 1990s … However, the art form that was increasingly seen as contemporary was installation. It provided a way to combine painting, sculpture, photography, video and even television in one space. … However, it was more dependent on technology and it is, therefore, not surprising that most of the early installation artists came from big cities — Nalini Malani from Mumbai and Vivan Sundaram from Delhi.” |