Sahiti Bonam

BA, 2018
Website: sahitibonam.com

What are you most proud of in your life or work today?

That I have been able to continue working in the arts and now am going forward to strengthening that more!

What are you doing now (life, work, grad school) and how did your time at Tyler help you prepare?

Back at Tyler for my MA in Art History/Arts Management. Currently working at the Graphics Media Center as the Manager! Tyler prepared me well that I wanted to come back for my masters degree.

ఆనందమాయెను•aanandamayenu•ecstatic

As I have a deep appreciation and interest in exploring language and linguistics in my personal practice, I have been teaching myself to be literate in Telugu.* Working on this has truly been fulfilling.

This piece explored typography in Telugu, in the script and as transliteration. Visual beauty and to be in “bliss” and feel “happiness,” is reflected through the soft colors. Lastly, the muggu* + tessellation/Alhambra** art embodies the linguistic/cultural identity and faith.

*A south-central Dravidian language officially spoken in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, with a big diasporic speaker base as well. The script of Telugu can be traced back to 400 BCE, making it a classical language.*Geometric and color patterns, typically drawn in front of the entrance of a home. Powder, flowers, and sand can be used. Muggu is also known as “rangoli” (Hindi) and “kolam”(Tamil). **Referring to the Alhambra palace design of Andalusia