Salman Khan’s Indian American Connection

Dr. Girija Kaimal is president-elect of the American Art Therapy Association (photo artsandculture.google.com). Superstar Salman Khan’s is also a visual artist.

India-West Staff Reporter

PHILADELPHIA, PA – As every Bollywood fan knows, superstar Salman Khan is going to exhibit his art in a solo show in Bangalore from Mar.11-20. Two of his works are live on online on Google Arts & Culture. Entitled ‘Motherhood – an artistic ode to Mother Teresa’ his work on canvas with acrylic and oil paints, charcoal and ink, embellished with wood chips and plastic waste is said to portray the depth of his feelings.

The exhibition has an Indian American connection.

Art has always been used as a medicine, as it is said that looking at a creative painting can build a connection with mind and body to promote healing and it also traces the feelings of the painter.

Star and artist has released two of his paintings online on Google Arts and Culture.

Indian American Dr. Girija Kaimal, in her Health, Arts, Learning and Evaluation (HALE) research lab, examines physiological and psychological outcomes of creative visual self-expression. An associate professor in the PhD program in Creative Arts Therapies at the Drexel University College of Nursing and Health Professions and assistant dean for Special Research Initiatives, Kaimal has examined Salman Khan’s work from her perspective and offers an informed observation about his creative thought process.

On Google Arts and Culture, Kaimal expresses her curiosity to understand if these are paintings made spontaneously or with a lot of planning. She guesses Salman Khan’s work is more spontaneous, with some basic outlines planned. She suggests that the recurrence of the themes could imply an ongoing effort to process and make sense of some lingering unresolved aspects of personal experience or creative process.

A visual artist herself, her work explores the intersection of identity and representation of emotion. “I’m struck by how the eyes are all closed or not clearly visible. I would be curious why the painter consistently makes that choice,” she says on Salman Khan’s work.

Kaimal is a graduate of the National School of Design in Ahmedabad and her doctorate in human development and psychology is from Harvard University.