September 15, 2002	Sunday	Rajab 7, 1423

KARACHI, Sept 14: Art-educationist and painter Salima Hashmi launched her book entitled Unveiling the Visible at a local art college on Saturday.

Published by Actionaid Pakistan, the book brings together Hashmi’s thoughts on the lives and works of some 50 women painters of Pakistan, covering three generations of women artists since Independence. Given the focused scope of the book, it is safely the first book in its category to be published in the country.

The book is largely based on interviews and research conducted by the author over the last ten years or so. Unveiling the hardcover edition at the ceremony attended by ‘who is who of town’ on Saturday evening, Hashmi said the book was “an attempt for women’s voices to be heard and their lives and works to be shared with those who have yet to make the journey.”

On a lighter note, Hashmi then went on to say that once her father — Faiz Ahmad Faiz — told her one should only work within one’s own field. She said she took to writing (the book) only because our writers had failed to document the history of Pakistan’s women artists. “And it has been very hard 50 years of struggle for them,” she concluded.

Bound in an impressive all-four-colour edition, Unveiling the Visible comes complete with the author’s informed introduction, a decade by decade analysis of the women painters’ works, a manifesto of women artists’ movement, a glossary of inevitable Urdu words used in the text, and a bibliography without which a book on a specialized subject like art, would have remained incomplete. However, conspicuous by its absence is an analysis of Hashmi’s own work in the book.

“People have had other opportunities to read about me and my work,” she said, “and so I thought I would give it a miss in my own book.”

Speaking on the occasion, I. A. Rahman, veteran journalist and director of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, said that all art, for it to be meaningful, must firmly take cognizance of the social reality in which it is being created. “Art must have a purpose and a social function aimed at contributing to the enlightenment of society.”

Veteran art critic and writer Jalaluddin Ahmed also shared his thoughts on the work of Salima Hashmi and the contribution she has made to the promotion and teaching of fine arts in the country. He said the best thing about her book was that it was written without recourse to excessive quoting and could be read without the help of a dictionary.

Besides the aforementioned speakers, Aziz Siddiqui, executive director of the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture, and host of the book launch, also spoke on the occasion.

Earlier, Unveiling the Visible was launched in Lahore, Hashmi’s hometown, on Thursday last amid similar fanfare. A third launch is scheduled to take place in Islamabad in the first week of November.

Comprising 212 pages, 160 paintings and rare photographs, the book is distributed by Sang-i-Meel Publications, Lower Mall, Lahore, and is available on bookstores throughout Pakistan for Rs1,250. Discounted rack price for students is Rs1,000.