|
|
|
| 2 May 2005 | Monday | 22 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1426 |
All for a good cause
LAHORE, May 1: A painting exhibition arranged by the Pakistan National Council of Arts opened at the Shakir Ali Museum here on Thursday. The purpose of the exhibition is to raise funds for the President’s Relief Fund for tsunami victims.
Over 50 works by 25 artists from across Lahore are being displayed at the art museum. The participants include both masters and students in this rare show; among them are Prof Khalid Iqbal, Zubaida Javed, Mahboob Ali, Nazir Ahmad, Ghazala, Ghulam Mustapha and Iqbal Ahmad.
The exhibition also includes works by students of the Naqsh School of Art, a non-profit institute inside Bhati Gate, dedicated to the revival of Lahore’s traditional arts and craft. The works of two grandsons of Haji Muhammad Sharif, who revived the old tradition of miniature art by starting classes at the NCA back in the ‘50s, are also on display for the first time.
Naqsh School of Art Principal Mr Mahmood Hasan Rumi was also present at the opening of the exhibition. Speaking to Dawn, he said the focus of the school was the Walled City because there was no other art school there.
Art lovers and connoisseurs were seen admiring the works produced by students which, qualitatively speaking, were in no way less than those produced at commercial art schools. Many artists, who were present on the occasion, were seen busy showing off their creations to visitors to the museum.
Most of the paintings in the show belong mainly to the genres of landscape, calligraphy and miniature art, using a variety of media, though there are also a few portraits on display.
The rich Muslim heritage of miniature painting has long captivated the hearts and minds of the people of this region. It is only recently, after the genre’s revival mainly at the NCA, that this art form has also attracted attention from western audience.
In its few inches long and wide surface, miniature painting, with its lines and colours, is seen covering ancient legends, emotions of those in love, serenity in nature, and pains and pleasures of the human condition.
Any script-based or lingual media would have needed volumes in which to express these feelings of joy and sorrow.
Landscape painting is another popular genre that attracts the eye of a layman and that of the initiated alike. Sensible use of colour, choice of the medium and technique can translate into visual treats capable of transporting the onlooker into another dimension that lies beyond the realm of time and space.
Works on display by Wajid Mahmood and Khalid Iqbal belong to this category.
While many faiths have inspired artists to use figurative painting to convey their convictions, Islamic art has used various scripts and shapes of words and letters for the purpose, taking calligraph-art to new heights. Begun by the 8th century, the Arabic script was fully developed by the 10th.
Elaborations, such as foliation, interfacing, and other complexities were introduced later, but they are used only for decorative work.
At the exhibition at the Shakir Ali Museum, there are quite a few pieces of calligraphy-art on show. They are sure to attract the onlooker with their remarkable use of colours and Quranic text that combine to form cogent pieces of art..— Tahir Hamid
|
|
|
|