KARACHI: A book titled What you see is what you see, a collection of articles on the late artist Imran Mir, was launched at his residence on Wednesday.

Speaking on the occasion, CEO of the Dawn Media Group Hameed Haroon said he did not agree to the notion that the book or the recent works of the artist indicated a new trajectory in his art, but called it a continuum of the work he had done all these years. Drawing the attention of art lovers, who had turned up in a decent number at the event, to the importance of the book, he pointed out to its title and the artist’s sense of humour, suggesting he didn’t like to discuss his work. Talking about his thought process, he touched upon its two facets: his art and communication skills, and insisted that art buffs looked at the communication strategy of his work.

Mr Haroon said we needed to analyse the intention behind What you see is what you see to educate ourselves about Imran Mir’s work. Touching upon the penetrating aspects of the published piece, he reiterated that the artist had embarked on a new phase of his journey, which was a continuum of his early endeavours. He urged the people who worked hard to make the book see the light of day — Nafisa Rizvi and Durriya Kazi — to come up with a monograph as a follow-up effort and to understand Imran Mir’s artworks. He then read out excerpts from the book penned by eminent critics and artists such as Ali Imam, Rasheed Araeen, Hasan Jaffery, David Robson, Nafisa Rizvi, Durriya Kazi and Nighat Mir (Imran Mir’s widow).

Art critic Niilofur Farrukh said she would like to speak of Imran Mir as a friend and mentioned that a lot of friends of the late artist from the CIAC days were at the launch. She spoke on the first text from the book which was the artist’s reflections on his childhood and about the kind of people who subsequently mentored him (Ali Imam, Sadequain, Bashir Mirza, etc) with whom he stayed in touch even after passing out of the CIAC.

She remarked that one could hear his aesthetic voice in the book and there was a need to ‘mainstream’ the understanding of his work. She stated that witnessing his last exhibition at the V. M. Gallery hinted at the fact that a spiritual space had entered his art.

Architect Shahid Abdulla said Imran Mir was an incredible human being. He loved nature, and in that context gave a few examples of the artist’s love for planting trees. With reference to his sense of humour, he narrated a story of an exhibition when an elderly man walked up to Imran Mir and asked “Painting ke peechhey kia hai” (What’s behind your painting?). To which he replied: “Painting ke peechhe to chhipkali hoti hai.” (usually there’s a lizard behind an artwork).

Imran Mir’s son Kenan Mir shed light on the artist in the capacity of a father. He said he learned many things from him, some of which were to be fearless, to embrace failure and that there’s no place for mediocre in the world. Finally he took his mother’s name as someone who stood by her husband at all times and who deserved equal appreciation.

Art critic Nafisa Rizvi hosted the event.

After the speeches, the attendees went to the upper floor of the residence where Imran Mir’s artworks were on display. The artist passed away on Oct 28.

Published in Dawn December 18th , 2014