March 29, 2003

Iram Zia and Quddus Mirza sift through the thesis works of this year’s eight graduates of fine arts — all girls — at the Punjab University

It may be claimed so, but reality cannot be perceived objectively. Human beings look at their surroundings through their desires and conditioning. A similar situation prevails when assessing art institutions in Pakistan. Everyone tends to associate one or the other trait to these, which primarily relate to the methods and content of art education. And on the bases of these, one tends to classify a school as progressive, experimental or a conservative setup.

The fate of the Punjab University’s art department has not been much different. Long before it was baptized as the Institute of Art and Design, it was linked with a certain approach towards art: mainly an emphasis on imparting skills through a regimented, academic mode of instruction. Its studio course comprised prescribed compositions and vigorous guidance in the usage of paint — especially building the image through a juxtaposition of warm and cool hues — a legacy of its late professor Mrs Anna Molka Ahmed.

The recent years have witnessed a change in the situation at the Punjab University. The change was made possible through efforts made by a some tutors. Hence, each year, the graduating students have been showing the courage and ability — and the freedom — to think in an individual manner. Their works reflect an urge to experiment in materials as well as to search for new means of image making.

The work of the MFA students graduating this year, affirmed this altered scenario. A total of eight students presented their works from March 10 to 14 at the university. A variety of concerns, skills and tactics were observed in their paintings. Some of them seemed to be exploring a visual language, much unusual — and shocking for majority of the students and the faculty around them.

Bina Virk chose to work with a non-figurative imagery. This small detail may have considered an insignificant element anywhere else, but in her context it was certainly a leap into a danger zone. She worked with the fluorescent hues to forge purely abstract canvases. Her works, often hung unframed, consisted of geometric shapes with the backgrounds rendered in loosely painted marks. She sought to create a synthesis of both, the calculated and spontaneous ways of working.

On the whole, Virk’s canvases point to her seriousness towards painting being a vehicle to suggest ideas rather than a mere representation of reality. But this remained a gesture, as most of the paintings were not completely resolved. It was apparent that her concepts as well as the technique needed a bit more consideration.

A similar attempt — moving away from the norm of reality — was observed in the work of another student, Mamoona Waheed. In her large mixed-media paintings, she drew the figure of a girl (probably herself), situated amid vast areas of yellows, browns and ochre. In most of her paintings the outer edges of the paper were burnt, which resembled old manuscripts and also justified her subject: the burning of women, an idea she picked from an incident in the family.

Interestingly, in several of her paintings the miserable theme, instead of depicting reality in an obvious fashion, was suggested in a subtle manner, although the figure of the girl sitting in gloomy postures betrayed an illustrative mood in these paintings.

Like Mamoona, the self was an important element in the work of Zainab Sultan. She employed multiple materials, including threads, mirror, metal wires and nails. Through all of these she tried to construct a replica of herself. The inclusion of mirror along with the figures constructed in metal wire introduced another dimension in her work but only nominally.

Besides the diversity in materials, her application of paint also had a distinct character but all of the mentioned things put in one place failed to create balanced compositions. On the contrary, these seemed more like half-hearted efforts. Viewing all of her work, it was felt that she could have been a bit selective in her visuals and materials.

Compared to her experimental pieces, the work of Aneeta Bano appeared conventionally realistic. But on a closer look, these pieces revealed the maturity and sophistication of the painter. In each of her still lifes she combined two or three canvases to make one painting. Different domestic articles, which, for her represented/substituted her family members, were painted in these works. Thus we found a guitar, shoes, reading glasses, books, and ashtray, plants, posters and kitchen items.

All of these were drawn in a skillful manner, with minimum shadows surrounding the objects. One aspect, which made her work interesting and different from the rest of the students’ was its deliberate shift of perspective. All objects were portrayed in realistic schemes, but each panel was seen from a separate angle.

This small element infused a unique and unusual quality in her paintings. The sense of maturity, cited in the clever usage of views, was repeated in the selection of background hues also. Each panel in a work was daubed in corresponding colours which helped in formulating a unified vision.

Painterly maturity was the mark of Azha Amin’s work too. She concentrated on the depiction of models in her environment. The art curriculum is full of learning to draw and paint from the models in studio classes, but hardly any artist realizes or responds to the miserable conditions of these poor people, who facilitate in the making of great works of art.

Azha, through her vivid canvases, aimed to focus on that side of the art world. She painted models, not just being the assemblages of lines, shapes, colours and tones, but tried to represent them as living human beings. One of her canvases, in which she painted herself next to an old model of the university, convincingly described this concept. In other works the humanistic approach and a keen observation, along with innovative compositions, gave her art an honest and lively appearance.

Rabia Hassan also concentrated on the human figures, and perhaps more on representing her relatives. In these compositions, she arranged various figures in a domestic environment, partially in natural settings and occasionally posing for the artist. In both instances, she demonstrated her painterly ability by fabricating the figures and the surroundings with the help of bright hues. The use of colour signified her talent and grasp to create an illusion of space and forms. The range of her palette turned these works into visually alluring pieces.

The other artist, who showed an interest in human bodies, was Najia Moeen. She made paintings based on the verses of Ghalib, although the work had less of a connection with the poet than with other artists, specifically two of her young contemporary painters, since the glimpses of their works was evident in her work.

Amid this group of students, all, except Ayesha Sajid, could be defined as individuals with non-conventional approaches. Her paintings were in the style normally associated with the majority of graduates from the university. Her landscapes, painted at Jallo Park, showed the limited vision and elementary craft.

Yet, her work, which may appear least exciting to an outsider, was probably the most satisfactory for a number of people from the institution. The very same people who object to the teaching of tutors trying to make a positive contribution and a difference in that age-old institution.