July 3, 2004

Asma Khan reviews the PhD and MFA theses coming out of Punjab University this year, saying the works reflect a mix of tradition and some new encouraging trends

Salahuddin Mian, the veteran ceramicist who taught for many years at the National College of Arts, used to comment on the institution in his peculiar way. Once he said that the NCA prides itself on being a centre of excellence, but everyone from here is planning to study in the UK and US, and no one belonging to those countries travels to Pakistan in order to get trained at our ‘centre of excellence’.

This observation, made in a lighter tone, reveals a deeper truth about the real worth of our art institutions, especially in comparison to other places around the world. Earlier on there were not many art schools to train young people, but now in various cities several colleges and art academies have been established. Historically in this region, the system of art education was derived from the European model and later the American examples were also adapted. Local tutors acquired and followed the pattern of western art teaching. Thus, the content, strategies and aims for the studio courses often echoed the ones found in British or American art schools.

One of the many similarities between the vernacular and foreign art education is the nomenclature. Like any other place, art students in Pakistan also get degrees such as MA in art, MFA and BFA (and recently MA in visual art and PhD in painting and art theory). But, despite the common titles, there are major differences in what is offered in the West and what is imparted here in terms of art teaching and training.

That is why the most obvious urge among art students is to study abroad because they associate the concept of quality education with it. While art teaching at some local institutions has evolved and is acclaimed for its quality aspect, it still needs to improve further. This was the point of reference at a recent exhibition held at the Nairang Galleries in Lahore.

The show comprised new works by Naila Amir, Samina Zaheer and Sumera Jawad, all three of them PhD candidates at the College of Arts and Design in the University of Punjab. The works on display included human figures, cityscapes and imaginative landscapes, executed with paint and pastels.

Sumera Jawad presented a group of portraits: academic, yet sensitive drawings of females. Along with these, a few interior scenes were also on display. The approach of constructing her imagery (women sitting next to brick walls and engaged in domestic chores) and the basic level of rendering reflect her professional standing and a conventional attitude to life. Her work, although having some skill, could not be conceived of having come from a person pursuing a course of study that requires independent thinking and maturity of vision.

The other participant, Samina Zaheer, also showed her paintings, which were experiments on the theme of landscape. She tried to transform the immediate reality with the help of different techniques. Trees, leaves and other parts of nature were drawn and blended through multiple layers of thin paint. The work on the walls offered a variety of solutions, although not brilliant, it signified an inquisitive mind and a searching eye.

In relation to these two, the third individual, Naila Amir, is more established as a painter. She displayed pastel drawings based on her study of the city. The entire collection suggested a unity in her image making and a fixation with certain visuals. In almost every work, the electric wires or pipes of scaffolding were the focus of the painter’s attention. These were shown surrounded by portions of old houses and sections of the narrow city alleys.

The method of composition, with intersecting lines drawn in the middle and framed by the dark views of the balconies, tents and other parts of the buildings, suggested an aesthetics much manipulated by Ghulam Mustafa and Mehboob Ali. It appeared that Naila, with her skill and interest in the architectural forms, is following the well-tried formulas. Her (commercially) safe conduct in this realm was evident with the inclusion of a pigeon here and there on the electric cable crisscrossing the pictures.

Probably inspired by Shehla Farooq, her contemporary and next-door neighbour, Naila is moving towards a language of decorative, pretty and attractive pictures. With all its predictable ingredients, the present work by her affirmed the mindset of an individual well set on her way to a specific style. This is in contrast to her previous work which suggested the presence of a keen person in search of diverse possibilities and views. A glimpse of this earlier streak was seen in her charcoal drawing, which was distinct owing to the sensitivity of the material used as well as its imaginative composition.

Not at the Nairang, but in their own studios, the students graduating in MFA from the same institution presented works with a variety of approaches. Normally a strict academic attitude is associated with the art courses at the Punjab University, but surprisingly the situation — slowly but significantly — seems to be changing. The tidings of change were felt in the scale, medium and the manner of the paintings that were done this year. A number of students employed paint, not in a restricted scheme of building right tones, but using multiple materials and experimented with different treatments of the surface.

One such example were the mixed-media works by Tehniyat Rizvi, as she incorporated visual elements as well as actual objects in her work from ‘truck art’. Her work, besides breaking the typical format (square or rectangle) of a painting, dealt with the political substance also. It referred to the situation in the country, illustrated through despotic postures of the figures. Apart from its serious content, the formal aspect of Tehniyat’s work turns it into an interesting site and important experience.

Another artist who used the three-dimensional element in her painting was Maryam Nasim, with the relief of figures and other objects attached to her highly textured surfaces. Like her, another graduate, Asma Butt, tried to move beyond the conventional mould. In her long mural, she combined images and materials from diverse sources. Child-like drawings, calligraphy in a stylized form, and capsules, were stuck on the surface of this panel. Yet the whole work conveyed a unified image.

In another painting, Asma printed letters on top of a face — rendered in elementary colours. Yet another artist who displayed an impressive body of work was Ameena Shaheen. She adapted various techniques in her large paintings. Sensitivity in painting the figures, imaginative compositions and a super realistic manner of depicting nature were the prominent features of her paintings. It appeared that she had the skill and vision to create complex works of individualistic nature, as was witnessed in the elongated painting with the intimate view of an insect crawling on a rooftop.

Some others like Nabila Raza, Faiza Cheema and Ufaq Javed also exhibited works of diverse concerns and quality. However, some of their works were not resolved, even if these envisaged a new dimension in their art as graduating students and in the context of overall work coming out of this place in general. With this new wave of creativity witnessed this year, hopefully, Punjab University will start producing more practising artists in the years to come than it has managed to do over the past six decades of its self-imposed solitude.