THIS IS apropos of a recent news item reported in Dawn regarding the arrest of a man named Tariq Hussain for selling fake paintings of the masters, along with their “authentication letters” at a shopping mall located in Clifton, Karachi.

A similar report was published in a newspaper from Lahore earlier in June this year of the arrest of another forger. As heartening as it is that the authorities are taking action to eradicate the menace of forgery, the fact is that the black market is thriving.

Unsolicited sales proposals of more than seventy paintings of Sadequain were discovered from all corners of the world in the last twelve months. After proper inspections of the artwork more than ninety percent were found to be forgeries.

In some cases, imitation may be the best form of flattery, but in the art circles this adage is akin to blasphemy.

How frustrating that after an artist has struggled and achieved a name for himself there have been shady characters lurking in the shadows to make a quick buck through rip-offs.

Like a virus, whenever a breakthrough technique is devised to catch the forgery the culprits come up with a new method to avoid detection.

Fake art is a global phenomenon and is certainly nothing new in Pakistan as well.

The perpetrators are in some cases failed artists who could not produce any worthy work of their own, become greedy, or are used by so called crook investors to do commissioned work.

There have even been instances where the family of an artist who has passed away has authenticated fake works for monetary gains.

In India, Artist Jamini Roy`s son was once caught selling fakes of his father`s work after forging Roy`s signature on them.

A variety of techniques such as copying the exact work of Sadequain or by painting the exact image but changing the medium, for instance, if the original work is in oil, have also been discovered and then the fake would be executed in water colour.

Another clever technique is to import different elements from different works and incorporate them in one painting.

So what is the solution? There are many options available but the nagging question in Pakistan has always been as to who will do the implementation.

A renowned art enthusiast, Mr Jalaluddin Ahmed, Director General, Foundation for Museum of Modern Art (FOMMA) suggested that there needs to be a centralized national body that should oversee the art work and its registration to prevent the forgery trade from taking hold in Pakistan.

He further suggested setting up a National Art Loss Register in order to curb the illegal sale of paintings and their forgeries.

A case in point is the recent theft reported in newspapers about the theft of four paintings of Sadequain from Gallery Sadequain at Frere Hall.

According to reports, the incident was not even registered with the police and no investigation was carried out.

It is hoped that organizations such as FOMMA, Pakistan National Council of Arts (PNCA), and other academic institutions will play active roles in eliminating the menace of forgeries.

SALMAN AHMAD

San Diego, USA