Art Stands Still

However, few people speak English in Pakistan. This creates difficulties in studying and understanding art. Apart from a small circle of artists, enthusiasts and students, art is more or less a lost cause for others. People in non-art related fields may not even know their nation’s artists. Commemorated names like Abdur Rehman Chughtai, Ghulam Rasool, Jamil Naqsh, Sadequain, Shakir Ali, Ismail Gulgee, Ali Imam, Ahmed Pervez, Bashir Mirza, etc. are rarely known outside the art circle. Some new Pakistani artists like Imran Qureshi and Huma Bhabha have displayed at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Shazia Sikander’s work was displayed for a month in New York’s Times Square.

News in Pakistan is only considered worth covering when it is linked to a political conflict. The media covered the Karachi Biennale 2019 at Frere Hall but the installations were sealed off and destroyed due to political reasons. There was no coverage of the biennale by the electronic media although the theme was Ecology, which should have mattered. The art institutions across the nation aid themselves by promoting their projects on social media, which is why the public has no knowledge of these art events.

But it’s not all closeted. When it comes to contemporary art, the Pakistani art scene is very exciting and happening. Karachi will be getting its second biennale and Lahore is gearing up for a second too. The International Watercolor Biennale in Jamshoro is also all set to be opened in February 2020. It seems the post-Zia conceptual approach in artists has turned towards stronger issues. It seems the art produced today fights to free the female form from the societal moorings it is tethered to.

There is an ample amount of unlearning to do in art education. A child is taught to copy off a blackboard instead of being left to his own imagination. What he learns is the “right” way to do art, what colours should be used, etc. All this does is mar the child’s creativity and curtails his initiative to think like an individual. Some media like watercolour are entirely neglected and not taught at art schools. People like Jamil Naqsh, Sadequain, Ali Abbas Syed, Syed Moazzam Ali, Naheed Raza and A Q Arif, to name a few, have contributed tremendously to the watercolour medium but art schools have started neglecting it and it is being forgotten by new artists.

When I talked to some undergrads at an art institution in Karachi, they complained about being burdened with so many assignments but they were still not sure what their major was. They were strictly told that they couldn’t use watercolour as the medium is hard to manage and old-fashioned. Most fine art students cannot pursue their careers due to strict guidelines and this stunts their skills. Only a small percentage of these students go on to pursue careers while the others either take up teaching or go into other areas. If some follow a career in art, they have to do two other jobs to meet their needs because an artist does not make enough money.

Why is art restricted to the bigger cities only? What about place like Bahawalpur which is renowned for its heritage and history. There is no art school or gallery there. Besides Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad, it’s the same story everywhere else.

The recent economic downturn has also contributed to a decline in the sale of art. The art sector in Pakistan is already under a lot of stress. This is further aggravated by divisions among artists, galleries and art institutions and this further sabotages the cause of art. Perhaps Pakistan’s art world will soon meet the same fate as its cinema sector.