Emerging Talent 2008.
Text by: Salwat Ali.
Photography by:
Catch them while they are young.
By way of background
Young generation Pakistani art is scaling new heights at home and abroad and the hunt for fresh talent and radical approaches in art has begun to acquire a greater urgency.
In the west end-of-year degree shows have been attracting interest from the movers and shakers in the art world – and beyond – for many years. Among the notable patrons and sponsors of young art in recent times the name of Charles Saatchi is the most significant. A hugely famous media mogul Saatchi bought his first painting in 1973, and rose to prominence as a collector over the next twenty years, first buying many works by English ‘London School’ figurative painters as well as Neo Expressionist works, before becoming interested in a particularly talented and precocious upcoming generation of artists that emerged from Goldsmiths College in the late 1980s (known as ‘YBA’s’ or Young British Artists’). It is artists such as these, including Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin and Gary Hume that firmly established both Saatchi as the world’s foremost collector of contemporary art, and Britain as the centre of the art world. Saatchi’s success has spurred at least two other collectors Niclai Frahm and Frank Cohen to amass their hugely influential collections. These three collectors, amongst others are vying for something bigger than a collector has ever hoped to gain – not only a dominance of the art market, but also a dominance of art itself. It is being reported that a trip around art colleges in Britain will expose the visitor to a magnitude of artworks aimed precisely at replicating the kind of works that Saatchi (and other similar collectors) might like to buy. Artists are – in fact – in the peculiar business these days of anticipating what the collector might do next!
The nascent art scene here, taking of in fits and starts, still has miles to go but the accent on discovering and patronizing young artists has begun. Events like V M Gallery’s Emerging Talent facilitate this search by showcasing selected degree works of art by current graduates from all the major art institutions of Pakistan. The exposure benefits the budding artists as much as it assists buyers and curators eager to tap the new and the exciting. An annual show now it has become an important platform for graduate artists as they get to present work in a professional environment and meet people who work within the field – from art critics to curators and from gallery owners to media co-ordinators.
Emerging Talent…
The sixth edition of Emerging Talent opened to a packed house recently. Brimming with the exuberance of youth this thesis fiesta had enough substance to tease the eye and provoke the imagination. Featuring wide stylistic differences ranging, from abstraction to realism, from digital photo art to conventional oil on canvas the works needed to be accessed on many levels. Art is first and foremost an aesthetic expression and needs to be internalized as such. But moving beyond the individual worth of each work the art also speaks as a collective and Emerging Talent 2008 when viewed in unison evinced a variable tenor. There were selected thesis works from the Art Department of Baluchistan , Jamshoro, Punjab and Karachi University as well as National College of Art, Indus Valley School of Art, Beacon House National University, Karachi School of Art, North City School, Central Institute of Art and Hunarkada Lahore all displayed together as a combined show but the art was assorted it spoke of multiple influences.
This diversity becomes comprehensible when the works are examined in a regional and institutional context. A cosmopolitan city atmosphere, provincial hinterland environment and diverse aims and objectives of educational institutions are factors that do become manifest in the art in some form or the other. Students from the Baluchistan University and University of Sindh Jamshoro expressed painterly styles and approaches that were different from their counterparts in Karachi and Lahore and there were polarities between schools within the same city also. Institutional temperament and standing are also major determinants in defining the art on view. While some colleges still bank on traditional, tried and tested methodologies there are others who pursue a liberal curriculum and expect their students to push the boundaries. This mix makes for a happy mélange for casual viewing but on a serious note the exhibition is an excellent opportunity for making a comparative analysis of prevailing art trends/mindsets in various institutions of Pakistan in order to arrive at some conclusions. If the equation between the progressive mindsets and regressive vision is lopsided then it is time to reevaluate the status of art in our society. On which rung of the ladder does art education stand in the academic hierarchy here? Are art curriculums tailored to equip students to pursue meaningful careers within their own country? And is the current validation of Pakistani art abroad the only reason that the genre is being accorded some spotlight of its own now?
Mainly chock a block with paintings the VM show also had prints and some sculptures. Capitalizing on scale to attract attention many students had opted for extra large oils on canvas. A Punjab University entry, over six feet in size, by Asmarah dwelt on uncertainty and improbability but it was her slick rendering of the leaf and embryo image that first drew in the viewer. A play on the colour red by Maryam Riaz and a similar emphasis on a very literal depiction of rope as frayed, tangled and knotted did more to entice viewership than the pithy concept of ‘enigma’ that motivated it. A novel focus on self by Bushra also from PU was a flip use of photographs. Simply titled “Photographic memories” her five feet wide canvas carried painted pictures of cherished recollections and childhood photos. For Indus Valley School of Arts Samar Zia it was treatment as well as idea that impacted the mind in the paintings titled “Ithehadi Topis” a comment on the current political imbroglio. For Sehar Naveed, from the same school, it was a playful innocuous interaction with the gravity of life that came across in her compositions.
Similarly for Saneeya Ghadiali also from IVSAA it was the underlying concept about impermanence of existence that invoked the metaphysical at first look. Stepping out from the painted image on the canvas into the surrounding gallery space Sehar Noon from NCA tried to mix the real and the imagined world in her reverie series. While Farooq Chandio from Jamshoro’s painting ‘me and myself’ also focused on inner and outer reality but mainly through figurative projection and garish colouration.
Entries in sculpture, printmaking and photography were limited in number. A fibre glass sculpture of a male figure slumped on a seat of thorns, by Rabia Dawood from KSA, greeted the visitor at the entrance. Titled ‘Catharsis’ the piece sprang no surprises as the hot seat issue and the life size figurative form have been worked upon frequently. However, reinventing the walnut as a sculptural item Sara Khan from Karachi University had created an original take on an indigenous product. Opening the fruit like an oyster she had scooped out the nutty meat and refilled the hollow spaces building a series of unusual compositions. A tiny sleeping figure huddled under a blanket in the first, an embalmed mummy was in the second and yet another had two shells opening like a mouth with the tongue visible between the set of teeth lining the edges.
Rudimentary in form, a five feet tall metal wire and rope sculpted into an eye, by Mir Askari from CIAC, was an eye catching focus on the multiple meanings, literary and physical, that are attributed to the optical image. Likewise Sabeen Ahmed from Karachi School of Art had crafted abstract mixed media arrangement in glass and acrylic on board. They had a more striking visual presence as 3D geometric ensembles rather than as critical statements.
A photo etching with line print featuring a foetal image of a child by Mehr-un-nissa of Hunerkada was among the very few imaginative works in this genre. Digital prints by Moira Plair from BNU extolled the power and effectiveness of pharmaceutical products – as life saving drugs if used with caution but addictive and detrimental if intake was compulsive. With titles like ‘sub cutaneous’ and ‘withering away’ she had concentrated on creating fleshy cloyingly gluey imagery and crumbly textures to evoke the penetration and effect of medication within the human body. A lively inversion of the real and the concrete, courtesy photoshop, was visible in the digital prints by Rabia Tariq also from BNU. Associating personalities with home décor products, ‘my parents dining room’ and ‘my mamu’s ornaments’ etc she had indulged in humorous flights of fancy. The conventional was incised to good effect in a staid woodcut print of the outdoors by Ambreen from the Baluchistan University.
The Emerging Talent show is not exactly a level playing field. While viewers may or may not dwell on the variability it is the students from various art schools who can benefit the most by looking simultaneously at their own as well as the works of their contemporaries from other areas. This is a learning exercise that can enable them to gauge their own standing vis a vis their colleagues. Punjab University particularly has learnt from previous participations – they responded wholeheartedly to the current call from VM this year – in terms of the quality and quantity of their paintings. And if sales are an indicator of success then the show scored on that account as well.
Photography by:
Catch them while they are young.
By way of background
Young generation Pakistani art is scaling new heights at home and abroad and the hunt for fresh talent and radical approaches in art has begun to acquire a greater urgency.
In the west end-of-year degree shows have been attracting interest from the movers and shakers in the art world – and beyond – for many years. Among the notable patrons and sponsors of young art in recent times the name of Charles Saatchi is the most significant. A hugely famous media mogul Saatchi bought his first painting in 1973, and rose to prominence as a collector over the next twenty years, first buying many works by English ‘London School’ figurative painters as well as Neo Expressionist works, before becoming interested in a particularly talented and precocious upcoming generation of artists that emerged from Goldsmiths College in the late 1980s (known as ‘YBA’s’ or Young British Artists’). It is artists such as these, including Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin and Gary Hume that firmly established both Saatchi as the world’s foremost collector of contemporary art, and Britain as the centre of the art world. Saatchi’s success has spurred at least two other collectors Niclai Frahm and Frank Cohen to amass their hugely influential collections. These three collectors, amongst others are vying for something bigger than a collector has ever hoped to gain – not only a dominance of the art market, but also a dominance of art itself. It is being reported that a trip around art colleges in Britain will expose the visitor to a magnitude of artworks aimed precisely at replicating the kind of works that Saatchi (and other similar collectors) might like to buy. Artists are – in fact – in the peculiar business these days of anticipating what the collector might do next!
The nascent art scene here, taking of in fits and starts, still has miles to go but the accent on discovering and patronizing young artists has begun. Events like V M Gallery’s Emerging Talent facilitate this search by showcasing selected degree works of art by current graduates from all the major art institutions of Pakistan. The exposure benefits the budding artists as much as it assists buyers and curators eager to tap the new and the exciting. An annual show now it has become an important platform for graduate artists as they get to present work in a professional environment and meet people who work within the field – from art critics to curators and from gallery owners to media co-ordinators.
Emerging Talent…
The sixth edition of Emerging Talent opened to a packed house recently. Brimming with the exuberance of youth this thesis fiesta had enough substance to tease the eye and provoke the imagination. Featuring wide stylistic differences ranging, from abstraction to realism, from digital photo art to conventional oil on canvas the works needed to be accessed on many levels. Art is first and foremost an aesthetic expression and needs to be internalized as such. But moving beyond the individual worth of each work the art also speaks as a collective and Emerging Talent 2008 when viewed in unison evinced a variable tenor. There were selected thesis works from the Art Department of Baluchistan , Jamshoro, Punjab and Karachi University as well as National College of Art, Indus Valley School of Art, Beacon House National University, Karachi School of Art, North City School, Central Institute of Art and Hunarkada Lahore all displayed together as a combined show but the art was assorted it spoke of multiple influences.
This diversity becomes comprehensible when the works are examined in a regional and institutional context. A cosmopolitan city atmosphere, provincial hinterland environment and diverse aims and objectives of educational institutions are factors that do become manifest in the art in some form or the other. Students from the Baluchistan University and University of Sindh Jamshoro expressed painterly styles and approaches that were different from their counterparts in Karachi and Lahore and there were polarities between schools within the same city also. Institutional temperament and standing are also major determinants in defining the art on view. While some colleges still bank on traditional, tried and tested methodologies there are others who pursue a liberal curriculum and expect their students to push the boundaries. This mix makes for a happy mélange for casual viewing but on a serious note the exhibition is an excellent opportunity for making a comparative analysis of prevailing art trends/mindsets in various institutions of Pakistan in order to arrive at some conclusions. If the equation between the progressive mindsets and regressive vision is lopsided then it is time to reevaluate the status of art in our society. On which rung of the ladder does art education stand in the academic hierarchy here? Are art curriculums tailored to equip students to pursue meaningful careers within their own country? And is the current validation of Pakistani art abroad the only reason that the genre is being accorded some spotlight of its own now?
Mainly chock a block with paintings the VM show also had prints and some sculptures. Capitalizing on scale to attract attention many students had opted for extra large oils on canvas. A Punjab University entry, over six feet in size, by Asmarah dwelt on uncertainty and improbability but it was her slick rendering of the leaf and embryo image that first drew in the viewer. A play on the colour red by Maryam Riaz and a similar emphasis on a very literal depiction of rope as frayed, tangled and knotted did more to entice viewership than the pithy concept of ‘enigma’ that motivated it. A novel focus on self by Bushra also from PU was a flip use of photographs. Simply titled “Photographic memories” her five feet wide canvas carried painted pictures of cherished recollections and childhood photos. For Indus Valley School of Arts Samar Zia it was treatment as well as idea that impacted the mind in the paintings titled “Ithehadi Topis” a comment on the current political imbroglio. For Sehar Naveed, from the same school, it was a playful innocuous interaction with the gravity of life that came across in her compositions.
Similarly for Saneeya Ghadiali also from IVSAA it was the underlying concept about impermanence of existence that invoked the metaphysical at first look. Stepping out from the painted image on the canvas into the surrounding gallery space Sehar Noon from NCA tried to mix the real and the imagined world in her reverie series. While Farooq Chandio from Jamshoro’s painting ‘me and myself’ also focused on inner and outer reality but mainly through figurative projection and garish colouration.
Entries in sculpture, printmaking and photography were limited in number. A fibre glass sculpture of a male figure slumped on a seat of thorns, by Rabia Dawood from KSA, greeted the visitor at the entrance. Titled ‘Catharsis’ the piece sprang no surprises as the hot seat issue and the life size figurative form have been worked upon frequently. However, reinventing the walnut as a sculptural item Sara Khan from Karachi University had created an original take on an indigenous product. Opening the fruit like an oyster she had scooped out the nutty meat and refilled the hollow spaces building a series of unusual compositions. A tiny sleeping figure huddled under a blanket in the first, an embalmed mummy was in the second and yet another had two shells opening like a mouth with the tongue visible between the set of teeth lining the edges.
Rudimentary in form, a five feet tall metal wire and rope sculpted into an eye, by Mir Askari from CIAC, was an eye catching focus on the multiple meanings, literary and physical, that are attributed to the optical image. Likewise Sabeen Ahmed from Karachi School of Art had crafted abstract mixed media arrangement in glass and acrylic on board. They had a more striking visual presence as 3D geometric ensembles rather than as critical statements.
A photo etching with line print featuring a foetal image of a child by Mehr-un-nissa of Hunerkada was among the very few imaginative works in this genre. Digital prints by Moira Plair from BNU extolled the power and effectiveness of pharmaceutical products – as life saving drugs if used with caution but addictive and detrimental if intake was compulsive. With titles like ‘sub cutaneous’ and ‘withering away’ she had concentrated on creating fleshy cloyingly gluey imagery and crumbly textures to evoke the penetration and effect of medication within the human body. A lively inversion of the real and the concrete, courtesy photoshop, was visible in the digital prints by Rabia Tariq also from BNU. Associating personalities with home décor products, ‘my parents dining room’ and ‘my mamu’s ornaments’ etc she had indulged in humorous flights of fancy. The conventional was incised to good effect in a staid woodcut print of the outdoors by Ambreen from the Baluchistan University.
The Emerging Talent show is not exactly a level playing field. While viewers may or may not dwell on the variability it is the students from various art schools who can benefit the most by looking simultaneously at their own as well as the works of their contemporaries from other areas. This is a learning exercise that can enable them to gauge their own standing vis a vis their colleagues. Punjab University particularly has learnt from previous participations – they responded wholeheartedly to the current call from VM this year – in terms of the quality and quantity of their paintings. And if sales are an indicator of success then the show scored on that account as well.
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