Showing posts with label Art. Show all posts

Art & Architecture Education Part II

javascript
Text: Ar. Pervaiz Vandal

Education Fragmented- age of specialization

As compared to the earlier times education was now more focused on the abilities and techniques required to facilitate the production processes.  An efficient education system with a defined curriculum, taught in time-bound packages, with grading and testing to assess employability of students was developed. Such an approach lends itself to a systematic break-up of education into modules, to be taught in a given time, students tested and evaluated and thus graded like industrial goods to be used according to the demand of the customer. Holistic education of the Renaissance was replaced with a specialized, short term, education. Knowledge was split into useful and profits generating sciences and the not so useful arts; ‘age of specialization’ was born. Among the many, a small number who could afford longer periods of education went onto further specialize and lead the developments in science.

Published in , ,

RM Naeem on Red chilies, secularism and the male ego

Text: Mariam Qureshi
Visuals: R M Naeem

RM Naeem’s work is a paradox in itself. His art work will speak loudly with an uncanny bluntness yet the execution will be calculated and with exceptional finesse. The reason why RM Naeem has managed to prove his mettle as one of Pakistan’s finest contemporary artist is not only because he has dabbled with all the contemporary artistic mediums such as installation and performance art, yet he has a deep respect and understanding of traditional art forms --- in short RM Naeem’s diversity as an artist is evident. RM Naeem talks about some of his recent works.  His work carries vision and sometimes ironic humor. 

He starts his discourse with a painting titled ‘Dulha Hazir Hai’. This painting depicts an emaciated man wearing a sehra and posing in front of a cactus. Naeem explains that in our society men want to get married without realizing whether they can support a wife and a family. The cactus implies the shape of a phallus, an innuendo of the prevalent sexual frustration amongst Pakistani people.

Published in ,

Contemporary Notions of Home



javascript


Text: Salwat Ali
Visuals: VM Gallery

Who we are is determined by where we come from and how we define ourselves.
A new type of person whose orientation and view of the world profoundly transcends his or her indigenous culture is developing from the complex of social, political, economic, and educational interactions of our time.


“Nation, culture, and society exert tremendous influence on each of our lives, structuring our values, engineering our view of the world, and patterning our responses to experience. Human beings cannot hold themselves apart from some form of cultural influence. No one is culture free. Yet, the conditions of contemporary history are such that we may now be on the threshold of a new kind of person, a person who is socially and psychologically a product of the interweaving of cultures in the twentieth century.”

-Peter Adler
Centered on the multi-visions of multiculturalism a recent VM exhibition, Homelands- A 20th Century Story of Home, Away and All the Places In Between, curated by Latika Gupta attempts to project this continuously evolving definition of ‘home.’ Comprising art productions selected from the British Council Contemporary Art collection Homelands is a concentration of British artists but their focus is not confined just to Britain because as Andrea Rose, Dir Visual Arts points out, “Britishness” itself is now an increasingly fluid concept, with the capital city, London, home to 300 different nationalities. The artworks in the exhibition explore a range of meanings associated with the word “homeland”: migration, exile, displacement, the search for belonging, and the life of a minority community. Through these themes, Homelands expands its scope to show how identities are no longer defined in terms of nationality, but also through language, religion, ethnicity and custom.

Published in ,

EXAMINING DIVERSE VIEWPOINTS: FOUR ARTISTS FROM SINDH



Text: Marjorie Husain
Photography: Courtesy

Looking at the work in exhibition of artists such as Hussain Chandio, Jam Depar, Manzoor Solangi and Nusrat Raza Mangi, one was reminded of the fascinating cultural history and traditions of Sindh; its arts and crafts created through the centuries by gifted artistes and artisans. The fifty-seven exhibits recently displayed in Karachi, encompassed the disciplines of sculpture, figurative work, landscape and modern miniature art. Each series carried themes of the individual artists to be examined in detail. Yet there remains still so much to be written about the province of Sindh. There is so much to discover of the Indus Valley Civilization and the inhabitants of the region 5000 years ago. We know they enjoyed wearing decorative ornaments made from coloured stones; lived in well designed homes and streets, and were buried without weapons. One realizes how very culturally advanced these early inhabitants must have been. When the markings on the seals discovered are deciphered, one may learn so much more.

In Pakistan the first official centre of art education began in Sindh in 1970, when A.R.Nagori established the Fine Arts Department of the Sindh University. He was joined by Mussarat Mirza and several talented artists began their art education at the university. In recent times it is Muhammad Ali Bhatti who heads the department following the principle of educating future generations.

Published in ,

Varying Art Assessment Standards in an Era Where “Anything Goes”



Text: Seyhr Qayum

Scholars, critics, your regular run-of-the-mill Average Joe – everybody, has at one point or another asked the incredibly profound and simultaneously incredibly futile question: “What is Art?” Countless articles have been published proclaiming art to be the visual representation of deep, intellectual thought. Some say it’s something – anything, which elicits an emotional response from the viewer. Many ramble tirelessly about how it’s all encompassing and is entirely subjective; what could seem like the consequence of a knocked over tub of paint on some canvas that conveniently happened to be lying beside the tub, for some people, could prompt others to empty out their bank accounts. By virtue of the fact that “art” has an even vaguer globally accepted, dictionary definition than it did say five hundred years ago, it is impossible to satisfactorily,universally answer this question. I personally believe that there is indeed, no right or wrong, no good or bad – to me, art is whatever induces one to stop, look at something, really look at it, and think “wow.”

Published in ,

Painting is not dead - it's alive and kicking….



Text: Salwat Ali.
Photography: Courtesy various galleries/artists

 Peppered with spurts of creative zest and technical flair, Visual Arts 2012 remained buoyant in a social and political environment that continued to plunge ever deeper into turmoil.  Particularly noticeable were refreshing perspectives in the works of young painters on topics questioning the space between art and life in the often violent and chaotic reality they are faced with every day. Growing in the age of Breaking News, power outages and shutter down calls the current generation of artists critique disorder not with alarm and despair but with a cool rationale often tweaked with biting humor. Hardy and resilient they have the aplomb and ingenuity to explore new directions to address their concerns.

In an art climate increasingly dominated by mixed and multimedia young artists as committed practitioners of representational painting are few and far between. The Canvas show, (shown in last week of Dec2011, but reviewed in Jan2012) Condolence Theatre, by Muhammed Ali and Altars, by Komail Aijazuddin centering on the painterly exercise was a pleasant reminder of the grandeur and instant impact that can be achieved through this traditional genre.  Religo - cultural storytelling is a relatively unexplored field here and in this regard the two artist’s deliberate engagement with their chosen subjects was the other striking feature of the show.   

Published in ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)
   
Copyright © 2012 ADA: Architecture Design Art.