Artist Association Of Punjab

An Introduction

Ever since the creation of a separate country in South Asia, the artists of Pakistan have endeavored to define and delineate their own specific identity and cultural heritage.

After the inception of Pakistan in 1947, the artists at Lahore formed a group named the Lahore Art Circle. Moyene Najmi was the central spirit of the Circle. He was supported by S Safdar, AJ Shemza, Ali Imam and Ahmed Pervez. The Circle had an agenda – a modern agenda that spurned both the nostalgic vision of AR Chughtai and the romantic idealization of the Punjab Landscape and peasant life by Ustad Allah Baksh.

The Circle dispersed by the end of the fifties. Shemza settled in England, Ali Imam moved to Karachi and Ahmed Pervez wandered to London. Moyene Najmi and S Safdar lived in Lahore till the very end. The Modern Art Movement was encouraged by the arrival of Shakir Ali, who had actually been abroad and studied in London and then practiced techniques and manners of abstract painting at Paris. Artists pursuing Modernism were not many in those days. They were a close knit community each prized his individual mode of convictions, bonding with others out of a warm feeling of camaraderie. Each had his own manner that belied others; Ahmed Pervez’s figures boldly expressed with black contours; S Safdar with appetite for archaic images; Moyene Najmi’s textured surfaces and exotic definitions; Ali Imam’s focus on urban structures; Shemza’s ethnic conceits and Shakir’s abstract narrative of human images and objects. Then there was Khalid Iqbal, strictly speaking not a member of the Group, who pursued a mode of realism that has been termed as modern realism. It was not the unity of expression but the diversity of purpose that brought together this inimitable herd of rebellious aesthetes and men of passion and determination. Talking of passion it needs to be stated over and over again that these painters painted for no other reason but for their passion for painting.

There was a gap before the upsurge of the next generation of artists, this time more consciously collaborating not as individuals but as a community of common interest. ‘A Decade of Progress’ of President Field Marshal Ayub Khan was coming to a turbulent end. Students, industrial workers, citizens and all and sundry were on the street agitating for their legal and democratic rights, the end of Martial rule, and holding of free and fair elections. The artists, writers and intellectuals played a pivotal role in propelling this struggle ahead, through their verse and prose and paintings for which they were hounded, held and harassed by the state for their ‘misguided’ expression of passion. There were some artists who distanced themselves from the movement. They believed that art should have nothing to do with politics and that artists should remain aloof from temporal happenings and instead focus on eternally universal ideals of art.

During the early seventies The Fine Arts Equity was formed and Mian Ijaz ul Hassan was elected as its first president. It merged with the broad based Pakistan Artists’ Equity with its three other components; the Music Equity, the Actors Equity, and the Writers Equity in 1974. In order to escape official censorship the Fine Arts Equity with generous support of Moyene Najmi established the Lahore Art Gallery at the ground floor of his residence. The Fine Arts Equity mounted its inaugural Show at the Lahore Art Gallery in 1974. This show was a source of much contentious murmuring, for displaying paintings of social and political import that were termed by ‘aesthetes’ to be posters and not proper art.

Dr Anwar Sajjad was elected as President, succeeded by Tariq Aziz and then by Mian Ijaz ul Hasan who was successively elected its President for almost ten years. The other artists who actively supported formation of Pakistan Artists Equity were Ustad Fareedi the Singer, Mehmud Butt the artist and cartoonist, Khalid Abbas Dar the actor and comic, Amjad Islam Amjad the writer, Professor Israr the music critic, and other eminent singers and musicians like Fareeda Khanum, Amanat Ali, Fateh Ali, Nizakat Ali, Salamat Ali, Alam Lohar and many others representing the younger generation of visual artists like Ghulam Mustafa and M Ali Wasti. The Equity was banned by Zia ul Haq when he ‘tore’ up the country’s constitution and enforced his dictatorship. Every shade of dissent in conflict with the martial rule was viciously suppressed. This was without parallel the most sinister period of Pakistan’s history. Lies were propagated, glossed with religious deceits; enforced by brute force and terror.

Later during these traumatic times the artists established the National Artists Association of Pakistan. The Association was formed on federal basis, so that each of the four Provinces could function independently without slowing down individual initiatives of other provincial organizations. Among the four components Artists’ Association of Punjab (AAP) outpaced the other three. AAP consecutively held 28 Annual exhibitions and hosted 13 National Exhibitions. The endeavors for mounting the National Shows were of course supported by artists of Sind, Baluchistan and Khyber Pakhtun Khawa provinces. Later support was also extended by public art organizations like the Lahore Arts Council and the Pakistan National Council of the Arts.

The National Artists’ Association has steadily strived for 28 years. The late Ms Naseem Hafeez Qazi was elected as its first Chairperson in 1986. She was a patient and wise person; a strong binding force, respected by the entire artist community. The quiet support and charismatic presence of Khalid Iqbal must also be acknowledged. He has been a mentor to several generations of art students and a role model for the artists. Two years later Mian Ijaz ul Hassan was elected as the new Chairman and has been successively re-elected to this position.

In addition to the Annual and National exhibitions the AAP undertook the initiative of taking its exhibitions on tour to several other cities of the Punjab and other parts of the country. Without these undertakings residents of cities and town like Multan, Bahawalpur, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Murree and others would never have had the opportunity to intermingle and gain from artworks of mainstream artists of Pakistan. These exhibitions were supported with lectures and talks by eminent artist and academics on contemporary and traditional painting.

Since we have lived through ups and downs for quarter of a century it is appropriate that others are acknowledged who have made this journey agreeable and pleasant. Foremost among them is Ghulam Mustafa, the industrious Secretary General, whose constant and ever ready support for the Association was a source of great strength. Shahid Jalal reputed for his definitive views also introduced a dash of corporate culture to our working methods. Rahat Masood who has recently retired as the Principal of College of Art and Designt of Punjab University has literally grown and flowered as an artist and organizer during the quarter. Iqbal Hussain, Kehkashan Jaffry and Maliha Agha who has replaced Rahat Naved as new Principal, were always around and could be counted upon, for whatever they were tasked. Dr Musarrat Hasan gave the invaluable advice to produce a brochure for all exhibitions. The result is a comprehensive record of the activities of the Association. There are some other distinguished names without whose willing and eager support National Exhibitions would not have been possible. These are Nahid Reza from Karachi, Kaleem Khan from Quetta, Jehanzeb from Peshawer. Along with them the Association must thank Faqir S. Aijaz ud Din, Sardar Aseff Ahmed Ali and S Akmal Hussain. The Faqir for his learned input at the Seminars, the Sardar as Foreign Minister for establishing a painting’ collection at the Pakistan Foreign Office Islamabad when he was the Foreign Minister and Akmal for his numerous contributions towards publication of the exhibition brochures.

The Association owes so much to so many that it is almost impossible to individually thank each one of our notable supporters but it would be impolite if we were not to recognize Khalid Saeed Butt, Late Ghulam Rasul, Raja Changez Sultan and Naeem Tahir, the four Director Generals of Pakistan National Council of the Arts. Here mention must be made to the memory of Late Chaudhry Nazir Ahmed, one of the former Resident Directors of the Lahore Arts Council for his unremitting support.

It must be added that the state and governments need to be constantly stirred and people made aware that culture and material development go hand in hand. The people are not just beneficiaries of material development but are actually the vehicle of development; without enhancing people’s cultural awareness, the much desired and urgently needed material development is virtually unattainable.

The Association- to use borrowed words- has far to go; have promises to keep - to our self and others. And even though shadows scurry across and darkness descends, we must all hold hands tight; feel the way with our feet and stride ahead.