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The beginning of Abstract Art
by Sayeed Ahmad
The hold of realism and naturalism was strong and it was difficult to move audiences to appreciating the new trends that had already overtaken Europe and America. But a dent had been made. I realised that pioneering efforts always meet with opposition, but I was gratified to find a young man Mr. Syed who published a magazine on the arts, printed my lecture at that time. I also got positive response from young students, writers and journalists in Lahore
In 1964 Pakistan was feeling the first ripples of Abstract Art. A few painters such as Hamidur Rahman, Shakir Ali, Zubeda Agha were presenting their works in the new media. They had all the European experience and were boldly mounting their exhibitions in the face of critical reactions of the art circles.
The Abby Grey Foundation of Minneapolis, in the US had come to Lahore with its abstract art works at the invitation of the Mayo School of Arts, under the principleship of Mr. Sponenberg. Mrs. Grey herself had brought thirty painting for the show. Among these were works by Jackson Pollock, Kandinsky, Motherwell and others.
The Foundation had selected these from their extraordinary collection of abstract art. The Exhibition was an eye-opener for art people in Lahore. The complete departure from realism, nationalism and lyricism shocked the minds of viewers as they scanned the abstract expressions. As an art critic I exchanged my views with Mrs. Abby Greay and we grew a fine rapport. Shakir Ali and I showed her round the historical sites of the Labore Fort, Shalimar Gardents, Jahangir's 'maqbara' the Wazir Khan Mosque, Anarkali market and Data Ganj Bakh's 'mazar'. We also took her out to the city of Kasur, where the singer Nurjahan was born. During her one weeks visit she was thrilled with the history and culture of Punjab and had heard the famous songs of Nurjahan.
Among the Exhibition activities was my lecture on Abstract Art. The premis of my talk was that abstractionism was a new window for modern artists. This form of expression was hardly known in Pakistan, although a few painters had dabbled in the new media. My lecture exposed and highlighted the dimension of visual expression which gave the viewer food for thought. Abstract art was giving the artists an intellectual means to put their themes in the shape of lines, streaks, dots, rhythmic forms and colours which spoke a new language. The viewer had the choice to interpret at will. My lecture made considerable vibrations among the listeners and art connoisseurs. There was a hesitation to accept the off-beat mode. There was, also, a responsive audience who wanted to have more freedom in looking at works of art. For instance the theme of a storm did not have to depict black clouds and bending trees, but could be expressed in slashes of thick paint, blobs of colour and criss crossing lines. It was an opportunity for freedom of thought, an exciting prospect.
The hold of realism and naturalism was strong and it was difficult to move audiences to appreciating the new trends that had already overtaken Europe and America. But a dent had been made. I realised that pioneering efforts always meet with opposition, but I was gratified to find a young man Mr. Syed who published a magazine on the arts, printed my lecture at that time. I also got positive response from young students, writers and journalists in Lahore.
Mrs. Abby Grey was happy with my understanding of and discourse on abstract art and invited me to the United States to lecture there at the Minneapolis Abby Foundation. Professor-artist Shakir Ali was delighted that I was carrying the cause forward. He was a pioneer of the abstract art form, but had not received positive response from other art critics. One of these was Mr. Safdar Mir of the Pakistan Times. He was a stiff opponent of the abstract mode of printing and wrote several articles against the new trend. He vehemently criticised my theory and explanation of abstract art saying that it was anti-people. He was a Marxist. His belief was that abstractionism was 'art for art's sake' as opposed to 'art for life's sake'.
This controversy cost me my friendship with Safdar Mir, as he refuted my writings and tried to run down my reputation as an art critic. I stuck to my guns and continued to promote the visual freedom of modern art expression. The newspapers and journals took great interest in the discussions and over a year or so the support for abstract art had grown strong. The appeal of abstract art had caught the imagination of creative minds, both among the artists themselves as well as the viewers.
Finally my plans to visit the United States materialised and I contacted the Abby Foundation to fix my lecture date. On arrival in New York I spoke with Mrs. Abby Grey on the phone and she confirmed that all was set for the lecture. She generously offered that I and my wife be her house guests. She was a millionaire and I was extremely happy to get this offer.
We flew to Minneapolis one day ahead and Mrs. Grey had us picked up by her chauffeur and welcomed us to her home. At Minneapolis University the Head of the Art Faculty Mr. Herst Stand introduced me to the audience. I was interested to know that the audience comprised not only students, but art critics and art gallery promoters. Later on they told me they were amazed to learn that Pakistan had a modern art movement. I had carried slides of famous painters who were working in the abstract genre, and illustrated my talk with these. After the lecture there was a sumptuous dinner in a posh restaurant where big lobsters and other delights were served.
We had requested Mrs. Grey to book our return journey by train so we could see the landscape. We were keen to see the Mississippi river, although we had been warned it was in spate, such is the enthusiasm of youth! On the day of departure we were taken to a wayside station to board the train, as it could not reach the main platform. We went up to the Bubble Top roof to view the surroundings and were thoroughly enjoying the view. The American public in their usual hyper-superlative manner were munching snacks and having drinks. The waiters kept serving with zest and smiles asking 'what d'ya like to have?' After sometime the train slowed down as the tracks were affected by flood waters. This prolonged the travel time and soon we were informed that the food stocks were running out. Even plain water had finished. This deflated the cheery atmosphere we had been enjoying. But we were amazed to see that American's become very morose the moment their material supports are removed. Suddenly most people lost interest in the conversation and looking around at the landscape, which was so beautiful from the Bubble Top glass cover. They looked dejected. Eastern people are surely more patient in adversity and more philosophical. I wondered what Americans would do in the flood plains of Bengal.
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