The artistic evolution of mansoor rahi: The Rahi Art Gallery and Museum came up with a real artistic treat with an exhibition of paintings on September 29. The event offered a charming collection of art pieces created by Mansoor Rahi and his wife Hajira along with their brilliant pupils Tabussam and Saher.
The visual show carries the spirit of evolution and transmission of experience and expertise from senior to junior generation. For this noble initiative credit goes to the artist-couple Mansoor Rahi and Hajira Mansoor who landed in the capital in mid 70s and with their persistent endeavours successfully erected an art gallery and museum in the 80s.
Since then the place has been a center of learning for budding artists as well as an important source of dissemination of art through creative exposures in the form of exhibitions and displays. The present exhibition is an extension of the art agenda of Rahi and Hajira The exhibition is divided into two segments. The ground floor offers paintings by Hajira and their students while the basement is adorned with the exhibits of Mansoor Rahi, he created during the last forty years.
Mansoor Rahi hails from Bangal and was much impressed by great realistic painter Zainul Abedin. The agonies and joys of the people and sufferings of the downtrodden always played vital force in his early pencil and charcoal sketches. With the passage of time Mansoor developed his vision of life and thus was inclined towards the cubism school of thought to express himself in a more vivid way. " Artist imagines and visualises beyond the wall to expose the harsh realities of life scattered around.
So cubism led me in my early age" said the artist to this scribe while peering into the time tunnel of nostalgic past. The monumental qualities of form with extra bold texture, broken shades with a charming amalgamation of colors had been the salient feature of his early work.
The 70s and 80s witnessed a gradual change in the artist's style. A distinctive shift from aggressive squares, lines and allied structural elements to soft and smart rhythmic form emerged on Mansur's canvases. It was the period when he felt a creative obsession of his one time ideal Zainul Abedin. Mansoor Rahi disappeared from the social horizon of the capital for sometime and came out with a wonderful soul moving series of charcoal paintings tilted " Food Crises". Over 50 masterpieces of the series touched the conscience of the civil society with his main theme of socio economic injustice, hunger, poverty and the agonies erupt out of it.
The 'vulture' was the main sign of cruelty and hatred in the exhibition. Mansoor Rahi earned name and fame for this great service to humanity at home and abroad. Beyond this series his work carried a strong posture of abstraction with powerful use of light, semi abstraction with a meaningful synthesis of realism. His " Resurrect Rock" series in color and black and white is yet one step forward with regard to the artistic expression of harsh realities of life and ultimate emotional reaction of people.
The extra bold forms, balanced and proportionate division of space and meaningful application of colors are indeed a good source of sublimation for the viewer. Hajira Mansoor has once again come up with her usual style of realistic expression imbibed with traditional grandeur, feminine beauty and grace, decorative elements, socio cultural harmony and emotional interaction based on the cherished values of the East. The artistic synthesis of lines, curves, softness of colors and decorative elements create a overall texture which could easily be termed as " Hajira style" enjoying a close similarity with Chughtai and Mughal school of painting.
Hajira Mansoor has great concern with the issues relating to women folk of the planet earth. Peeping into her works once could easily trace out the agonies and joys of women. " I always pray and put my contribution in addressing the women issues which deform the natural beauty of the famine gender." She says.
The works by Saher, a very brilliant and promising student of the gallery, show the reality of life in a powerful and impressive way. She has developed a special taste for creating portraits. Saher, under the tutelage of Mansoor and Hajira, has learnt how to study the inner self and the psyche of a model. Her works carry elements of beauty which she applies with artistic easiness to furnish her given task.
Tabussum presented her works to project the desert culture of Thar region of Pakistan with bold strokes in charming colors and harmonious style. Her paintings depict the painstaking study of a hard area and good observation of day to day life of desert women. Tabussum works could be termed a good source of learning the charm of Thar culture.
Sino-pak friendship house: A Rs 3.128 billion project of Sino-Pak Friendship House has been approved and would be taken up soon within the orbit of lush green scenic beauty of Shakarparian. The contribution of the Chinese government would stand at Rs 2.12 billion. The cost of 12 acre prime land amounting to Rs 871 million has been paid by the Chinese government.
The idea of constructing a bilateral friendship house was approved in December 2004 during the visit of Primier Shoukat Aziz to China and Chinese Prime Minister laid the foundation stone when he visited Islamabad in April 2005. The state of the art complex would be accomplished within the stipulated period of two years.
It will be recalled that both the people of Pakistan and China have been asking to build such a friendship house in the perspective of centuries old indomitable socio cultural relations between the two countries. In the very early years USA, USSR, UK, Germany, France and Iran had launched their respective friendship houses, centers or libraries etc.
Now the move to build a Sino-Pak Friendship House is widely lauded by all the segments of civil society in the country. The promising initiative would definitely prove a vital source of further strengthening the already good relations between the two peoples through yet more bilateral exchanges in the areas of art, culture, education, sports, sciences, trade, commerce and tourism etc.
The Sino-Pak Friendship House project will consist of three huge architectural units depicting the cultural grandeur of both the people. It would have an auditorium with the capacity of 800 people along with adjacent lecture halls, exhibition and display center, banquet hall, conference rooms, dance and music center, a multi purpose lounge, media center and VIP guests room. There would also be a hostel with the capacity of 105 people.
It is learnt from reliable sources that the President of Pakistan has assigned Naeem Tahir, chief executive of the PNCA, to supervise the cherished project of Sino-Pak Friendship House. The artist community has lauded this decision in the backdrop of the accomplishment of the state of the art complex of National Art Gallery within 600 days by Naeem Tahir, popularly known as 'the ' man of cultural crises management'.
'Girls Education and Empowerment in Pakistan': A truly impressive poster exhibition by the female art students was held by the South Asian Center at its premises in collaboration with Pakistan NGOs Forum on October 1 here. . Over 50 exhibits are on display in a variety of mediums, including oil, water and poster colors, pastels and newspapers etc. The students exercised in the genres of newspapers collage, sketches, drawing and mixed media.
The female architects of the exhibition hail from three educational institutions of the capital namely, Federal Government Margalla College, F-7/4, Federal Government College for Women, F-7/2 and Federal Government Model College for Girls, F-6/i. Dr Furukh Aftab Addrish, the dynamic man and director of the South Asian Center, is the real moving spirit behind the show.
He brilliantly coincided the event with the forthcoming 2nd anniversary of the October 2005 Earthquake and the World Literacy Day. The students were given the theme of women education and empowerment with regard to the earthquake disaster and remedial methods along with the female education for a better, strong and prosperous Pakistan.
It was indeed encouraging to see that the students have done their work with zeal, commitment and passion. The vast horizon of the given theme was widely studied by the students prior to putting put it on paper and canvas. As for the earthquake is concerned the budding artists painted the pain and passion of badly affected people of the devastation.
Simultaneously they highlighted the hope, courage and determination for the reconstruction of life and the society. Most of the posters were depicting a variety of dimensions with regard to the women empowerment.
It shows the determination of our women folk to invest their intellectual and professional skills, know-how and expertise in building a prosperous Pakistan for the posterity.
Well done, Dr Furukh Aftab Aardish, for organising such a thought provoking and inspiring exhibition of art by the budding female artists of the capital. It would definitely play a vital role in exploring their inbuilt talent and the cherished process of personality building.
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