Eminent art historian Dr Akbar Naqvi is no more among us. He passed away on 20th November at age 85. My last conversation with Dr Akbar Naqvi was in June at his book "Sense and Insanity" launching ceremony. Although he was a PhD in English literature, yet he pursued a career in art criticism.
Dr Naqvi was born on February 21, 1931, in Hajipur, Bihar, India. He became interested in art at age twelve when he saw the Yakshi sculpture, 'Spirit of the Tree', cast in iron at the Patna museum for the first time. Afterwards he used to visit the museum every week to appreciate the sculpture.
His father after observing his interest in art hired an artist from the Bengal school to teach him painting, but after a short time he realized that he did not have the temperament to become an artist and he started reading literature on art from around the globe. And this way he started to educate himself in art criticism.
After acquiring master's degree in English literature from the Patna University he went to University of Liverpool for a PhD in English Literature. While studying English Literature in London he continued to learn about art by visiting art exhibitions in London and Paris and interacting with art students and teachers. He was greatly inspired by Herbert Edward Read, an English art historian, poet, literary critic and philosopher who helped him understand that "art was the most important cultural activity of man and that great art approximated to poetry".
He wrote his first article on artist Lubna Agha's work in The Sun. He wrote articles on art and architecture for Dawn, The Muslim and Herald, besides The Sun for over 20 years. He once said in a conversation, "A good work of art or poetry is one which touches your core. It makes you feel pain and happiness, forces you to think and reflect."
"A good artist gets inspiration and uses it to push his work to the next level. Skill and knowledge are essential. I believe that without craft there cannot be art. Concept does not make art."
Besides being well known as an art critic he was also recognised as an art historian. His first major contribution as a historian was a book "Image and Identity: 50 years of Pakistani art 1947-1997" published in 1997. Next year in 1998 another book titled "Pakistan: The Making of Art" was launched which covers the world of art from the Stone Age to the 1980s.
Then after a long gap in 2007 he wrote on "Shahid Sajjad`s Sculptures: Collected Essays". And in 2011 a collection of biographical essays "Khujwa recollected - Autobiographical Essays" was published. His new book "Sense and Insanity" on life and art of artist Shahid Rassam was launched in June this year. His last book "Glass Lamp" is waiting to be published.
He briefly taught in NCA for five years and IVSAA for seven years but resigned from both institutions sighting lack of interest of art schools in teaching and learning. "There have been good artists with high potential, but they are too inspired by techniques and modern trends. An artist can adopt a trend but then they need to give it a new turn, and evolve it with their local cultural vocabulary. There are artists who are good in techniques. But art is not about technique," he said.
He was of opinion that, "Contemporary art has become very shallow and technical. Anything could be art. They talk about conceptual art but they do not understand what conceptual art is. I realise that change was inevitable but it has been badly affected by commercialism. There have always been monetary concerns but now artists only work for money. The whole art scene; environment and the vocabulary have changed."