REMEMBERING THE FORGOTTEN FACES AT CHUGHTAI MUSEUM; HARVARD UNIVERSITY ANTHROPOLOGIST LOUIS DUPREE IN 1978.

REMEMBERING THE FORGOTTEN FACES AT CHUGHTAI MUSEUM;
HARVARD UNIVERSITY ANTHROPOLOGIST LOUIS DUPREE IN 1978.

Literally thousands of people visited Chughtai Museum in last fifty years, but also hundreds of foreigners visiting us too. Record in our archives but memories in our hearts too. Louis Dupree Professor was a world famous anthropologist, and his wife Nancy, also an expert on Afghan affairs.Both husband and wife have written many books, and their expertise is obviously Afghanistan.Scratching our archives reveal many things, and surprise us too. 

It was those days that Professor Marjorie Jacobs of University of Sydney was visiting us, and extended an invitation to us to visit Sydney, Australia with a show of Chughtai Art. We also later received His Excellency the Australian ambassador in Pakistan.  

Louis Dupree was a serious worker but as a person he was jovial most of the time. His wife Nancy was totally well versed in history of Afghanistan, and we have her books in our library. Louis Dupree was at that time staying in 12-C Gulberg 2, Lahore, and left his phone with us too, that is 880751. These people were cultural experts and knew the importance of Chughtai Art in Pakistan as well as the Muslim world. They also knew his popularity in the Western world. We enriched their knowledge, they enriched ours. As our usual practice, we gifted them things on Chughtai art.  And as usual people leave our museum happier than when they came in.  

AN UNUSUAL CAMP OF BENGAL ARMY IN LAHORE IN 1809; CPT BENJAMIN BLAKE WRITES ABOUT LAHORE GARDENS.

AN UNUSUAL CAMP OF BENGAL ARMY IN LAHORE IN 1809;
CPT BENJAMIN BLAKE WRITES ABOUT LAHORE GARDENS.

The history of Lahore is traversed by strange sources. One most unusual article is by Captain Benjamin Blake, who was stationed in Lahore suburbs in 1809. It was only a three week camp, but left strong impressions. He printed his experiences in the Journal of Science and the Arts. It was entitled:

           DESCRIPTION OF THE ROYAL GARDENS OF LAHORE.

Benjamin Blake was born in 1788 and died in 1838The article is printed and dated1820.It is rather a very early account and may spotlight some things which are relevant for researchers.

Captain Blake is with C.T. MetcalfeAmbassador of East India Companyand got permission from Ranjeet Singh. He talks of the ruined wall of Lahore City as well as the falling Delhi Gate. He talks of Shalimar Bagh in great detail and mentions three tiers of the  garden. Including details of the buildings and the addition by Ranjeet Singh. Also talks of the novel arrangement of use of water from a well through a bucket system to cool the accommodation of the Sikh ruler.

Captain Blake visits the Mausoleum of Emperor Jahangeer and mentions scanty details. However one interesting thing he adds is the presence of trees of oranges and pomegranates in the courtyard of the mausoleum. He also talks of various fallen buildings of Emirs of Mughal Court. He mentions the white marble jaalis of Lahore Fort.

It is an interesting very early account of the gardens of Lahore but not much is added to our knowledge of same. Any case worthy of being read.

NOBODY KNOWS THE FIRST VISION OF ANY CHUGHTAI WORK; LIKE PROPHECY A COLOURED IMAGE BUT STARTS WITH SCROLL.

NOBODY KNOWS THE FIRST VISION OF ANY CHUGHTAI WORK;
LIKE PROPHECY A COLOURED IMAGE BUT STARTS WITH SCROLL.

It should be kept in mind that Chughtai Art was not created in a vacuum. Days and nights spent in experimenting with  lines as well as colors. That preparation is well understood. But all that is craftsmanship, here we are talking of vision like a prophecy. The vision is like a ready made painting, but translating that vision required working on the composition. The colors would come naturally after that.

The vision starts with an observation. The artist himself confided in me many times the start of such a vision. He once showed me a small drop of paint left behind by a domestic wall painter. The drop had trickled down in a shape.  The artist saw a shepherd in it, and the result a painting of a shepherd. Other events for him was throwing a stone in a pool of water and notice the ripples emanating from it. He even told me that when urinating, when the urine is falling on the floor, he notices its flowing. The natural flowing makes him handle the flowing line perfectly. As far as faces are concerned, he had the habit of sitting in a window and observing passerbys. Or walk in a crowded street and look at people. An observer once noticed that he saw the Zutshki sisters walk in the Arab Hotel outside Islamia College Lahore and was transfixed for a long time. As Paul Drury would say that the artist had a memory bank of faces from where he could issue cheques at will for inclusion in his works. Millions of people have seen the Mona Lisa of Leonardo da Vinci, but how many saw the hidden messages in it. Picasso made a statement that an artist is blind and does not see with his eyes. He paints what he feels. Chughtai Sahib paints what he imagines as a literal prophecy. That is why often people say one important thing about him, he was a gifted artist by Divine role. Not an ordinary make believe artist, he was the exceptional Master of Modern Muslim Civilization.

Tackling composition and symbolism in his works needed desperately.

For the next step read our published blog:
http://blog.chughtaimuseum.com/?p=2977

GROPING IN THE DARK FOR LOSS OF AESTHETIC SENSE; INVASION OF PSEUDO ARTISTS TO PERVERT OUR SENSES.

GROPING IN THE DARK FOR LOSS OF AESTHETIC SENSE;
INVASION OF PSEUDO ARTISTS TO PERVERT OUR SENSES.

I often wonder why museum visitors in the West carry very young children with them. At times even babies in their arms. Or moving in prams. And those young eyes are trained to look at art. I remember many years back a Spanish couple from Islamabad called, working in the UNO, came here with their very young daughter, few years old. She was looking at me wonderstruck, but actually afraid of me. I started showing them paintings and the parents would ask their daughter Anita, her impression of each work. She could hardly speak but she had a mind of her own, and would give judgment of each work. By the time they left, the young girl, a few years old, seemingly fell in love with me. She rewarded me with her affection by pasting stickers of Smiley on my trousers as well as on my face. I allowed her to do that, for she taught me a lesson. Aesthetic training starts very early.

M.A, Rahman Chughtai had an idea to inculcate such aesthetics in the people of Pakistan, by building a museum to house his works as well as works of other artists and build the finest art library in Pakistan. Western lobbies were allergic to the development of Pakistan which would lead them to national consolidation. So perverts in the form of artists, with jeans and pipes in their mouth, came here to dissuade us from developing the same, by jumping in the bandwagon of the Western world, in the most ludicrous way possible. Their inspiration was Picasso, and their style mimicry. It was the start of not Pakistani Art, but so called searching for an ideal landscape, where there was not even a landscape. Absolute Gimmickry! They started worshipping canvasses  of fake Picassos, in the same way the Buddhists worship Siddharta Buddha or the Hindus worship the Lingam of Shiva. Their faith in the pseudo western world was so strong, and they started to ridicule all that was the essence of Pakistan. Indeed it was a clash of our civilization with the make believe world of another civilization.

http://blog.chughtaimuseum.com/?p=10389

It is time to assert ourselves to assert our identity. And by doing it, we need to understand Chughtai Art. We are starting a series of blogs on the Art of M.A.  Rahman Chughtai, to understand same. So that young generations of Pakistanis do not ape the gimmickry of the so called western world, and come face to face the function of Art itself. Art for Art sake indeed, but not without the striking power of Moses staff.

Lesson number one

Each work of Chughtai Sahib starts first from a story. He conceives a story and on that story he bases his concept of art.  Yes story telling through line and colour. More later!