Aspiring for an ornamental effect

Lady-2

Again, delving into why he had chosen his genre, Fakir said, "I admire the work of the Mogul past, which is an integral part of our own historical past. I enjoy the technique and effect enormously. You will find in my work some copy studies and some from my own imagination. At one time I used to keep models, follow Abdul Rehman Chughtai, but now I work from my memory and as my mind moves, restricting myself to washes. I don't do much commercial art at the moment along with my other professional work, although I've done some of that as a student. I now get by with what I earn in my exhibits and my family has always been supportive. My buyers are either business magnates or foreign connoisseurs."

Talking about the artists who had influenced him in his work, Fakir said, "My teachers, Abdus Sattar, Shawkatuzzman, Nasreen Begum and Hashim Khan all guided and influenced me, as I worked to get my masters in 1996. Of these I admire Shawkatuzzaman most of all." He added, "I've had about 15 group exhibits and this is my first solo venture at Rajshahi and Dhaka," asked to give the number of his displays.

Asked if he faced any problems in his profession, Fakir said, "I get my paints and paper with ease, being helped by understanding family members from overseas at times."

Touching on whether he preferred his traditional Oriental Art or experimentation, moving into new horizons, with abstraction in mind, Fakir said, "I've done experimentation since 1999, along with my Oriental Art. I enjoy both. I haven't restricted myself to portraits of women only and have brought in other subjects too. Nature and our surroundings, such as dying trees or rusting tin sheds, along with rural scenes have entered my compositions. The female forms date back to my student days which haven't been sold out as yet and I believe that they're quickly lapped up, as they have easy visual appeal for the conventional art buyers. Earlier, I used sittings of models but now I don't need them for my work. My own flights of fancy are adequate for my work.

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"I've used bright colours most of all even though in the background, to bring in the textured effect, I used dark colours," Fakir said, when asked about his choice of hues.

Dwelling on whether some of our artists are tending to be very westernized in their search for the nouveau, Fakir said, "Our artists might have been experimental and somewhat abstract at times, quite often, but as seen, they have often retained the traditional motifs in the folds of their textures and lines. They have not always depart from their roots in the lust for being trendy and with it. What they tend to do is combine the eastern influence with the western ones in their quest for experimental works. One cannot stop the influence of masters like Matisse and Picasso."

In "The couple" and "The friend" we saw two women in a composition, one with a pale blue sari and the other salmon pink one, with one putting an exotic flower in the other's head. The details of the face, body and clothes remained oriental in outlook. The other painting held a lover, bare to his waist, holding hands with the object of his amour. The woman sported heavy jewellery on her wrists and orange garland on her flowing jet black hair. Soft, pale washes in blue were included in both the water colour compositions. "Friendship" had combined folk art with modern lines and composition and it had two women playing with a myna bird. One woman was in beige tones while the other was grayish. Dots and squares embellished their simple saris. Behind was a banana tree standing as a contrast against the yellow and brown wash in the backdrop.

Mizanur Rahman Fakir has won four awards including the Quamrul Hassan Memorial Award in 1991 and the Experimental Award from, Dept. of Oriental Art, the Institute of Fine Arts, DU in 1998. He has experience in book cover designing, photography and puppet making. He also has experience as a ceramic instructor.