A print maker with penchant for personal memories

Past memory-20 color viscosity

Talking about his life as a print-maker in NY, Islam said, "I'm working at Krishna Reddy's studio at NY sponsored by Bob Blackburn. There I met other great artists like Fida Hussain, who inspired me enormously. Last year I bought a house, where I hope to install a print machine of my own. This is because I waste a lot of time travelling to and from my work if that's at a distance. I manage to make a good living as an artist having group shows and I hold regular workshops in various places in the different states in USA. I'm now in NY for 14 years even though life is not a bowl of cherries all the time.

"Recalling how he had got his niche in the NY art scene, Islam said he used to work as an artist in Kuwait. Here he held an exhibition where people advised him to move on to Europe and eventually to USA, which is exactly what he did. Meeting Reddy, he decided to follow him. Islam main concern was to adapt his guru's techniques and unconsciously the forms that he had used in his paintings recurred in his prints too, such as boats, fish, trees and birds taken from natural surroundings of his home in Bangladesh.

Talking about the problems and pleasures that he was met with in his work, Islam said, "The print media requires application of physical effort. In order to bring out a print of say three different colours I have to use rollers of three different sizes which I have to use three times by hand. As my prints are large ones my physical involvement is considerable. However, after my work is completed, I forget the physical involvement that went into the making of each of my prints. The tools I use, such as acid and the zinc plates that have to be burnt to bring in the shapes of the forms naturally annoy me at times. There is also a fixed place where acid can be used and one must certainly not do it at home. Again, I cannot give enough time always to my family of two small children and a wife, who is a school teacher. The final effect inspires me to carry on with my work. I'm trying to have a studio of may own, as I pointed out earlier, to cut the hassle of rushing to work and back. "

Elaborating on the sense of satisfaction that he gets in his work, Islam said that he always tried to keep a similarity between his original layout and the designs on his final works. Islam's layout was naturally a draft from which the print originated. When the original rough creation was like the final effect, it always gave him a sense of achievement. The lines and forms, he said, came in an opposite way on the paper but should be accurate and neat. In order to make the prints, Islam said, the process that he used required the biting of the paper at different levels. When the soft rollers are used the bite must be deep on the zinc plate at different levels, said Islam.

Talking about his subject matter plus technique, Islam said, "I naturally love the art of print making or I would have abandoned the medium. I transfer the motifs and figures I might have done in paintings on to the prints. Thus I focus my aim on the quality of painting while I am doing the prints. In print making there is the advantage of the repetition of forms and shapes in different angles and ways with ease."

Discussing the appreciation of the print medium in USA vis-a-vis that in a place like Bangladesh, Islam said that many like Krishna Reddy, continues with print-making for years with success. As Islam is connected with various workshops that he runs he has experienced numerous artists in USA taking an interest in the print medium. "There is naturally not the same appreciation of prints here in Dhaka or the rest of Bangladesh, but appreciation of prints will come with time."

Monirul Islam visits Dhaka often enough, not only to hold exhibitions but to meet his family and friends like most other Bangladesh artists working overseas.