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Shakoor's ballads on canvas

14 January 2006, 18:00 PM
LIFESTYLE
By Fayza Haq
14 January 2006, 18:00 PM
The artist (left), an artwork by Shakoor
Our traditional roots as well as the modern western giants have inspired Abdus Shakoor Shah, who has won rave reviews from connoisseurs both in the east and west. In his work he deftly combines the motifs, figures, lines and colours originating from theMymensingh Geetika(The Ballads of Mymensingh), a collection of folklore narratives, andGazir Pat(pictures of Gazi), which again hark back to the treasure trove of our heritage. The ballads were hand written and from them Shakoor derived his Bangla calligraphy, which the artist says is there only to enhance the meaning and importance of the legends.

The black writings make his works stand out from the rest of most local paintings. Nakshikantha or embroidered quilts have also had a decisive impact on his works. Another noticeable feature in his paintings: Little dots, mostly in jet-black, which have been inspired by mosaic floors, common in Bangladesh since the pre-Liberation period.

In them all we discover the roots of his exotic animals, reptiles and birds such as multi-coloured elephants, golden and black tigers, carefully stepping cats, gorgeous peacocks, maina birds and scintillating snakes. The shapes are simplified in their stylised presentation. The colours are primary and direct so that they appear both modern and traditional as post-modernism often features the primeval colours. Shakoor also delves deep into the reservoir of designs on our sheetal pati (mats made from canes in our villages).

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The lines, colour combination, as well as the composition in Shakoor's designs combine various sources of legendary tales. The backgrounds of his compositions have often been carefully partitioned off in numerous geometrical shapes and sizes -- square or rectangular, horizontal or vertical. These again, are more often than not, bordered by lines of neat -- informative and interesting -- carefully placed motifs, executed by the swift strokes of paints.

The final impact takes one away to miniatures of the ‘Mughal’ or ‘Kangra’ era. Although simplified and minimised, the work pulsates with "joie de vivre" and waves of bonhomie. Critiques comment at the same time, that Shakoor's paintings appear to be inspired by Piet Mondrian and Paul Klee. The artist says that the Cubists and Impressionists like Pablo Picasso and Van Gogh have also had their impact on him, as did his teachers at the Department of Fine Arts, Dhaka University.

Born in Bogra in 1947, Shakoor did his Post Diploma from MS University, Barodha, India in 1978. He has had nine solo exhibits in Japan and Bangladesh. He received eight awards including the "Best Prize" from the Lalitkala Academy, Gujrat, India in 1977 and the "Excellence Award", Tokyo, Japan in 1991. His joint displays include the ones in the Subcontinent, Japan, Europe, Canada, Russia, China, and Africa.