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Tender years but powerful strokes

30 March 2005, 18:00 PM
LIFESTYLE
By Fayza Haq
30 March 2005, 18:00 PM
A landscape by Arpita
Modern art tends to use the style of child art at times as in the case of Dadaism. Our artists have often spoken of how they have sometimes learnt from the paintings of children and should they rightly be teachers of young artists. The minimisation and geometrical shapes that we see so often in the 20th century and the present time work recall the shapes used often by children to represent flowers, trees, the sky and human shapes. The 25 young artists who took part in the recent exhibition of children's art at the Goethe Institut may not have had a child prodigy as might have been the case if the child was nurtured by parents who were painters or architects by profession, as has been seen in the Dhaka galleries earlier.

If one went in for careful composition, imaginative expression and eye for details, the 25 children had it all. They chose buoyant colours, stirring subjects and subtle details, at times being almost as good as adult, trained artists as in the case of Tamanna of Holy Cross School and six-year-old Faysal of St Judes International School. The paintings had a wide range of theme and style so that one did not get bored with repeated presentations of boats, skies and fish that one finds so often in the city's children's exhibition like the last one at the Zainul Gallery. The 25 aspiring artists are being diligently trained at the Charuloy Academy and hope some day to use their skills of drawing and painting as students of medicine, architecture, and engineering, all of which use strong lines and good colour sense -- if not fine arts. Should these young ones take up painting and sculpture as their profession they are likely to be fairly successful too as in the case of young Arpita of Bacha International School. Although ranging from six and seven years to 16 years, their paintings could well decorate the average Dhaka home with pride.

Ten-year-old Akhee from Holy Cross School has depicted a bridal scene, giving all the conventional details and yet making it look something different due to the manner of composition. Although only six, Nodi from YWCA School has depicted the high rise scene in urban Bangladesh, with clumps of trees and fast moving cars, along with pedestrians on a rainy day. Little Alvee from Tejgaon Girls' School has presented a family at dinner in a manner which could easily be the work of a more mature artist. Similarly pre-teenager Anik from St. Judes has shown Muktijoddhas taking up arms for their country's cause with dexterous use of lines and colours. Seven-year-old Jessica too has a fine composition and sense of harmonious colours that speak of remarkable sensitivity and maturity. Similarly, Omi has a way with deft strokes and decisive colours that balance and blend. Saiba's busy street scene, lined with shops and houses, is also interesting and worth one's while.

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Let's wish the young ones a brilliant future with their brush strokes.