Recently a Mansur Rahi retrospective
that covered the period from 1957 to
2009 was held at the National Art Gallery. This show held concurrently
with his wife artist Hajra was titled Creative Melange.
While viewing Rahi’s work one is struck by the prevalent dichotomy.
Conventionality as well as non- conformity to Cubism coexists within his
artworks. So what does he borrow or reject from Picasso and Braque? Since
his works are simultaneously imbued with these opposing attributes, a
synchronized discussion is imperative. Cubism involves a fracturing of
form along with its subsequent realignment into diminutive planes. A
strong adherence to this is evident in works like The Thinker (1970) and
the Wild Horse Series, while the series of drawings displays a certain
degree of divergence from this standard. Both Picasso and Braque depicted
a conceptual rather than perceptual view of nature and Rahi’s several
paintings show an affinity with this outlook, one such example is Mother
and Child (1975). Color is monochromatic in Analytical Cubism and much of
Rahi’s works show a restrained use of color. A number of his paintings
however, like Couple in Love (2002), show an augmented utilization of
color that is analogous to Synthetic Cubism.
Now that the parallels albeit with some apparent deviations, have been
drawn, the intense disparities need to be hammered out as well. Multiple
view points are integral to Cubism; still Rahi chooses to disregard this
paramount feature. For example, a simultaneous depiction of two horses
with different views is seen in one of his pieces from the Wild Horse
Series, but this varies from the essential cubist method of concurrently
depicting several view points of a single subject. Moreover, Picasso and
Braque left clues for viewers so that an intellectual engagement would be
required to decipher it.
In Rahi’s work the subject is easily perceived, therefore the intellectual
process begins after its recognition, unless his intention is based on a
purely visual aesthetic in which case the cerebral is rejected in favor of
the physical. Additionally, Cubism discards traditional perspective in an
effort to avoid any imitation of nature and yet Rahi’s Grey Genesis Series
is a testament to the pivotal role it commands within this particular body
of work. Modeling was done away with for the same reason; still we come
across it in Rahi’s drawings. Cubism portrays the presence of light in a
distinctive manner as it seems to be radiating from within the planes. In
contrast, the Wild Horse Series shows how Rahi uses the visual imagery of
Rayonism to stress the presence of light and thus departs from the cubist
convention of creating subdued light.
Rahi’s peripheral encounter with Cubism can be traced back to his academic
period in works such as Portrait Study (1959). Blocks of color that
constitute the face are rendered in an unambiguous manner which led his
teacher Kibria to wonder whether he would later become a proponent of
Cubism. Quite an accurate hypothesis, considering 50 years have gone by
and the same blocks are still integral to his work. At this time he was
studying at the Govt. College of Art and Craft, Dhaka. Earlier, he had
completed his matriculation from Raj Shahi School, also in Dhaka. In 1964,
he moved to Karachi and stayed there for 18 years. This initial phase of
his career shows the impact of Zainul Abedin. One example is the
impression Abedin’s impulsive drawings made upon Rahi. Moreover, Zainul
Abedin was motivated by social and political events and this early period
in Rahi’s career demonstrates a greater focus on thematic content such
that social and political issues also became a major concern for him. His
series like World Food Crisis, Soul in Hell and Struggle for Achievement
are fall into this category. According to Rahi, these early years of his
profession were marked by struggle which also appears in his works from
that period. So, his representational as well as non-representational
abstract works manifest an imitation of his life. Another characteristic
that strikes a similar chord between his work and that of his teacher
Zainul Abedin, is the presence of a bold and clear outline.
The later phase of Rahi’s career began in 1983 when he changed his
residence from Karachi to Islamabad. He describes this period as rather
peaceful and therefore his art shifts from a portrayal of struggle to one
of peace as mountains, beauty and romance began to be depicted in his
work.
Rahi’s paintings and drawings depict abstraction yet the visual imagery
remains representational, which marks another difference between his early
work in Karachi and his later work in Islamabad. Such dissimilarities are
amalgamated through an essence of Cubism that runs through his entire body
of work, creating interplay of opposites.
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