To know and appreciate a piece of art, do we need to know the inner and outer workings of an artist?
Does an artist’s reputation necessarily precede their work or colour our understanding of it?
These
Artist Syed Sadequain Ahmed Naqvi (1930-1987) was born Amroha, a North Indian town, into a family of Quranic scribes. Post partition, he moved to Pakistan where he ushered in the renaissance of Islamic calligraphy.
Modernism in Pakistani art is said to have been heralded by Zubeida Agha’s first solo show in Karachi in 1949. Agha (1922-1997) was then a young woman – one who had studied political science
An artist’s public persona – their speeches, interviews or written works – often comes to define their intellectual or artistic image. Therefore, any artefact that offers a glimpse of their personal life becomes a
Parijat was the nom de plume of a Nepali writer, Bishnu Kumari Waiba – parijat, a type of jasmine that flowers at night. Her most acclaimed publication was the novel ‘Shiris Ko Phool’ (The
There is something about a tragic love story that creates a lasting hold on our imaginations. No wonder there are a million renditions of the same trope across cultural and geographical boundaries. Call the
The complexity of adulthood often leaves us perplexed in the face of simplicity. This fact is made most obvious when we read children’s books. The innocent stories written for untainted minds demand suspension of
Shiv Kumar Batalvi is considered a stalwart in modern Punjabi poetry. A quick web search tells you that he is the poet of lament and the internet is quick to define pathos as his
We often think of contemporary art as more abstract and complex than traditional art. Modern art is typically understood as a “break with tradition” –a new and different way of seeing and depicting the
Dom Moraes once wrote a moving tribute to a relatively unknown poet, and countless others like him, aptly titled ‘Poet Whom No One Discovered’. He was talking about the quiet, elegant and extraordinary poems