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From the Core of My Heart Posted on 10. Dec, 2008 by admin in Story

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Tanvir Fatima Rahman is an artist of a style of her own who not only painted the stretched canvases on the easel, but her restless soul forced her to visualize beauty on the large silver screen. She, after establishing her name in painters, became the first female set designer of our film industry, having international recognition and a role-model for many yet to come. A person with a tender heart, solid ideas and unyielding will-power attested her name against all odds.

She painted frames with soothing colours, composed of twigs ornate with or without delicacy of sacred leaves and romance of jovial flowers.

Tanvir is always looking and observing nature and its eternal beauty, here she talks about her ideas, experiences and achievements while commenting on the art in Pakistan.

1. How would you define art?

God has created beauty, He loves beauty and above all; He is the ultimate beauty. “Allahum Jameelun wa Yuhib al-Jamal” (Allah is Beautifull and He Loves beauty) and by painting or copying His creations, I got satisfaction. It is just like accepting Him above all. In art actually one learns to find and then capture elements of beauty in ordinary things, which ultimately take you close to your Creator or Khaliq

2. How and when did you decide to join NCA?

My maternal uncle was studying architecture at NCA, and in view of the fact that I was at home in drawing since my early school days while most of my teachers were of the view that I should carry on this practice, it was not any difficult decision for me to join Fine Art department at NCA just after my school education at a very young age of fifteen.

3. Some people consider art as something against the teachings of Islam, how do you see that?

Islam is neither in favour of some particular field nor it discourages any walk of life, the basic concept of good is very clear in Islam. Anything which is against the basic and fundamental concepts of Islam is denied whether anything that is good or beneficial for human kind, is appreciated. If art is done with a view of conveying good and beneficial to others, there is nothing wrong, as it implies all other fields and practices. Unless something is provocative or arousing in art, one should not take it bad or against Islam.

4. You have painted trees, plants and leaves, most of the time, any particular reason for that?

I actually love nature while leaves, plants and trees are the beauty of nature around us. I personally like flowers, trees, different kind of leaves with diversity in shape and color, and they are always around, you need not to find them in awkward places or far-flung areas. Many times it is just like having a look onto my lawn which leads me to pick my brush and paint straightaway.

5. You were at NCA when many modern ideologies like communism and socialism were in vogue with special reference to art and literature, did you participate in any movement in the seventies?

I joined NCA at a very young age; I was just fifteen when I got admission, right after my Senior Cambridge from the Convent of Jesus and Marry Lahore. So there was no possibility of getting engaged in any political or ideological movement at that age. I just concentrated on my studies rather than going for any political or social activity, although there were many of my friends who were active in this connection.

6. What about art in Pakistan, how would you comment?

Well not only art, anything which is sensitive to understand, or to express, needs intellect and education from the masses in order to fashion it properly. Art is such a field which is admired only if there is sensible and educated public around. Unfortunately our educated buyer has not got enough money now a day to buy expensive paintings. In recent years, the normal price of a painting has also increased by leaps and bounds. On the other hand, the technology has made it possible to reproduce excellent quality prints of renowned paintings which are not much expensive; therefore, wall adornment is being carrying out with these prints rather than original paintings, while at the same time, in Pakistan, art is not our priority.

7. But it has been only art which made civilizations survive even after centuries?

Yes, no doubt in this. The land we’re living on, its history lies in its artifacts in the shape of paintings and figurines. We came to know about Harappa and Mohenjo Daro through the buried art they had at their times. We have not yet deciphered their writings, the only record, understandable, of buried civilizations, is in the form or art they produced. This is what we need to understand, that our identity could be preserved only in this form, for centuries to come.

If today, we are aware of the Mesopotamia or Egypt, or we peep through the Ajanta or Elora caves, the only linkage between the time bygone and present is the art left behind.

8. In West, art has been used to document history; they have painted their religious events, momentous incidents, massacres, revolutions and heroism through their brush, why we could not practice art like that.

We used to, if we would talk in terms oriental tradition, in Persia and later in the Mughal period along with architecture, miniature painting was a passion for the royal court. Important incidents of royal life from hunting to invasions and from royal festivities to adventurous bravery of heroes, all could be seen captured in the form of miniature painting. After the Mughals, Muslims were going for their lives, they remained indulge in struggle for freedom, during that, many events were worth having being painted, but the massacre of 1947 due to emotional instability attached to it, refrained our artists to paint what was painful.

9. You were one of the founder members of “Young Painters’ Association” and later you served for many years as General Secretary of “Artists’ Association of Punjab (AAP)’ how do you find these experiences?

Young Painters’ Association was founded just after the completion of our degrees, one of our class fellows Shahbaz Khan was behind it, but it could arrange only two or three exhibitions, and the core endeavor for that organization was to provide young artists the platform to exhibit their latest work. It also served the young talent to be exhibited in an organized and proper way that might address and attract the viewer and the buyer at the same time.

While AAP (Artists’ Association of Punjab) was more an organized effort with all the prominent names of today were there to lay the foundation stone together. Mian Ejaz ul-Hassan, Miss Qazi, Iqbal Khalid, Abbasi Abidi, Zulqarnain Haider, Salima Hashmi, Ghulam Mustafa and Shahnawaz Zaidi all devoted their time and effort to the maximum. I also worked for the association as long as I could spare time, actually it was really good experience because we were working together to build an image of Pakistani Art in our country which, now has established up to some solid level. I think the only proper record of Pakistani art annually is preserved in the AAP’s brochures which have been getting published regularly for the last 21 years.

10. Now you are known to most of the people as a set designer, how do you take set designing? Is it some thing you might relate to yourself as a painter?

Set designing is something which I enjoyed the most, especially when I used my training of a painter in connection with aesthetics. It was very fascinating to see my arrangements on such a big screen, like a gigantic canvas that I painted, all the components of a painting like colour, composition, texture, line perspective, were enhancing such a large area, it actually satisfied my longing to create beauty on a larger scale. Moreover, I used paintings and frames on my sets on a very correct eye level which was noticed by most of the viewers and directors to an extent of admiration and complement.

11. You are the first female set designer in the film industry, how would you take this experience especially being a female?

Much is said about the atmosphere of the film industry, it is all about how you present and carry yourself in the public, no doubt one has to be careful in her attitude, but professionalism is what makes others to respect you, this applies not only on the film industry but on every field of life and on all the professions. As far as female set designers are concerned, I think that the aesthetic perception of a woman is instinctively better than a male, she is more sensitive towards colours, tones, composition and balance, so I think a female set designer could add more beauty and softness, especially during scenes where intense feeling or passion has to be captured by the director.

12. So do you think that women should be encouraged in this field?

Yes, why not? When I came to the industry as a properly qualified and educated set designer, the difference was felt by everybody. My films “Guns & Roses” and “Mujhay Chand Chahiye” are alive in the minds of all for the subtlety and artistic values blended first time in our country, against the strident and loud tradition of films showing violence only.

But now many new students are getting educated properly in this field at LCW, BNU and NCA, and I am hopeful that when this generation of female directors, designers and even camera persons will come to our industry, a positive change will be inevitable.

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