Rickshaw Painting in Bangladesh
Art Events
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Jolrong News
Page 4-5 Issue 1, January 2009
Executive Director's Message To begin with, I would like to thank all the members of Jolrong.com family, friends, and most importantly, our partners for the successful launch of a dream. You are reading this newsletter because you, like us, acknowledge art in its true sense. And it is only people like you and us who have the capability to inspire and encourage our artists to make a place for themselves in international art. At Jolrong.com, we believe that if our art spreads its wings within our country and abroad, we will be able to turn our society into a liberated, intelligent, and self-sufficient one. So, as you read the first issue of "Art of Bangladesh", you have also become a part of this dream. I hope you find this newsletter well-researched and interesting. We are constantly working to make it comprehensive enough to give even a novice a clear idea of Bangladeshi art. We see our future as one of the finest galleries of Bangladeshi art. And that can happen only if you help us by your comments and suggestions. Warm wishes for the new year.
Imrad Zulkarnine
Rickshaw Painting in Bangladesh Shawon Akand
This three-wheeler is something that the inhabitants of Bangladesh cannot imagine their life without. Its history goes back to around the year 1870, and it was introduced in Bangladesh in the mid 1950's when a local zamindar had it brought to Dhaka as a luxury vehicle. Rickshaw painting also began from that very time. To be specific, it was around the 60's in the then East Pakistan that rickshaw art became a popular practice throughout the country. The pioneer rickshaw painters like R. K. Das, Ali Nur, Dawood Ustad, Alauddin and others can be said to have actually originated this practice ever since then. According to them, the demand for this sort of art was then very high, and this increasing demand, coupled with their love for painting, inspired them to become rickshaw painters. Among these artists, many were initially involved in other family professions or trades. For instance, R. K. Das was into his family business of leather goods, but he and his successors later turned into rickshaw painters. The production of a simple Its history goes back to around the rickshaw takes the painstaking year 1870, and it was introduced in creativity of many workmen. Bangladesh in the mid 1950's when However, the work of the painter is a local zamindar had it brought to no less credible, for it is eventually Dhaka as a luxury vehicle. he who customizes it to make it attractive. And it is these painters who have introduced this as a critically acclaimed form of art practice/style. Even in the international level rickshaw painting has gained immense attention. Take the 1982 exhibit in London and the exhibit at Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, of which the latter has kept a private collection of this art. But the biggest rickshaw painting exhibition took place in Dhaka in 1999 at the Alliance Franรงaise, where 500 rickshaw painters and 83 baby taxi painters took part. The main objective of rickshaw painting is to decorate the body of the vehicle. And for this, different subjects are chosen at different times. Basically, the artist has to paint according to the fancies and demands of the dealers/buyers. The last fifty years have seen different faces in this art. For example in the 60's, rickshaws were painted with the portraits of top film stars of the time. Then there was the 70's post liberation war era, when the war the main theme. When Dhaka became the new capital of a fresh, liberated Bangladesh, the rickshaw artists painted imaginary utopian pictures of the capital. At the same time, pictures of the countryside, landscape, local flowers, birds, trees, etc. have always remained common elements of rickshaw art and are usually combined with other themes. An important phase in rickshaw art emerged when during the 70's, the government banned the painting of human forms. Thus, the artists started composing entire pictures with just animals and birds. There were paintings where a fox would be seen controlling traffic, or scenes from a road where a tiger would be crossing it along with a school going rabbit. It was as if our familiar city Dhaka was inhabited by animals that lived, worked, and struggled like humans.
Although at first these pictures were painted out of the necessity and limitations of the time, they soon became sought after. It is noted that the kind of animals that replaced each human role signified the social reality of that period. Efventually, rickshaw painting saw the end of this phase and artists once again began painting film stars; once again there grew a demand to see the faces of film heroes, heroines, and even villains who stirred the box office. The film that was instrumental in re-establishing this trend was "Nishan", and even today, this trend remains popular. Although the film world has always been the most popular theme, folk themes are also salient elements of rickshaw art, noticed especially in the use of lines. Then again, some artists paint rickshaws based on calendars and other printed pictures using their own signature strokes on them. A close look at contemporary rickshaw art shows us that lately some rickshaw artists have been receiving orders from foreign buyers who return home with these as souvenirs from Bangladesh. And for them, the paintings generally carry scenes from rural Bangladesh such as farmers husking rice, sunset on a riverbank, etc. The interesting thing is that along with these rural elements are coupled portraits of the buyers in the style of film posters! Meanwhile there are other buyers who want pictures of family members, weddings, etc. to be painted for them. Despite these limitations in subject, the artists still successfully employ their own creativity and style to make each painting unique. Critics have been indecisive about what to call this art form. They have called it "na誰ve art", "street art", "commercial art", "popular art", or "urban folk art".
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Critics have been indecisive about what to call this art form. They have called it "na誰ve art", "street art", "commercial art", "popular art", or "urban folk art". No matter what it is called, there is no doubt that rickshaw painting captured mass attention during the past decade. In fact, the curiosity about discovering this art has led to many collaborative workshops where well known, academically established artists have worked with rickshaw painters. And many prominent artists have actually used this form of painting in their own works. Sadly, though, all this attention has not eased the strives and struggles of rickshaw painters. Rather, the increasing use of digital prints as replacements of hand-painted plates reveals a frightening picture ahead for rickshaw art. Nevertheless, rickshaw art is a landmark not only in the history of Bangladeshi art, but also at a global level. If it is threatened and suppressed, the world will miss a great art form with immense potential. It is possible to keep rickshaw painting alive with the right patronization. However, with the way technology is taking over, whether this will ever be a reality or not is a big question.
Art Events The Asian Art Biennale at Dhaka From October 21 to November 19, Dhaka had the opportunity to enjoy the month-long 13th Asian Art Biennale organized by Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy jointly held at the Shilpakala Academy, National Museum and Osmani Memorial Auditorium. Despite its title suggesting art exhibits from Asia, artists from Europe, USA and Australia also participated in this momentous event, making it even more noteworthy. Most of the works of this exhibit revolved around the theme of how we humans have been wantonly destroying the earth's habitats. The torment and the pressure of the metropolitan life and the ongoing persecution of peoples' lives in the name of humanity got exposure in the artworks in the exhibit.
Anisuzzaman from Bangladesh snatched one of the grand prizes for a print from his series on the frameworks of Dhaka's high rise buildings in the process of construction. Other winners of the same prize included Hazem Al Metiqaye from Egypt and Budur Al Riyami from Oman. Special awards were given to Thiasath Thoradenia from Sri Lanka, Yasmin Jahan Nupur from Bangladesh, Reza Asad Al Huda Anupom from Bangladesh, Kazi Salauddin Ahmed from Bangladesh, Ankur Kher from India, Jamil Baluch from Pakistan, Park Tai Hong from Korea and Mohammad Al Atiq from Qatar. Compared to the past exhibits, this one was well organized. For the young Bangladeshi artists especially, this experience presented an opportunity for exposure to the latest developments in art around the world. At the same time, the foreign artists got to learn about art of Bangladesh as well as of other countries. As an added attraction to this event, there was also a two-day long seminar on global art trends that happened to be the largest of this kind in Bangladesh. Abdur Razzak's Solo Artwork Exhibition at Bengal Gallery of Fine Arts
You can buy both original and prints of artworks mounted on your choice of fine hand-crafted wooden frames
Bengal Gallery of Fine Arts recently hosted Abdur Razzak's solo art exhibition from October 12 to 29. One of the forerunners of the Bangladeshi fine art movement, Razzak played with oil and water colors to paint the natural environment and the working people of Dhaka and its suburbs. It is on his canvas that one could rediscover objects that have long vanished into oblivion like the haystacks common to New Market and tin roofs of Thatari Bazar. Apart from naturalistic modes of art, a major chunk of his work also involved abstractions, where his finesse in line work becomes clearly visible. Abdur Razzak was also a pioneer sculptor under whose leadership the first Department of Sculpture in the country was established at the Institute of Fine Arts. In fact, he created the sculpture "Jagroto Chowrangi" in Joydebpur. On October 23, 2005 the artist abandoned his home and workplace to teach drawing at Jessore. And it was there that a heart attack ended his illustrious life. Since his demise, this artworks display at Bengal Gallery was Razzak's first and only solo exhibit in the country. For patrons and art lovers, this was an occasion for the revival of Abdur Razzak and his spirit for art.
Tarun Ghosh's Solo Exhibition "Myth, Memory and Motherland", Tarun Ghosh's solo artwork exhibit took place at Galleri Kaya, Uttara, from October 31 to November 14. For quite some time, the artist has been working on various myths using oil colors. Among Ghosh's such works is the Asian Art Biennale award winning Behula-Lokhindar series where he has used abstract forms to depict Behula's moments of agony and grief. After that, although the artist eluded all forms of promotional efforts and public displays of his art, work on this series continued. This particular exhibit unveiled works from two other series along with the Behula-Lokhindar chain. Done in acrylic and oil, one was identified by Ghosh as a series on birds and the other on nature. However, the exhibit's major attractions were Tarun Ghosh's sculptures, most of them created out of scrap metal. There were also some made of stone, and collectors were seen to make a run for them right at the beginning of the exhibit. It could be said that through the different media, the many forms, and the varied colors, "Myth, Memory and Motherland" was a rediscovery of Tarun Ghosh as an exceptional artist of our times.
Jamal Ahmed's Solo Exhibition From November 14 to 23, Jamal Ahmed's solo artwork display took place at Gallery Chitrak. Ahmed works with human forms and for most of the paintings in this exhibit he used models who are associated with the Faculty of Fine Art in different ways. The many ways in which the artist painted these professional models in their various poses and moods actually combined to give the viewers an insight into the models' attitudes and lifestyles. Besides these, the artist also displayed three significant projects on Rabindranath, Nazrul and Bangabandhu in this exhibit. What is unique about Jamal Ahmed's works is the simplicity of his subjects, and this was magnified by his expert use of lines and colors.
To be specific, it was clear that his artworks were influenced by his individuality and his own lifestyle.
Akhteruzzaman Shyamal's Solo Exhibition For the first time, young artist Akhteruzzaman Shyamal displayed his work at Zainul Gallery of the Faculty of Fine Art from November 9 to 15. After passing from Narayanganj College of Fine Arts, he graduated in Graphics Design from the Department of Fine Art at UODA. The subject of his works being the water bodies of Bangladesh, the works in this exhibit dealt with the ecological problems associated with them. Shyamal highlighted the plight of fish as the lakes and rivers dry out or go into the unjust possession of humans. And for this, he used the perspective of a bird who tells a story of displacement and dilemma in each painting on display. Worthy of note is the prevalent use of dark colors in Shyamal's works.
Jolrong News E-greetings
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Launching of www.jolrong.com E-greetings are now available on www.jolrong.com. Partners and members of jolrong.com can now select any art work and send it to friends and family as an e-card along with a personal message.
The much waited and proud launching of www.jolrong.com took place on November 3. The website is now fully operational.
Signing up with Jolrong.com
Jolrong.com has recently signed up for artwork rights with the families of Zainul Abedin, Debdas Chakraborty, Kazi Abul Kashem and Kazi Hasan Habib. Aminul Islam has also signed up at jolrong.com as one of the featured artists.
Meet the Artist, Meet the People
A new weekly event "Meet the Artist, Meet the People" series has begun at jolrong.com, extending an opportunity to anyone with a passion for art to meet others like them and exchange views on art.
Jolrong.com meets with Artists of Chittagong On July 7, 2008, jolrong.com was in Chittagong to conduct a day long workshop introducing the website, its team, and its activities. It was hosted by Bishod Bangla, an important cultural club of Chittagong. Many renowned artists were present at the event, including Dhali Al Mamun, Khaja Kayum, Abul Mansur, Nazly Laila Mansur, Juboraaj, Subroto Das and Alam Khorshed. Idea Springboard
Editor Shawon Akand Assistant Editor Mithila Mahfuz Photo Editor Mohammad Asad Published by Jolrong.com 102, Kalabagan, 2nd Lane, Apt#4B, Dhaka 1205, Bangladesh. Phone: +880 2 9131959, +880 2 8110125 E-mail: aob@jolrong.com
Jolrong.com recently hosted a fun and creative workshop called IDEA SPRINGBOARD conducted by Moyeenul Alam and attended by artists and members of Jolrong.com. The workshop was based on the message that only ideas can make art. Inspired by The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the participants of the workshop were oriented on how art can be fitted into our daily lives by moulding it into everyday objects and messages. The participants were given examples of artworks that have always generated ideas for people, such as politically motivating art, consumer products that have been enhanced by art, etc. The fact that was stressed in the workshop was that art is not just a decorative practice, but a medium through which practical innovations take place. So a brainstorming session was also done where everyone tried to figure how art can perform everyday practical functions. Jolrong.com hopes that through workshops like this, it will be able to create such products/artworks that can be marketed worldwide as signatures of the Bangladeshi art world.