The Imagery Of Clowns: The Art Of Saira Wasim - alt.muslim

(Link: http://www.altmuslim.com/perm.php?id=1808_0_25_0_C38)

"I believe art and freedom of expression can be used to propagate Islam and create awareness in society," says Pakistani-American artist Saira Wasim.

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By Zahir Janmohamed, October 23, 2006

While Islamic art has historically been a rich and varied practice that was encouraged and celebrated throughout the Muslim world, the form has been stifled and discouraged in recent times, especially when it comes to open artistic and political expression. As a result, few Muslim artists have been noticed outside their communities or countries, and even fewer non-Muslims have seen compelling examples of contemporary art from the Muslim world. However, the work of New York based Pakistani artist Saira Wasim is proving to be an exception.

Her work has been described by the New York Times as "exquisite political cartoons that conjure William Hogarth and sometimes borrow directly from Norman Rockwell." Art historian Anna Sloan has said about Wasim that the "contradictions of scale intrinsic to her epic miniatures serve us well in a time of need, bearing witness to tragedies both personal and Dantean in scope."

Wasim's works are part of a current exhibit at the Asia Society in New York called "One Way or Another: Asian American Art Now", which "brings together seventeen artists from across the country who challenge and extend the category of Asian American art. The title of the exhibition, inspired by the 1970s Blondie hit, suggests that there has never been a formulaic way of making or seeing art, either back then or now. Instead, these artists initiate a new set of conversations that highlight the multidimensional ways of conceptualizing and producing art today."

Wasim work both embraces and bends convention by invoking the genre of Mughal miniatures. "She returns," writes Newsweek, "consciously to the tradition of classical Mughal miniature painting. But instead of the hunting, battles and royal entertainments those works depicted, she chooses as her subjects Bush and Blair, Cheney and Rumsfeld, the Iraq war."

Zahir Janhomamed, associate editor of alt.muslim, recently interviewed Wasim to ask her about the imagery and inspiration for her paintings and about the place of the artist within the Muslim community.

What particularly draws you to using themes of Mughal miniatures?

I got my bachelor degree in Miniature paintingfrom the National College of Arts in Lahore, Pakistan. It is worth mentioning that this institute teaches many things to its students, including the importance to locate oneself, our identity in the Indian subcontinent, and examine our role in a global context, especially after 9/11.

I took on miniature painting because I felt more comfortable expressing myself in this discipline. I prefer to express myself using a Mughal style because its strongly narrative and it relates to our own cultural behavior/context within South Asia. Its reflects the South Asian theme of telling stories not only orally, but visually, too. So the medium leaves a lot of room to express oneself. If we are talking about political art, then Mughal arena is the best medium to use.

What's interesting is that each Mughal emperor used this art form for their own political propaganda to glorify their deeds or reign. Sometimes it's very much similar to what certain governments (or channels/newspapers) do with the media, using them for their own political reasons.

In one of your works, you depict Pakistan President General Musharraf riding a merry go round wearing slippers. In another, you show him with Shiva like arms. In another, he is wearing a clown-like costume. Can you explain your use of this imagery? What does it suggest about Musharraf?

It's not something personal about Musharraf. I have a deep respect for him, as he is the president of my country, Pakistan.

But I love to listen to how an ordinary man who has no role in government or policy perceives politics. In fact, most of my political works are derived by hearing discussions of common people on politics.

As for this particular piece, "Marry Go Round," the carousel represents the basic constitutional structure of Pakistan, which is a strong, military regime. The carousal is something that keeps moving and it represents how Pakistan has never able to escape from this ever repeating cycle of military rule.

The idea behind the slippers is to show the irony within Pakistan. Although Pakistan is a nuclear state, its national debt is over forty billion dollars, with annual spending on defense at over $3.5 billion a year. So these slippers show that despite all this, Pakistan is still a poor state with its leaders spending exuberantly and living in luxury

Another great thing about miniature painting is this that it allows the artist to access certain tools, symbols, and vocabulary, which have roots in South Asia history.

For example, some sacred animals and imaginary symbols (like the loin, goat, halo behind the emperor, or symbol of Shiva) are all symbols found within South Asia.

In the piece, "Buzkashi" (goat-grabbing), the painting depicts the "One Man Show" of the military dictator of Pakistan, Pervez Musharaf, sitting on a presidential throne with his imperialism shown with four arms, like the Hindu god Shiva.

The basic constitutional structure of the country evolving around his regime with army generals are celebrating 'martial law' by dancing and wearing Hawaiian sandals. Here the goat symbolizes an innocent public.

As for the imagery of clowns, I never painted Musharraf as a clown but in an environment of clowns. In "Friendship of India and Pakistan-Agra Declaration" Musharraf and former Indian Prime Minister Vajpayee are shown as entertainers but still in military uniform. In fact, I think I have always painted Musharraf in a military uniform, with some paintings showing him with a tiger skin, which represents the extreme power of the military dictatorship in Pakistan.

It's less a statement about Musharraf than it is about the political structure of Pakistan, which seems to be trapped in this carousel-like repetition of history.

How has your work been received in Pakistan? In the US? Have you had much support - if at all - from the Muslim community for your work?

There has always been a misunderstood response from both American and Pakistani audiences. But I take criticism positively because itmakes my work grow.

As for the Muslim community, I don't know. As I mentioned, the work is often misunderstood. Sometimes when people don't understand what the actual picture is conveying, it leads to a negative response.

One of my favorite works of yours is the piece "Lamentation of the Innocence (Genocide)". Can you describe the imagery in this piece?

The idea was taken from the ubiquitous persecution and crime against humanity.

It features figures lay in a huddle mound; animals intertwined with humans all are caught together in a net of death. It offers a simple picture of senseless slaughter of innocence.

What do you think the importance is of art that engages contemporary issues? After the recent cartoon crisis, do you find increased challenges in using art as a vehicle to comment on political affairs that affect Muslims?

Art has always been used as an important vehicle for cultural expression throughout the ages. Much has been said through art about social issues. Likewise, it has also been used as political propaganda of the state because history tells us that artist has always been under a strong state intrusion. I believe that the freedom that is granted artists should be used positively to wake people up against ignorance, to engage people in a certain dialogue for the betterment of humanity. This is what I intend to do through with these tiny paintings.

But unfortunately, there has often been a denial and a very strong condemnation against artistic values and creativity in many Islamic sates. But I believe art and freedom of expression can be used to propagate Islam and create awareness in society. Of course, there is always a limit or a certain boundary, though, from where the artist shouldn't proceed. Prophets and sacred figures of all religions should be excluded from this critical depiction.

If we look at the cartoons in the newspaper Jylland-Posten with a critical eye, they neither had any aesthetic or artistic appeal or any truth about the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). It was just an attempt to insult our Prophet and to hurt Muslims' feelings all over the world.

Recently, I did a painting on the Danish cartoon controversy called "Ignorance is Bliss". It portrays prejudice of the west towards the Muslim world, and vice versa.

Unfortunately Muslims all over the world didn't respond to the Danish cartoons according to the teaching of Islam or the way Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) taught us. By those furious riots, we gave the enemies of Islam further opportunities to mock the teachings of Islam. It's my humble plea to Muslims to unite and answer such ridiculous judgments and criticism against Islam and our Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) peacefully, with reason and logic.

We need to believe in jihad with the pen and brush, not missiles or violence.

Zahir Janmohamed is the co-founder of The Qunoot Foundation and associate editor of alt.muslim.

A Look Back At The 2005 Kashmir Quake - alt.muslim

(Link: http://www.altmuslim.com/perm.php?id=1799_0_25_0_C38)

One year later, the effects of the 2005 Kashmir earthquake still linger, long after the news cameras have gone. Shenaaz Janmohamed reports back from Pakistan.

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By Zahir Janmohamed, October 9, 2006

One year ago, a devastating earthquake struck Kashmir, killing nearly 75,000 and leaving nearly 3.3 million homeless. While many efforts were made to alleviate the immediate humanitarian disaster, the work is still unfinished. alt.muslim's associate editor Zahir Janmohamed recently interviewed his sister Shenaaz, a graduate student at the University of Michigan's School of Social Work, to talk about her experiences in helping the victims of last year's South Asia earthquake, and what remains to be done.

Describe the work you have done since the earthquake in South Asia.

I traveled throughout much of northern Pakistan in the summer of 2005. After I heard about the devastating earthquake that happened on October 8, 2005, I worked with some colleagues to start a drive to raise money to purchase tents for the displaced victims in Pakistan.

I returned in December 2005 and again this summer for a Photovoice project. Photovoice is a participatory arts methodology whereby local citizens - in this case children - are equipped with cameras and photography lessons. They are then given the opportunity to explore these tools as a means of capturing and documenting their environment and experiences.

I paired up with the Aga Khan Development Network and focused our project in the Chakama Valley of Pakistan controlled Kashmir during August of 2006.

To conclude the project, the youth presented their photographs, artwork, and performances for community and family members.

A year after the earthquake, how are the conditions in Pakistan?

Conditions in northern Pakistan vary dramatically depending on where you are located. This past summer while I was working in Kashmir, I expected to see a certain level of advancement in recovery - mostly because I was comparing the ground situation to that of Mansehra, where I was based in December. However in Kashmir - especially very near the "Line of Control" - the people only received aid this past April. That is over six months after the initial earthquake!

In larger cities like Muzaffarbad and Mansehra, there is still a large presence of international NGOs. However, it seemed to me that there was an increasing involvement by local Pakistani NGOs who are trying to move away from a model international dependency towards more self-sustainability.

According to an article in the International Herald Tribune, the 7.6 earthquake killed 80,000 people and displaced 3 million. The paper reports that "Many of the 2,000 children who lost limbs, fingers or toes in the earthquake or its aftermath are still waiting for prosthetics, and funding is scarce." Over 300,000 people still live in makeshift shelter. Both the government and the international community need to do more to respond to these needs.

What is your assessment of the government of Pakistan's response to the victims of the earthquake? What about the international community's response?

The Pakistani response has been mediocre, at best. It is true that much of the infrastructure was not in place to support the level of aid and services needed to respond to the earthquake. That being said, the Pakistani government still insists on dedicating a majority of their spending on military and defense, instead of investing in the people. People affected "received" an arbitrary monetary check as a means to recover their losses, when they need resources and development, not money in which they have no capacity and access to use.

Much of the frustration still lingers today. Most recently, for example, protests were staged in Islamabad the day before the one-year anniversary—demanding justice and an end to corruption.

The international community has also had their share of mishaps. I saw many international NGOs treat people with a lack of dignity. Many adopted a colonialist perspective of "saving" those affected. Many of these groups did not promote citizen participation or value the voices of the Pakistani people as legitimate agents of change. Nor did I see these NGOs use this opportunity to help communities become more sustainable.

What are some of the key issues that you saw in dealing with the survivors?

I saw a lack of participation. The centralization of power by a military dictator is inherently problematic. This domination affects all aspects of life - even how people respond to disasters. It takes time to break norms and to create an environment where peoples' voices are truly valued and incorporated as legitimate sources of knowledge.

For example, some Muslim clerics in part of earthquake-hit Pakistani Kashmir have told aid agencies to fire all local women employees or face violent protests because many conservative Muslims did not want local women working with international workers.

So on many levels, it's going to take time to heal the affected areas.

What was your experience like working with some of the children?

The children were incredibly resilient and strong. At the same time, this experience deeply affected their psyche - their sense of confidence was diminished and their sense of personal safety was shattered. I saw them approach everything with urgency, as there is a fear that tomorrow will never come.

What lessons can be learned about the response to the earthquake?

There needs to be more attention on Pakistan as a viable country with possibilities, instead of constantly looking at it through the lens of terrorism, madrassas etc. As long as certain political actors - both Pakistani and non-Pakistani - continue to concern themselves only with Pakistan's security problems, people in the villages and in rural areas will continue to suffer. The Kashmiris, for example, have not been able to enjoy any sense of security for many years now.

What can be done to help out?

We need to remember that the earthquake is not a problem of the past. A year later, nearly 300,000 remain displaced while Pakistan's military continues to grow. We need to continue to talk about the earthquake and to talk about Pakistan critically. People tend to become very defense of Pakistan, which is partially understandable as it is constantly misrepresented. However unless we engage in critical dialogue about the government and the countrys' development challenges, Pakistan's status quo will remain.

And the earthquake has shown us that the status quo is not working.

Zahir Janmohamed is the co-founder of The Qunoot Foundation and associate editor of alt.muslim.