Salahuddin Mian
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Salahuddin Mian
A master remembered
Salahuddin Mian’s irreverence, rebellious spirit and aesthetic innovation endowed his work with a singular uniqueness. During his lifetime he walked a solitary path, often misunderstood and unappreciated but that was how he wanted it, writes Marjorie Husain
A retrospective exhibition of Salahuddin Mian’s work titled ‘Salahuddin Mian Remembered 1938-2006’ held at the IVS Gallery of the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture, defined once again an artist who joyfully transcended technical competence when articulating his creative energy; Mian was a poet, sculptor and ceramist with the vision of a painter.
His irreverence, rebellious spirit and aesthetic innovation endowed his work with a singular uniqueness. Mian lived his art; he created his own disciplined cosmos, seemingly armoured against the vicissitudes of the world outside. “I do not think of an audience, I simply work to please myself. I do not care about who is going to buy it, or like it, or even look at it.”
Mian was born in 1938 in Kasur. His was one of the first batches to graduate in design from NCA in 1960, along with Ahmed Khan, Bashir Mirza and Akhtar Hilal Zuberi. During the third year of his design course, he had decided to specialise in ceramics, the only student to do so. Thus began his deep involvement and preoccupation with his art.
In 1965, Mian was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship for postgraduate studies in ceramics, and joined the Cranbrook Academy of Arts, Michigan, USA. On his return to Lahore, he joined the faculty of NCA where he remained till his retirement in 1998. It was apparent from his first public exhibition in Karachi in 1970 that Mian’s work was avant-garde, sensuous, playful and highly imaginative. Over the years his work garnered prizes and distinctions and he exhibited his work abroad as well as Pakistan. During the decade of the eighties, he was awarded top honours in four consecutive national art events in the country.
Mian’s chosen discipline was all consuming, demanding much time in the preparation of his material. While clay is a very fast and direct medium, it may take considerable time before the ceramist has the satisfaction of seeing the finished artwork.
After the moulding and drying stages, comes the baking, sanding and glazing, each process with its own margin of error. He once told me, “When leaves are falling from the trees I collect my materials; leaves and branches, which when burnt leave behind ashes that are used in the glaze. These ashes change the colours to earth tones. I love the colours of the earth, not raw but subtle, mellow tones. Ceramics as an art is unappreciated. There are problems with materials, few outlets and the public generally do not understand non-utility pottery. That is why so few artists and sculptors go into this field. For me it is a labour of love.”
Re-cycling nature through the ashes of fallen leaves, it appeared that Mian was referring to immortality and the cycle of nature, the forms emerging from his hands projecting inner emotions. He was keenly experimental with techniques and media and these elements are evident in the Retrospective collection.
The artworks on display are often visual puns; objects that have surreal and bizarre characteristics as if they are mutants. Intriguing glazes affirm Mian’s richness of creativity and imagination. Each piece is a visual adventure; there are redundant chambers, phallic shapes and the ‘witches pots’ as he called them, tall, surreal forms that have no parallel in the known world. Wall based horses and rams heads, conical paper weights, and a diverse array of forms revealing a conceptual approach to his discipline.
The collection of his work painstakingly gathered from private collections by Noorjehan Bilgrami and a team of coordinators, offered a rare opportunity to view a comprehensive body of work that has been documented in a book Born of fire, in conjunction with the exhibition, and his work is featured in a film ‘Yeh Kiya’ which has been produced and directed by Bilgrami.
The exhibition was a nostalgic occasion for Mian’s close friends from his college days. Viewing the various, well remembered angles and elevation of the National College of Art on the film brought back memories of those exciting, learning years. The filming was impeccable and Mian’s work documented with respect and brilliant lighting. Carefully selected music set the mood, and even those in the audience who have not known Mian personally were touched.
In the pipe-line for months, the carefully planned event paid homage to the brilliant and eccentric ceramist. During his lifetime Mian walked a solitary path, often misunderstood and unappreciated but that was how he wanted it. One recalls the story told by Adil Salahuddin of Mian’s last day at the NCA after 40 years when he quietly wheeled his cycle out of the gates, with only Adil, who had flown from Karachi for the occasion and another close friend Mohsin, by his side.
There is a lesson to be learned here about showing appreciation while the artist is with us, although both Adil and Mohsin felt the artist’s delighted presence on the grand occasion.
Each piece on display is a visual adventure; there are redundant chambers, phallic shapes and what he called the ‘witches’ pots’
