LAHORE – The Al-Hamra Exhibition Hall displayed about 1500 drawings, sketches and paintings of children from the Beaconhouse School System, attracting a huge audience. Nationwide branches of the schools took part in the exhibition from Karachi to Peshawar. The paintings were put up on sale, for prices from Rs 1,000 to 2,000, in order to raise funds for flood victims.
Member of academics department Uzma Waqas told Pakistan Today that the idea was the art directors to take some of the finest work of their students and put them up as an exhibition so that whatever was sold would help donate funds for charity. “Paintings are from children from pre-nursery to A Levels,” she said. Some of the work was themed such as the same view being presented by different children. For example, a colourful spiral was made by children of the second grade.
Though the colours were the same, the methods and style were obviously different. One child had used oil pastels, while another had used crayons and a third had used coloured paper in order to achieve the same effect. Although the children of lower grades had a less steady hand, this is what gave their work character and produced some brilliant pieces of art.
The paintings and drawings were done in a variety of subjects and compositions. There was an assortment of patterns, especially within the work of children belonging to lower grades. Spirals, rows of geometric patterns all in colourful progressions and use of psychedelic compositions in bright vivid colours lit up the gallery.
Oil colours, poster paints, crayons and colour pencils were all used as mediums and perhaps that is why the exhibition had the most basic air about it, a school like innocence and familiarity in the work, with the simplest of mediums for work. The most important observation was that none of the art style elements that their work had in it was brought in purposely by any child as of course, these were not technical art pieces by art students, but in fact amateur work by small school children.
A child’s work brings in perspective from a different dimension altogether, creating art which is both impressionist and expressionist at the same time. The unsteady hand, pressing down hard upon the paper, drawing crooked lines and circles, adds so much character and purity to the work itself that when the art work is framed and mounted, it has the power to leave the onlooker amazed at the artistic potential even in a young child. It is also very clear that some children just have it in them since an early age.
A natural tendency to shade in the right direction with the right amount and pressure and to take in such exact impressions of landscapes and scenes, is something not all can achieve. Even though a ‘good’ piece of art is something completely subjective, one cannot help but wonder at the results of such great works by people so young and inexperienced and even technically untaught.
It was not surprising therefore that several of these paintings and drawing were already sold. Some of the work was bought by the child’s parents themselves in their pride of mounting their child’s work on the wall, while some of it was bought by others. Excited young children roamed about with their siblings and friends trying to find their own work. “I don’t know which one is mine,” says one child. Her eyes are constantly wandering all over the gallery walls trying to search for her paintings. Finally with the help of her teacher she spots it and eyes gleaming turns to her father for comments of appreciation.
Faiha Saman, a student of grade six, points out her painting, which is done in solid orange as a background, embossed with only two of three black figures (of what are supposed to be silhouettes against a setting sun) who are flying a kite. She is so impressed with herself that she cannot stop admiring it on the wall. “My teacher told us to draw so we can raise funds for flood victims,” she says. “I tried to paint a waterfall before, but I couldn’t do it so I did this instead,” she says, her eyes fixed on her own work, her mouth open in awe at her own masterpiece.
Another boy from third grade is trying to take pictures of his own work from his mother’s cell phone. Trying his best to complete the Herculean task of framing the picture in the camera screen and then trying not to move the phone as he presses the capture button, the boy is palpably proud of the fact that not only have his parents come to see his painting, they have also brought his grandparents. Not only is he proud of his own work, school spirit has caused him to create an uproar each time he passes any of his friend’s art pieces and pointing to it excitedly he tugs at his mother’s shirt so that she sees it too.
Parents with adoring half smiles fill all four halls of the Al Hamra Art Gallery which after a long time have been opened at the same time to accommodate such a large exhibition. Students of higher classes who are technically more sound than any others have outdone themselves in creating some of the best, most sellable work of an amateur artist. One student from Karachi has at least three of her works on the wall, each a sketch and each one more astonishingly well done than the last. Her subjects are simple, revolving mostly around people.
Another boy has done a beautiful water colour painting of trees (most probably from the Lawrence Gardens), which was instantly sold. Some have even successfully attempted calligraphy and achieved great results.
