Hanging Fire
Contemporary Art from Pakistan
September 10, 2009 - Januar 3, 2010
Asia Society & Museum, 725 Park Avenue

This past year the nation of Pakistan has made news headlines more than ever before. The subjects of war, strife, and religious fanaticism are constantly repeated in the media and imposed on the American people. The American media offer little leeway to the people of Pakistan, so when I heard about the new exhibit “Hanging Fire: Contemporary Art of Pakistan” at the Asia Society and Museum I was hoping for a breath of fresh air.
 

Curated by Salima Hashmi, also a Pakistani artist, the exhibit features the works of 15 artists who, like the media, are all too occupied with the nation’s notoriety. When one considers headlines of the past year - the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, the Pakistani origin of the Mumbai attackers, the indefatigable Taliban fighters - it’s difficult to understand why Hashmi would curate an exhibit that only reinforces this image of a country that is otherwise rich in art.
 

The works of the exhibit are primarily political though undeniably impressionable. The conflicts of modern Pakistan resonate throughout the works, which focus on the popular struggle between modernity and tradition. The exhibit chooses neither value as the winner but rather illustrates each side’s argument. Rashid Rana’s “Red Carpet 1” is, in itself, a brilliant modernization of traditional Pakistani consumption. The handmade carpet is a staple of Pakistani culture and the result of days or weeks of tedious labor. What appears to be a traditional carpet hung on the wall, “Red Carpet 1” is in fact an enormous digital image composed of thousands of tiny pictures taken of a goat slaughterhouse. While it is hard to imagine that manipulating these images was a shorter and less tedious process than manually weaving a carpet, the subject matter communicates the grotesque evolution of traditional consumption into modern-day excessive consumption. This cleverly employed photography distracts from Arif Mahmood’s predictable photographs, the low-point of the exhibit. His real-life images, like the one of a child “playing” with a real gun, are haphazard and do not realize their full potential.

Somewhat similar to Rana’s pieces, “High Rise: Lake City Drive” by Huma Mulji focuses on the struggle in Pakistan to maintain the rural, agrarian society amidst sprawling urban development. The imposing work stands over 10 feet high and features a large Romanesque column on which a taxidermied water buffalo pitifully attempts to hold its ground. We do not wonder how it will manage but how soon it will fall. The column is culturally inauthentic as it neither accurately represents the Roman-Greco structures of its inspiration nor reflects the architecture of the Pakistan it now inhabits. Even so, it is modeled after columns ubiquitous at Pakistan’s new complexes and estates for the wealthy. While the artist claims not to take sides, the killing of a peasant’s animal to underscore the peasant’s dilemma illustrates which party truly has the upper hand.
 

Also responding to traditional societal pressures are the motorcycle headgears by Adeela Suleman. Made from decorative kitchenwares, the pieces are worn by female motorcycle passengers who are not permitted to drive, as they are required to sit sidesaddle for modesty. Though Suleman works with the overexposed issue of the subjugation of women, she does it cleverly. Worn in the streets these pieces publicize her argument in a non-aggressive way, one that is neither confined within an art gallery nor violently political.
 

Two artists in particular, Zahoor ul Akhlaq and Anwar Saeed, provide a release from the staleness of political and social issues, as their works are clearly personal and driven by their own inner conflicts. Interestingly enough when ul Akhlaq was murdered by a robber in his own home, Saeed was present and survived despite being shot as well. Ul Akhlaq, the forefront of contemporary Pakistani painters, mimics the traditional miniature painting of his country to expose his own interior. His series “A Visit to the Inner Sanctum” speaks of many things and it is gratefully left to the viewer to interpret.

Saeed’s works bring a much-needed tenderness and introspection to the exhibit. Having been shot at the time of ul Akhlaq’s death, Saeed found himself in the hospital unable to fully move his arms. Inspired by the book he was reading, he began to draw on its pages, drawings that later turned into the magnificent paintings that are now on display. His works overflow with love and fantasy rather than the pain, loneliness and misery he must have felt living long-term in the hospital. In effect Saeed encourages us to build our own relationship with his works.
 

Artists are obviously inspired by their environment and I don’t seek to trivialize the impact of their surroundings on their works. Despite my grievances, “Hanging Fire” is indeed an incredibly unique opportunity. The exhibit prides itself on being the first museum exhibit to present contemporary Pakistani art in America, a truly commendable endeavor. Though diverse forms of art are easily accessed in New York, there is a unfortunate lack of art from unexpected foreign places. The exhibit is an opportunity for art, education, and cultural exchange and it would be a shame to miss.

Click here for more information on Hanging Fire.

Images from top (left to right): Rashid Rana, "Red Carpet 1"; Huma Mulji, "High Rise: Lake City Drive"; Adeela Suleman, "Untitled"; Anwar Saeed, "The Principle of Delicacy."
All images courtesy of Asia Society & Museum.