Page 382 - Art and Crafts of Bangladesh

SECOND GENERATION ARTISTS 379

communist ideology. A desire for
adventure is ever present in Aminul Islam’s
consciousness. On the one hand, this takes
him to explore new horizons of art; and on
the other, this makes him develop
camaraderie with day laborers and famous
people alike, and, travel on a motorcycle
from Italy to London, through France.
Though his mind wanders in adventures,
he has tried to remain true to a scientific
approach. The evidence of intelligence is
stronger in his works than the intuition of
the creator. However, he knows that the
human mind aspires to reach infinity. He
says on the process of creation, ‘In the
creation of visual art and sculpture, the
importance of sensitive limbs is enormous. Horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines fig. 9.17 Expansion of
directly stimulate our brain cells to express one emotion or other. These emotions bear Sphere and Structure,
resemblance to various postures of the body. ... The lines in various directions – mosaic mural, 1987
symbolizing calm, force and movement – pervade our subconscious and empower us
to feel, to create and to appreciate art.’ 25 [Trans.]
Aminul never worked at his paintings as an artist adulating nature. He was more
inclined to creating forms than composing layers of colors. In his academic works, one
can find, at the same time, densely woven color surfaces in the fashion of the Bengal
School artists and techniques of western realism. As regards his perceptions, he
cherished optimism for the most part. Though he painted poverty-stricken lives, it was
mostly for the intention of the documentary depiction of the inequalities of the society.
Probably owing to his belief in socialism, he felt a particular desire to depict collective
culture. The main subjects of his contemplation are the events in the everyday work
and various festivities of the collective society. His watercolors Queue (1951),
Musical Performance at Night (1951) etc. are examples of this perception. (fig. 9.15).
In Florence, there was a major change in Aminul’s life as well. Here he first saw the
original works of the Renaissance masters. In 1953 and the beginning of 1954, he
started following these masters – as exercises in the curricula of the school and to put
himself through new tests. Therefore, he had to return unavoidably to the
representational language of art. His works at this time mostly employed a
combination of geometric forms and textures on the two-dimensional surface of
paintings. He was able to demonstrate originality in the division of space and
distribution of light and shade. There was a change in his subjects in this phase. He no
longer painted only the ordinary working people - the beneficiaries of society also
appeared as characters in his paintings. The transformation in the language of his
painting is especially notable. He became bolder in his forms. He arranged figures in