Page 467 - Art and Crafts of Bangladesh

464 ART AND CRAFTS

under water environment of the only coral island of Bangladesh, St. Martin. Muntasir
Mamun (1982- ) is now practicing this branch of photography being trained by him.
Besides the above-discussed trends, product photography, advertising photography is
practiced to advertise and market various products and organizations; corporate
photography and industrial photography is also regularly practiced to introduce
various institutions.
7.0 The State of Post-Liberation Photography of Bangladesh
In the overall analysis a mixed picture is observable in the post-liberation photography
of Bangladesh. Artists have generally stayed connected to the people in most cases in
selecting subjects for photography. 107 It has expressed the joys and sorrows, the
struggles of the common people and is close to life. 108 In presenting the subject the
photographers of the country have mainly trod the two paths of the realistic/thematic
and the creative. 109 Many artists have also imparted creativity to reality and presented
it with their own interpretation in the language of modern art. There are only a small
number of such artists in the field of Bangladesh photography. From the mid-eighties
various NGOs have become strongly associated with photography and have given
directions and guided the taste in development support communication or
development photography. Though many social and humanitarian issues are focused
in this trend, it does not reflect actual reality. Many photographers have directly or
indirectly been associated with this task of representing a partial or fragmented reality
through the commissions and activities of NGOs. Therefore, photography truly
committed to social and humanitarian issues has decreased. We are not receiving an
effective total picture alive with the joys-sorrows, hopes-aspirations of the common
people of the country.
Almost from its birth (1839) photography has been the subject of various experiments
and group-based movements (Pictorialist, Purist, Photo Sessionist, Straight
Photography, New Objectivity, f-64) regarding its aesthetic expression all over the
world, especially in Europe and America. In the modern world the search for the
artistic depth of photography was extensively researched through style and subject.
This artistic research is comparatively less to be met in modern Bangladesh. Besides
representing directly the joys and sorrows or reality of life ‘if alternative photography
is completely excluded then there is a fear of the loss of creativity in the world of
photography.’ 110 [Trans.]
In spite of various problems, limitations, lackings and drawbacks in the almost four
decades after Liberation, the photography of Bangladesh has expanded its activities
greatly. Both amateur and professional photographers have grown in numbers.
Exhibitions, competitions and publications have also increased. However, the
development of photography is not limited to the quantity of competitions, publications
and exhibitions. Photography can flourish in its uniqueness with artistic talent, inner
vision, philosophy and commitment to ideology. However, in the photography of
Bangladesh this intense experimentation, sincerity and commitment is gradually
decreasing. 111 Ernst Haas’ famous quotation on photography, ‘photography is a