Page 499 - Art and Crafts of Bangladesh

496 ART AND CRAFTS

It has already been said that cinema banner painting was influenced to a certain extent
by painters who were educated institutionally. However, they did not stick to this
profession for long, at least in Dhaka. Hence, those who carried on this trend were
mainly self-taught or learnt it through apprenticeship or through the generations in a
family. We also cannot overlook the fact that most of these people belong to the lower
class, marginal community. The cinema banner painting represents a stunning
example of the artistic thought, the variety of use and composition of colors, the
beauty of strong drawing and above all the artistic skill of these marginal communities
(which the majority of the people of Bangladesh are).
Besides, it is important to note the fact that the artists who paint the cinema banners
are also experts in painting the ‘backdrops’ of photo studios, backgrounds of puppet
shows or circuses, even backgrounds of dramas and theatres. They even participate in
designing sets of films if necessary. On occasions of visiting foreign head of states or
other important officials, we see their portraits displayed on both sides of the roads to
welcome them. Most of these are done by artists associated with cinema banner
painting. Many of them are skilled in copy work. In addition to banner painting many
of them can draw and paint beautiful landscapes, animals or birds and paintings based
on popular folk stories (fig. 11.5). Some of them can also do glass-painting. I have
seen this kind of work done by Noushad Ali (he learnt his work from his master
fig. 11.5 Painting of Mohammad Azad of Kolkata) from Syedpur. But among cinema painters who paint to
fight between snake express themselves, S. Moyeen is the most important.
mongoose by banner The modern art history of Bangladesh started with the naissance of ‘Government
painter Noushad Ali, Institute of Art’ founded under the leadership of Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin(1914-
photograph Athahar 1976) in Dhaka in 1948 . It is now affiliated with the Dhaka University as the Institute
Hossain Surjo of Fine Art. Zainul and his co-artists were educated from Calcutta Government Art
School. A different era of art history of
Bangladesh began when they came to
Bangladesh. But the history of art in
Bangladesh has always ignored those
non-institutionalized artists who
migrated from Kolkata or other places
to Dhaka after partition and kept
working in their own distinctive style.
According to the statements of
concerned artists, cinema banner
painting was enriched through the
work of a large number of non-Bengali
artists who migrated here after
partition. Likewise, this trend was
affected when many of them left
Bangladesh for India or Pakistan after
the Liberation War. At present, most of