1. Jan-Feb 2011
ART © Siddhartha Art Gallery Syed Iqbal Geoffrey: artist with a double life Text: Madan Chitrakar A . T , . www.spacesnepal.com 86 During the last week of last October, Siddhartha Art Gallery treated Kathmandu art lovers with an art of a different kind – a collection of works entitled ‘Supra Collages’ by the internationally known Pakistani artist - Syed Iqbal Geoffrey. The collection, mostly collage works, is Geoffrey’s strange way of looking at art as an expression and his thoughts in art has earned him a charismatic reputation as an artist making strong waves in many parts of the world. This is his first exhibition here in Kathmandu. However a solo exhibition had been planned for way back in 1960; in of all the places - within the premises of Narayanhiti Palace Complex as an invitee of late King Mahendra! And it is a pity that although we talk so much of a global village and globalization, most of us remained unaware of this name – a near phenomenon, and that too from as close as Pakistan - till the moment his show was inaugurated and the local media also began to get drawn to him. But here too it is likely that the media expressed its sensitivity towards him not because of an understanding of his art, but rather because of the internationally known January-February 2011 issues and debates he had generated one time or the other as an internationally known figure with a distinct but strange double life – an artist with unusual thoughts and expression, and the other, instead of a soft and delicate artist, a fearless and a highly sensitive barrister – ready to defend even the individual accused of terrorism in a court of law as far as in the U.S.! So then let’s see who artist Syed Iqbal Geoffrey is. Born on the 1st of January 1939, in Chiniot, Pakistan (then in India), he first and foremost remains one of the very few non-European artists to be honoured with the coveted Paris Biennale laureate way back in 1965. The honour, bestowed upon him at the tender age of 25, remained so deeply ingrained in him that till today he never fails to mention it with respect, irrespective of the context he is in. Even when he needs to present his legal persona, he proudly presents himself as ‘Barrister Paris Biennale laureate Syyed Iqbal Geoffrey', which probably explains his honesty to the creative instincts inside him.
ART Geoffrey’s artistic journey began in 1960 after his arrival in London, following which he chose to move to the US and remained there till 1985 – a long stretch of time, which he cleverly made use of to acquire a prestigious Law Degree from Harvard, and as an ambitious artist – to explore free expressions to the limit. As a means of expression, ‘Collages’ have all along remained his forte and the mainstay. But what made and led him to earn a celebrity artist status are his convictions in art - the supremacy of thoughts over execution. He strongly opines, "An artist must essentially think and not merely create. The medium thus, is secondary." A short speech made during the inauguration of his exhibition at the Siddhartha Art Gallery reconfirmed what has been described in many of the writings as well as in a book published by National Book Foundation, Islamabad, Pakistan - that Geoffrey is a strong believer of Dadaism. In his very opening lines he spelled the ephemeral character of our life and so is the real essence of art - indicating his strong disdain for the conventional notion of art. No wonder his art journey is known to characterize bizarre forms and expressions. Unusual it may sound and look – in his early days in an exhibition, it is reported that he framed a piece of brick with an abrasive surface used for scrubbing during bathing, and titled it, ‘Portrait of an Art Critic”. In another exhibit, he caused an uproar which turned into praises when he put up a tattered old bag with a bold caption, ‘Anything you put in becomes an art! ’. This kind of artistic antics naturally remind one of anti–rational philosophy called Dadaism, propounded by the legendary French artist, Marcel Duchamp, who made an upheaval for about six years (1916- 1922) with his unusual display of mundane objects of daily use as a work of art in the French capital Paris as a display of protest against War and the futility of all established values then. And Mr. Geoffrey, some forty years later has sought to resurrect similar ideas with similar bizarre exhibits. In 1963, Duchamp himself is said to have visited his show and in a lighter view, was known to have remarked that “..compared to Geoffrey, I am a conventional artist ..” The comment made by the guru of Dadaism himself, speaks volumes of the extent of rebellious thoughts of Geoffrey. Mercifully, the show in the Siddhartha Art Gallery was far more conventional. And during the show, many viewers as well as the reporters were seen to be seeking the meaning of the random pieces of pictures and text torn from magazines, the core elements of his expression, little knowing that he is an artist with an attitude of anything goes; one does not need to always draw or paint to create so long as the artist thinks it ticks and conveys what is intended. No wonder, anyone who approached him for explanations came back with his answer, “Art is meant to be imbued not to be described!” But what makes Syed Iqbal Geoffrey more interesting is his facet of a barrister, which earned him more screaming headlines in the West than as an artist. Out of many, two events reveal his January-February 2011 87 www.spacesnepal.com
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ART<br />
© Siddhartha Art Gallery<br />
Syed Iqbal Geoffrey:<br />
artist with a double life<br />
Text: Madan Chitrakar<br />
A <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
. T<br />
<br />
, <br />
.<br />
www.spacesnepal.com 86<br />
During the last week of last October,<br />
Siddhartha Art Gallery treated Kathmandu<br />
art lovers with an art of a different kind – a<br />
collection of works entitled ‘Supra Collages’ by<br />
the internationally known Pakistani artist - Syed<br />
Iqbal Geoffrey. The collection, mostly collage<br />
works, is Geoffrey’s strange way of looking at<br />
art as an expression and his thoughts in art has<br />
earned him a charismatic reputation as an artist<br />
making strong waves in many parts of the world.<br />
This is his first exhibition here in Kathmandu.<br />
However a solo exhibition had been planned for<br />
way back in 1960; in of all the places - within the<br />
premises of Narayanhiti Palace Complex as an<br />
invitee of late King Mahendra! And it is a pity that<br />
although we talk so much of a global village and<br />
globalization, most of us remained unaware of<br />
this name – a near phenomenon, and that too<br />
from as close as Pakistan - till the moment his<br />
show was inaugurated and the local media also<br />
began to get drawn to him. But here too it is likely<br />
that the media expressed its sensitivity towards<br />
him not because of an understanding of his art,<br />
but rather because of the internationally known<br />
<strong>Jan</strong>uary-<strong>Feb</strong>ruary <strong>2011</strong><br />
issues and debates he had generated one time<br />
or the other as an internationally known figure<br />
with a distinct but strange double life – an artist<br />
with unusual thoughts and expression, and<br />
the other, instead of a soft and delicate artist,<br />
a fearless and a highly sensitive barrister –<br />
ready to defend even the individual accused of<br />
terrorism in a court of law as far as in the U.S.!<br />
So then let’s see who artist Syed Iqbal Geoffrey<br />
is. Born on the 1st of <strong>Jan</strong>uary 1939, in Chiniot,<br />
Pakistan (then in India), he first and foremost<br />
remains one of the very few non-European<br />
artists to be honoured with the coveted Paris<br />
Biennale laureate way back in 1965. The honour,<br />
bestowed upon him at the tender age of 25,<br />
remained so deeply ingrained in him that till<br />
today he never fails to mention it with respect,<br />
irrespective of the context he is in. Even when he<br />
needs to present his legal persona, he proudly<br />
presents himself as ‘Barrister Paris Biennale<br />
laureate Syyed Iqbal Geoffrey', which probably<br />
explains his honesty to the creative instincts<br />
inside him.
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