In memoriam: A Rebel Angel remembered

Tribute was paid to artist Asim Butt on his sixth death anniversary

KARACHI: With heavy hearts and teary eyes friends, family and admirers gathered at The Second Floor (T2F) on Thursday evening to pay tribute to Asim Butt on the anniversary of his death, an artist whose life was cut short before he could reach his full potential.



Butt committed suicide on January 15, 2010, but almost six years on his memory still vibrates. Less of a panel discussion as it was advertised, the event allowed participants to share memories and thoughts about the artist, whether or not they knew him personally. The discussion was preceded by a stenciling activity, where people used stencils made by Butt to decorate the wall outside T2F.

The artist's father, Zahid Butt, visibly choked up as he shared that if it were not for Sabeen Mahmud, the book of Asim Butt's work would not have been here today. His family set up the Asim Butt Trust, which provides scholarships to needy children, using the proceeds from the sale of the monograph, 'Rebel Angel', and Butt's paintings.

"Asim's art and politics changed and impacted Pakistan's art scene," claimed curator Shahana Rajani. She read an excerpt of Mahmud's speech from the opening of Butt's show at the Mohatta Palace. "I can't claim to have known Asim well but I was glad to have met him," Mahmud had said.

"He had a profound understanding of photography," said photographer and friend of the family Arif Mahmood, explaining that most artists do not possess this. He termed Butt a "renaissance painter", who "knew how to use his medium to his advantage". He added that Butt was a prolific painter who produced a lot during his regrettably short life.



"He was my nocturnal friend," said photographer Tapu Javeri. "I knew when everyone else in the world was asleep, Asim would be awake," he reminisced, describing late night conversations on everything but art. "He painted for himself, not us," Javeri said, recalling Butt's aborted attempt to paint his portrait.

"Asim always had something to say and it was always irreverent. He didn't care," recollected Samira Raja, owner of Canvas Gallery. "We need people who are true to what they are doing," she said, adding that Butt threw himself into whatever he was doing completely.

"He sometimes upset people because he had the knowledge and guts to do so [by criticising their art] and I cherished that," she said. According to Raja, Butt's work was raw and "un-designed" in a way that most artists are not. "He wasn't interested in pandering to anyone['s wishes]," she claimed.

After the more formal discussion commenced, participants were asked to share memories of Butt, starting with Zaheer Kidvai, a new media analyst and Mahmud's mentor. He shared stories of when Butt was commissioned to paint a mural for T2F. He kept spreading his work to areas that were off limits to him, Kidvai laughed.

"He was so honest with his emotions," said a family friend. Another tearfully declared that Butt was on his way to becoming one of the leading artists in Pakistan. The Women Action Forum's Nuzhat Kidvai spoke of Butt's activism and said he made stencils for the protests and the movement. "He was very generous in his praise for others," she recalled tearfully.



"He was a great inspiration for all of us young painters," said a junior of Butt's from the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture. "Asim brought this thing [energy] to the room that even kept the professors on their toes," shared another classmate. "I have never met another artist like Asim Butt in Pakistan," claimed graffiti artist Abdullah, who met Butt in 2009.

"Asim really made an impression on you," said Rajani. "Art production in Pakistan has become de-politicised and Asim managed to connect the two," she added.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 17^th, 2016.