History unchanged: Art of preservation broadens artists’ understanding

Two-week workshop by Irshad Ahmed continues.

ISLAMABAD:

Many of us love to visit art galleries and appreciate the works of masters from eras gone by. However, not many of us are aware of the painstaking effort it takes to preserve these works. Be it old manuscripts, documents or paintings, a great deal of skill and meticulous work goes into ensuring these archives remain for generations to come.

In a bid to create awareness and equip the new generation with preservation skills, Irshad Ahmed --- a preservation expert who works with the National Archives --- is conducting a workshop on conservation of paper artwork at the Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA).

The ongoing two-week workshop has assembled participants ranging from young art students from local colleges to seasoned art professors and artists.

According to Ahmed, education on preservation is very rare. “Sadly, it is not taught in universities or even art schools, which is ironic because if you are a training artists, they must know how to preserve their work. In Pakistan, there is only one department at national level and the smaller departments at provincial level are not as well equipped for this work,” he lamented.



Of the various techniques he is familiarising participants with, Ahmed said, “In the first week we learnt the wet technique, which requires the use of sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) and carboxymethyl cellulose (cellulose gum), whereas in the second week, we were shown how to use the dry technique in which we use heat and the vaccine process on archival paper,” stated Zainab Saleem, a fine arts student from ICG in F-6. For fine arts students, the process will help them in preserving their own paintings in the future. “We are not only learning preservation for paper, but also paintings, which will be useful for our own work,” said Nayyab Farooq, another student.

An old book seen prior to any preservation work being done. PHOTO: MUHAMMAD JAVAID/ EXPRESS

While the student’s interest mainly remained on the preservation of their own paintings, seasoned participants aimed to contribute their skills in aiding ancient and important manuscripts. Irfan Haqim, an artist working with the PNCA display and design department, is already well-versed with preservation techniques for paintings. “Since I’m an artist, I am more into paintings, but this is the first time I’m learning how to preserve paper. We must understand how important it is to ensure that our maestros’ works remains intact for generations to come. During the workshop, Ahmed and I intend to restore old sketches by Sadequain,” Haqim said.

Amongst the old works are manuscripts, paintings and an 80-year-old Quran that will be repaired by Ahmed and trained PNCA officials. “This has been a real learning process, I’m an artist teaching at NCA, but I still I managed to absorb new information,” said Meher Bano, as she diligently works on restoring paper.

According to PNCA Visual Arts Director Mussarat Naheed, the training will be well-utilised. “We have a large collection we want to keep intact. Previously, we would bring in experts from around the world to preserve our collections, but we would like to keep this facility self-sustaining,” she revealed.

The workshop ends on January 24.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 22^nd, 2013.