Art and the State

Art is often seen as existing outside the state. In Europe this concept emerged with  the Impressionist Movement of the 19 C which introduced the role of art for objective observation rather than a visual expression of the religious, social or political values of a society.

In South Asia, art separated from the state when the post 1857 British occupiers of the Mughal court dismissed the many artists on the court payroll. All the rulers of India patronized the arts reaching a high point with the Mughals. Not only did they gather together the best artists, many acquired creative skills, from Akbar who was taught  drawing as a child by the miniature painter Khwaja  Abdus  Samad,   to Aurangzeb who learnt calligraphy from Syed Ali Tabrizi.  Women of the palace, courtiers and rulers of smaller kingdoms  took a  keen interest in architecture, garden design, crafts and clothing design.  

The artist was integral to all societies from the earliest recorded human settlements, in most tribal societies and in the many empires of the world. Islamic artisans produced exquisite architecture, art and crafts, from Spain to India, over more than ten centuries. It is only in modern times that the arts have been excluded from statecraft. Or so it seems.

In reality, the state establishes museums, protects cultural heritage, engages urban planners and architects, awards outstanding artists, musicians, poets and writers,  develops laws to protect copyright, and acknowledges the considerable   contribution of the arts and crafts to the national  economy. The world trade of creative goods and services was  $ 624 billion in 2011. Some nations do it more overtly, while others like Pakistan, in a less considered way.

Funding for the arts aimed to alleviate unemployment during  the Great Depression with Roosevelt’s New Deal and later the WPA, commissioning public murals, music, theatre and creative writing as catalysts for social change. NASA, the US space agency, and Bell Laboratories, engage well known artists  to  promote national achievements in space  exploration and  new technologies.  The artist Thomas Moran helped create the first national park at Yellowstone in 1872. The National Endowment for the Arts was established in 1965 in the middle of the Vietnam war and at the height of the cold war, to promote American Culture  and preserve its artistic traditions. American jazz musicians were sent abroad to counter Soviet propaganda.  European governments spend even more on social and cultural programmes, often amounting to half of the GNP.  

In Pakistan , despite the continued  absence of a national cultural policy, Sadeqain was engaged to paint a mural at Tarbela dam and in a number of public places.  Arts councils were established in all the major cities and a Pakistan National Council for the Arts. The PIA Arts Academy promoted Pakistan culture internationally, a national art museum was approved in the 70s and completed by General Musharaf. Even in Zia’s strict Islamic era, artists received national awards.

Although today there are no Louis XIVs  or Napoleons, Akbars or Jehangirs  commissioning their portraits, many statesman privately paint or collect art. Churchill, Prince Charles, General Franco and even Hitler made fine paintings.  There is a distinguished list of creative Civil Servants, some better known for their art such as Milton and Chaucer. Pakistan’s civil service includes art and literary figures such as  Haneef Ramay, Mustafa Zaidi, Parveen Shakir,  Qudratullah Shahab , Majeed Amjad,  N M Rashid , Kishwar  Naheed, Omar  Shahid Hamid, Syed Zamir Jafri and Brigadier Siddiq Salik.

A government’s role is incomplete if it does not represent the collective identity of its people , reflected equally in its economic, political, spiritual - and creative expression.

Durriya Kazi

June 25, 2019

durriyakazi1918@gmail.com