Art in its nature is about memory, and memory resides in the past; yet art turns the whole history of mankind relevant and meaningful
Many years ago, as a student in London, I was walking alone on an almost deserted street near my flat when all of a sudden my mind started playing a favourite classic song by Kishori Amonker. I still recall hearing the melodious tune and the sensation of living at one place and being transported to another continent through the sheer power of lyrics and magic of music.
Other art forms too possess this potential -- of a psychological shift in location, context and background. However when it happens, it takes place in the realm of the past; since the only possibility of changing one’s immediate scenario is dependent upon memory and experience. Even when we talk about imagining the future, it is a blend of projected past and desired present. So the future is constructed through combining various versions of past (hence in Urdu, there is one word kal for yesterday and tomorrow).
While art refers to the past in its essence -- since once the artwork is created it is viewed and experienced afterwards -- some art pieces deliberately invoke history and heritage. We have witnessed this in popularity of various styles and genres in different creative expressions. Perhaps the greatest example in this regard is of the Benjamin Sisters singing hit melodies from the past and turning them into a sensation. A natural outcome of this has come in the form of the Coke Studio where artistes mostly redo the already existing pieces; thereby relying on the popularity and acceptability of or admiration for these compositions.
There may be nothing odd in praising the past forms since human psyche seeks nostalgia. People often mention their almost perfect bygone days. The mind manipulates and amends the awful past into bright spots of recollection. Sometimes, new memories are ‘manufactured’ which provide a certain satisfaction and confidence, necessary to cope with the misery at hand. Anything that relates to an ideal age brings a soothing sensibility.
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In art, the nostalgia for the past manifests in two ways. There are works which were made years ago and have generated other art pieces. Then there are works that deal with the past -- refurbishing history, reviving heritage, etc.
Also, the fascination for the past in art is manifested in the liking for black & white or silent movies or monochromatic photographs, even if those images were created for illustrating their period. But the fact that they belong to another century or distinct past adds validity not quite dissimilar to antique pieces. Without questioning or disputing their aesthetic merit, these works are revered owing to their connection with an age that seems better. This is why we praise dramas and other programmes from the early years of Pakistan Television.
Nostalgia emerges in another scheme in some works of art where the past becomes a deriving force and main motif for creating them. These pieces remind one of a collective nostalgia; they address a golden past, and aim to resurrect and revive it, albeit by making small changes. We have seen the resurfacing of Qawwali, Mughal era dresses, building houses in red bricks and wooden balconies from before the British invasion of India. The fondness for Dastan-goi in this age of electronic media can be included in the same league.
The popular ‘new miniature painting’ is another example in which the historical art form was revived for its identity and heritage value, and exported out of its place of production as a unique and authentic genre. A sense of uniqueness along with a label of authenticity was bestowed on it for being linked to an era that is now remembered and revered for its high level of aesthetics.
There is another form of nostalgia in which the past emerges as content rather than a date of manufacture or a genre. In this, the artists invoke a passionate longing for what was there once or is on the brink of vanishing. Large paintings in oil or small works of watercolour -- depicting scenes of Lahore with crumbling walls, falling structures and narrow alleys -- are often seen in galleries as well as in the homes of several collectors. The reason why people buy these has often nothing to do with the formal quality of the works, but their sentimental link with the past.
One can imagine the same happening in other forms of art where the entire focus is on recreating a period due to its exotic nature. To some extent, our fashion design reflects this urge. Or in dance too, the blend of present and past is managed on the surface to please a touristic eye which does not necessarily is that of a foreigner; sometimes a local may also view his past like an outsider.
In a sense, nostalgia is about failing to maintain a productive relationship with the past. In our context, nostalgia is often invoked in the name of tradition. Tradition is the most cherished word of our time and place. We accept everything in the name of tradition which, in reality, satiates our longing for nostalgia. Octavio Paz explains that one is only aware of a tradition when out of it. In our art, too, tradition is praised since it brings the illusion of grandeur and the safety of past.
In some cases, the artists have been questioning the past and investigating it with a critical view, rather than adopting it. A critical approach towards past forms, their formal, cultural, political and economical analysis makes a person move away from nostalgia and discover new meanings of past; rather, it enables him or her to interpret and recreate the past not as something distant but as part of present.
To sum it up, art in its nature is about memory, and memory resides in the past. Yet, art turns the whole history of mankind relevant, exciting and meaningful, regardless of a viewer or a listener or a performer’s location or epoch.