The editor of Focus on Pakistan, a quarterly magazine on Pakistani culture in the 1970s, who had decided to include profile articles of two artists, Shakir Ali and Masood Kohari, in one issue was not sure that this accidental grouping would emerge in another form in 40 years.

Masood Kohari has recently held his solo show, titled Homage to Shakir Ali at the Royaat Gallery, Lahore. The exhibition that started on March 30 and will close on April 12, 2016 includes his canvases created in the style of Shakir Ali or comprise some elements of the master. Kohari is well-known for his works in various mediums such as oil on canvas, clay and glass. The invite reads "Dividing his time between Pakistan and France, Kohari has studied and mastered the techniques of working with these diverse mediums from a range of cultural traditions such as ceramics from Punjab and glasswork technique form Italy".

This text explains his work and life more but the most interesting part of the card is an old black and white photograph of Shakir Ali with his contemporaries like Zahoor ul Akhlaq, Haji Sharif, Mrs Abbasi Abidi, and others including Masood Kohari. The picture brings back a period that is lost now and can only be resurrected in memories. The passage of time adds a sense of romanticism and perfection to anything from the bygone era. One admires the outfits, the fashion and even the background of these photographs because of their vintage value.

A similar kind of approach is witnessed while looking at the earlier works of art. In a country’s brief history of 69 years, an artwork created even 40 years ago carries a sort of historical value. The past bestows credibility and grandeur in the works of that era, even if not many people are familiar with them. One has witnessed the same phenomenon in the realm of literature where Urdu poets such as Josh Malihabadi, Hafeez Jullundhri and Ehsan Danish were revered during their lifetime but were forgotten as soon as they died (it is difficult to find their books and impossible to come across a reader of their poetry). Yet these names are considered great personalities of Urdu literature.

It must be critically examined if the worth is about their creative output or based merely on their link to a cultural heritage: a difficult question that is often left unanswered but, when raised in the context of visual arts, has a different dimension. The works of art, unlike pieces of poetry or prose, are objects which are bought and possessed by a single collector and thus hold a value for both the collector and the maker. Also, compared to the absence of schools of poetry or fiction writing in Pakistan, visual art is taught in art institutions so an artist regardless of his artistic merit still has his followers in the form of his students.

However, Shakir Ali’s case was different. Despite being the Principal of National College of Arts, and his association with the Lahore Art Circle (a group founded in 1952), his art can be seen without these prefixes. He influenced a number of artists including his students such as Zahoor ul Akhlaq with his teaching but most of all through his art. So it won’t be surprising to glimpse an early canvas of Akhlaq carrying the pictorial sensibility of Ali. The importance of Shakir Ali equally depended on his interaction with contemporary artists, writers and intellectuals. Thus his name, along with that Zubieda Agha, is linked with the advent of modernity in Pakistani art.

On the occasion of his centenary birth celebrations, various events and exhibitions are organised and planned in Pakistan. All of this is part of relocating Shakir Ali because of the cruel fact that his work is not in the circulation of gallery business. He became a diffused entity/memory in the art circle of Pakistan. Now with a new-born interest in him, a younger generation seems inquisitive about his art and contribution. Even though we still wait for a major retrospective, the small exhibitions, seminars and other events keep reminding us of the person and the painter that was Shakir Ali.

The exhibition at Royaat Gallery was also an attempt to reconnect with the painter. The most astonishing part of the display was a large canvas of Shakir Ali from the collection of Nayyar Ali Dada on the wall next to the paintings by Masood Kohari. Installing a Shakir Ali canvas in the exhibition of works made as homage to his art provides a context and a clue on how and what to learn from a master. Shakir Ali’s painting, with its outlines of a naked female body, a bird and having the tactile surface of red hues, conveys how an artist was looking at the essence of human experience be it social, political, sexual or literary.

Masood Kohari has painted canvases that are a form of homage to an artist who left a deep mark on his fellow artists and disciples. So, in Kohari’s works, there is a range of styles to approach the aesthetics of Ali. In these exhibits, one could trace links to Shakir Ali’s work such as Leda and Swan paintings, woman with a bird, and three female figures. Kohari has interpreted the same subjects in his work with some canvases where Shakir Ali’s imagery is extended by Kohari. He has also tried to follow the chromatic order and brush strokes of Shakir Ali.

Looking at Kohari’s works made as homage to Shakir Ali, one is inclined to think about the relation of a master and his admirer or the process of inspiration. One could glimpse the work of Shakir Ali in Kohari with a bit of addition or alteration. Perhaps the real homage would be a body of work that may not resemble Shakir Ali’s imagery but is a continuation of his thought and aesthetic preferences.

This gets one to think about the idea of inspiration from past masters. Does a follower imitate the imagery and reproduce it or does he or she investigate the aesthetic of the mentor and have the liberty to use it or abandon it? Many students of Shakir Ali did not emulate his imagery but instead expanded his visual and conceptual concerns, and created works which had a relationship but no resemblance to Shakir Ali. Although Masood Kohari has painted delightful surfaces with known motifs such as women and birds, there may be other ways in which a pictorial tradition can continue in the present times.

Just like coins used in a country, I believe the work of an artist is validated if the value of what he has produced is still considered relevant. In that sense, after hundred years of Shakir Ali’s birth, the painter would be complete after he has been seen through the eyes of his disciples such as Kohari and others.