Impassioned Play: Social Commentary and Formal Experimentation in Contemporary Pakistani Art

Yet they address these issues in an unexpected fashion. They examine serious concerns like the India/Pakistan divide in a humorous fashion; they explore bloody, murderous acts like "honor killings" in pristine paintings. In this multifaceted treatment, the intense issues affecting Pakistan are interrogated with ambiguity. These artists do not simply present critical issues related to society in Pakistan; they play with them. And in this way raise questions about their meanings. And they do not only look to Pakistani society for subject matter. They also turn to it for methods of approaching art by exhibiting sensitivity to traditional materials, techniques, and styles. I analyze this artwork within a context of art practices in Pakistan, pedagogical methods at art schools in the nation, and the impact of larger historical events and social processes: colonialism, the partition of India and Pakistan, and globalization.