The Colonial and National Formations of the National College of Arts, Lahore, Circa 1870s to 1960s by Nadeem Omar Tarar;

Author:Nadeem Omar Tarar;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lightning Source Inc. (Tier 2)

V. Reforming Craftsmanship to Developing Industry: The Design of Design Department

In February 1927, a Joint Development Board was constituted by the Punjab Legislative Council “to act as an advisory body for the purpose of studying […] and advising Government […] for the economic development of the agricultural and industrial resources of the province.” With the minister of agriculture and local government as the president, the board had seven members from legislative councils, and nine “non-official members representing industrial, commercial and agricultural interests.” The director of industries served as the secretary to the Joint Development Board and administered the activities of the board. The board formed 24 subcommittees, which included the crafts subcommittee representing the largest sectors of employment such as hosiery, oil, weaving, pottery and wool and so on. A special subcommittee on “Industrial Occupation for Women” made suggestions for “the whole time and subsidiary industrial occupation for women in Punjab.” The first step toward the industrial education of women was taken by the appointment of “Instructors” for the girls’ schools in Punjab. The subcommittee on design deliberated the “question of starting a Designs [sic] Department in the Mayo School of Art, Lahore […] [which] is gaining serious attention of the Government.”69

In December 1928, Lionel Heath, principal, Mayo School, was made the chairman of the subcommittee on design, with Inspector of Industrial Schools J. G. Cowie as its secretary. The terms of reference of the subcommittee of design set by the Joint Development Board were intended to elucidate reformative actions for promoting trade through improved design of artisanal and manufacturing industries of Punjab. The first task was to promote a public appreciation for “the essentials of good designs” without which the “commercial exploitation of good designs” was not considered possible. The second task was to identify and establish the institutional sources “for the supply of good designs for Punjab producers.” The third task was to devise measures “to stimulate new trade in India or abroad in the artistic productions of Punjab.” The fourth was to formulate a well-thought out plan “to interest foreign buyers in Indian artistic products and put them in touch with the producers.” Finally, the subcommittee was given the job of finding ways to exercise their disciplinary knowledge to act as an “expert influence to bear on the subjects or designs and artistic craft trades generally.”70

Lionel Heath believed that the village industries in Punjab could be improved only if the quality of designs and methods of production could be reformed through modern training in design and production. Comparing the Japanese trade in silk and embroidery and Chinese productions of “fancy articles, furniture painting and lithography” with the latent Indian potential, Heath asserted the need for a state-led process of change. Heath mentions Japan and China as they were noteworthy examples of successful state-funded, education-led industrial modernization. He lamented the fact that “India is richer than any Eastern country in the number and variety of its arts and products the vast majority of which have only a casual sale abroad owing either to defects in manufacture or to their unsuitability to modern requirements.

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