INTERVIEW: Shahid Qayoom By Rehmat

Interview 

Do every work with passion and keen interest: Shahid Qayoom

By Rehmat Ali

Shahid Qayoom Memon from Kandiaro was born November 11, 1981. He got primary and middle education from his native village, did intermediate from Qasimabad College. In 1999 he sought admission in Federal College of Arts & Design (FCAD), now called as Center of excellence in Arts & Design (CEAD). After studying there eighteen months, he decided to go National College of Arts (NCA) Lahore, where obtained a degree of Communication Design in 2005. Afterwards he rendered his services one year in set designing at AAG channel Karachi. In 2007 he was appointed a lecturer in the institute of Arts & Design, Sindh University Jamshoro, and after the half of year appointed as a lecturer in CEAD, where became the head of the Department of Communication Design in 2010. To date he is serving there as an art teacher and head of Department.

What initially captured your imagination about Art?

The Art and its all forms like Communication Design etc. for me are intriguing. Making things beautiful that build up wonder and eye soothing scenes with the diversity of colors is pretty exciting. The art is loaded with history and communicate to universal audience. Making art piece to me very accessible, when it demonstrates considerable thought and consideration even if intuitive, art’s tactile nature is captivating.

Tell us bit about Communication Design?

It is visual communication, which involves in many mediums speeches, logos, painting, graphic designing etc. Communication Design conveys messages and seeks to create desires, inspire, attract and motivate to the people to respond to the particular message. Which can be either to build brand, move sales or for humanitarian purposes, strategic business, creativity and problem solving. They also directed to the heterogeneous public to persuade and to give them awareness transmitted the through effective mediums like Social media, television and printed forms.

.As Communication Design promotes the things; can it not be used as negative in society?

Definitely it plays positive as well as negative role in society, captures the attention of audiences towards the art piece, it is art to promote whatever you want, but in most of advertisements for the sake of product’s sell they used it , due to this reason negative or other things can be promoted.   you can advertise the any product through its endless mediums.

. Despite it, on what aspects of art you work?

I love to work in all fields of art. Work consists on the sculpture, miniature, and painting and art teaching. During study I worked in sculpture, set designing in the Shoaib Mansoor’s song Supreme ishaq. I had made the monument and logo of Mass Communication, Sindh university jamshoro.on international level I work in the logos on the internet. And I used to spend lot of time on the art teaching because it my passion.

.Being an art teacher, do you see any difference in formal teaching as compare to art?

In formal teaching, once you delivered a lecture to fifty students at a time, but in art teaching, we have to give the time to every one student according to their approach and talent, it doesn’t requires cramming but needs creativity and how to explore the things. It is very tough job to do.

. What is the importance of an art in society?

Art is the main tool to show the culture and its importance of any nation. Art pays its major role in the development of society, it is as a trigger to hidden talent, and it gives awareness about the social phenomenon. Through the art we all of came to know the hundreds of thousand years old civilizations. The paintings, Sculpture and architecture of MOEN JO DARO indicate the how it was civilized nation.

.In Pakistan why there is less number of artists?

Its main reason is the financial crises, and there were no any kind of institutes and schools in past, where student would have learnt. Now some institutions have been opened, from there many artists come but they face many problems such as, they have not finance to buy equipments to create art piece, and the major thing they are also restricted to create any creativity in society, hence some of them hardly continue their work and many of them prefers to do other jobs.

What advice would you give to aspiring artists?

 My message is for all fields of students that whatever works you do, do it with passion and keen interest, you will surely be successful. One thing remembers that the seat of topper is always vacant, there is need of occupant, so do work hard to occupy it. 

Practical work carried under supervision of Sir Sohail Sangi