Asim Butt (26 March 1978 – 15 January 2010)

Saatchi Gallery The Saatchi Gallery is a London gallery for contemporary art and an independent charity opened by Charles Saatchi in 1985. Exhibitions which drew upon the collection of Charles Saatchi, starting with US artists and minimalism, moving to the D ...

Your Gallery. Retrieved 26 February 2008."Artist Commits Suicide"
, Daily Times (Pakistan), 15 January 2010. Retrieved 15 January 2010. was a Pakistani painter and sculptor, with an interest in

graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

and

printmaking Printmaking is the process of creating artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand processed techniqu ...

."Asim Butt, 29, artist"
BBC News 24, 13 December 2007. Retrieved 26 February 2008. He was also a member of the Stuckism International

art movement An art movement is a tendency or style in art with a specific common philosophy or goal, followed by a group of artists during a specific period of time, (usually a few months, years or decades) or, at least, with the heyday of the movement defin ...

and founder of The Karachi Stuckists."Stuckist groups"
stuckism.com. Retrieved 26 February 2008.

Life and work

Asim Butt was born in

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

. He attended

Li Po Chun United World College The Li Po Chun United World College of Hong Kong (LPCUWC, ), established in 1992, is an International Baccalaureate boarding school in Wu Kai Sha (烏溪沙), Hong Kong, within walking distance of Wu Kai Sha station. It is the eighth member ...

. He started painting at an early age, but at his parents' insistence, went to college, where he studied Social Sciences from the

Lahore University of Management Sciences Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) () is a private research university, located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. In 1983, Syed Babar Ali, a renowned businessman in Pakistan, recognized the shortage of qualified managers in the co ...

. He began a Ph.D. in History at University of California, Davis (UC Davis) in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

, but left the course after two years, when he participated in a group show mounted at the

San Francisco Arts Commission The San Francisco Arts Commission (SFAC) is the City agency that champions the arts as essential to daily life by investing in a vibrant arts community, enlivening the urban environment and shaping innovative cultural policy in San Francisco, Cal ...

Gallery in March 2002 with Rigo '02 and LYRIC. He then returned to enroll in a B.F.A. in Painting in Karachi. He participated in group shows in Karachi and Lahore, and in 2003 painted two murals in the environs of the shrine to the 8th Century

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, r ...

saint

Abdullah Shah Ghazi :''See also Ghazi and Gazi (disambiguation)'' Abdullah Shah Ghazi ( ar, عبد الله شاه غازي, ʿAbd Allāh Shāh Ghāzī) (c. 720 - c. 768) was a Muslim mystic and Sufi whose shrine is located in Clifton in Karachi, in Sindh provi ...

. This is an area visited by many people each day and also home to many of Karachi's homeless, including beggars, transsexuals and drug addicts. One mural, about America's

Shock and Awe Shock and awe (technically known as rapid dominance) is a military strategy based on the use of overwhelming power and spectacular displays of force to paralyze the enemy's perception of the battlefield and destroy their will to fight. Though ...

campaign in Iraq, was called, ''5 Ways to Kill a Man'',Baig, Amina
"Of Karachi, by Karachi, for Karachi"
, The News on Sunday. Retrieved 26 February 2008. inspired by Edwin Brock's poem. The other was about glue-sniffing children he encountered, while painting the first mural. Both murals were later whitewashed by city authorities. In 2005, Butt founded the Karachi chapter of the

Stuckist Stuckism () is an international art movement founded in 1999 by Billy Childish and Charles Thomson to promote figurative painting as opposed to conceptual art.Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture () ( sd, انڊس ويلي اسڪول آف آرٽ اينڊ آرڪيٽيڪچر) is a not-for-profit degree awarding institution in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. The university was established in 1989, ther ...

, Karachi. In 2007, he participated in group shows, ''13 Satellites'' (Lahore), ''Emerging Talent'' (Karachi) and ''Sohni Dharti'', part of the Shanaakht festival at the Karachi Arts Council. He spoke out against the imposition of emergency regulations in November 2007 by starting an "art protest" movementBarker, Kim
"Youth rebellion is spreading"
''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'', 13 January 2008. Retrieved 26 February 2008.—spray-stencilling

of an "eject" symbol of a red triangle over a red rectangle, an image which has now become widespread in Karachi. Butt said it was a representation to: He was caught on two occasions and claimed it was school art project work. He says that people's dignity has been overtaken by the predominant social and economic power of the military. While Butt increasingly came to view public political art as central to his art practice, he continued painting on canvas. Butt publicly and openly identified himself as gay even in the face of social pressure to avoid doing so. Nevertheless, he was ambivalent about being viewed as a "gay artist" preferring to describe himself as an "artist who happened to be gay." Much of Butt's art practice, including his public art, explored themes of gender, sexuality and masculinity and the male physique. He described Pakistani attitudes to homosexuality in these words: "Pakistanis are generally tolerant of homosexuality but don't like to bring sexual politics into public. Men and women engage in homosexual acts without necessarily identifying themselves as 'gay'. However, western ideas sexuality do shape the identity and cultural practices of a growing middle-class 'gay' community." He lived in Karachi's affluent Defence Housing Authority neighbourhood with his parents.

Death

Asim Butt died on 15 January 2010, a news report stating that he had committed suicide by

hanging Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging ...

himself in his residence.

References

External links

Comprehensive website on life and work of Asim ButtAsim Butt's websiteBBC feature (includes video)Asim Butt answers some questions (BBC)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Butt, Asim 1978 births 2010 deaths Artists who committed suicide Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture alumni Lahore University of Management Sciences alumni 21st-century Pakistani painters Pakistani graffiti artists Stuckism Suicides by hanging in Pakistan Artists from Karachi Artists from Sindh Pakistani people of Kashmiri descent 2010 suicides People educated at a United World College