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AN INSPIRING SUCCESS STORY!
Artist-turned printer: Now all set to become Baadshah of ‘art printing’
His formula: Art + screen printing = success in art printing
“When I came to Bombay from Sidhdhpur in Mehsana district of Gujarat, I had no chappal (footwear) to wear, no money to eat properly, but still I managed to join J.J. School of Art to study the foundation course in art. But I could not study further, though I wanted to become a successful artist. As I had to earn to live, I started doing painting of banners and posters for film industry ….and later I entered the screen printing business in a small way. Rest is history. Now I am planning to open art galleries to market my art prints”.
It is an interesting yet ‘artistic’ success story of Akbar J. Momin, the artist turned printer and again turning to become an effective artist. He is set to become ‘great’ in ‘art printing’. Few months ago, he has acquired one screen printing machine specifically for his ambitious ‘art printing’ work. “Art was suppressed in side me for all these years as I was busy in printing business. But there was an awareness and that is how I am now reviving my art. I spend some lakhs on R&D in art printing through screen process; working 6-8 hours on trials. It is my dream project”, he says.
Mr. Momin was not born with silver spoon. His professional life is a tale of ‘Rags to riches’. He was born (in 1957) and brought up in Gujarat. Economically his parents were not rich but self dependent. Father, Jivabhai Momin was a farmer. Realising that farming won’t bring in so much income and ‘rich experience in life’, Mr. Momin migrated to Mumbai with an understanding that an individual should stand on his own feet and can make himself whatever he wished. His wish was to become a successful artist, so he joined JJ School of Arts and rolled out in 1978.
He recalls that those days though he had bad times economically, he did not give up and never thought of running away from Amchi Mumbai (then Bombay). With a strong belief in the saying: The darkest hour is just before the dawn”, he started his career with art and painting. He used to make portraits, paint film banners and posters to make a living out of it. Since he had a passion for art, he wanted to excel in it and showcase his talents in a big way. Since for an artist resource is a must in order to transform what he thinks (ideas) into action (painting), he could not make his dream a reality those days due to lack of money. But his struggle continued for over 7 years by making publicity materials – banners and posters - for film industry, until he ventured into screen printing business in the late 80s.Over the years, he also visited several art galleries to gain more knowledge in art as well.
Mr. Momin admits that art is time consuming (an artist has to try his hands at work for several days on one piece) and it is costly for buyers. There are millions of art lovers but they can only see art in galleries to satisfy themselves without buying it as it is costly, he says. “Only millionnairs can afford to buy costly art. But if art is made cheaper like re-printing it exactly like original in bulk quantities through screen printing process, many people /small businessmen, small sized companies can buy it. This way art can make a big entry in the market and can be popularized,” Mr. Momin adds.
Interestingly, Mr. Momin, has now taken a social responsibility by helping art students of JJ School of Art where he himself learnt the art. He gives them chance to practice and learn art further, provides them material and if required helps them financially (as he himself suffered when he wanted to become an artist). He is now all set to showcase his and his students’ painting capabilities. These days he himself dedicates some time for art and has a large stock of arts - oil paints, canvass paints and acrylic.
While enthusiastic about art printing, Mr. Momin is also cautious while talking about his future plans. “There is a copy right issue and rules of the game have to be followed ethically. So, I shall approach good artists with my proposal to reprint their work through screen printing. Usually in art reproduction, there is a system of agreement between the printer and the artist. And, we are supposed to mention the original artist’s name and their permission in the reproduced art”, he says.
However, in case of Mr. Momin, he himself being an artist, (now making a comeback), has big plans to produce original art and reprint on canvas in bulk quantities to sell it cheaper than the original price. In case of art printed by his students, it would be sold as it is and if a demand arises for a particular piece, then it would be reprinted, he says.
In any case, Mr. Momin’s present success in screen printing led him to lay a foundation stone for a new chapter in his life. He is all set to become a Baadshah of art printing – the energy derived from his art education and experience in screen printing. He is currently carrying out lot of trial and errors, R&D as a pre cursor to his a big business in art printing. He has big plans to take art + printing to a greater heights. The whole plan is in the drawing board now. “Once I complete my experiments successfully on canvas, I shall roll out my art prints”, he concludes.
CURRENTLY HE HAS ART STOCK OF WORTH RS. 1,200,000 (120 arts - canvas, oil and acrylic art paintings). DUE TO RECESSION, although each piece would cost about Rs 30,000-50,000 a piece, HE HAS DECIDED TO DISPOSE OFF these stock fora lumpsum amount of Indian Rupees 1,200,000 for whole lot of 120 pieces of in lot of 50 (Rs 600,000 for lot). Interested to buy and want to see and inspect the paintings, please contact: Shripad bhat, shripadabhat@gmail.com or 09322655090.
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