DAY 247

ART AROUND THE WORLD

Hand-Painted Pop

THE BILLBOARD ART OF LOLLYWOOD

Navigating the bustling streets of Lahore, the capitol of Pakistan’s film industry, you may encounter towering hand-painted tin billboards advertising the latest horror or action movie. Often referred to as the “Pop Art of Lollywood,” these billboards are truly unique art forms made by untrained artists and can be found in front of every cinema and film house in the city. Working under the direction of the film producers, artists compose the designs from film stills, then paint the images directly onto large sheets of whitewashed tin. Imagine the surprise of turning a street corner and coming face to face with a Lollywood superstar two stories high staring down at you! Up close, the brightly painted faces of the actors appear shockingly gaudy, but when viewed from a distance, the effect is much more subtle.

Most of the signs are painted by artists whose skills have been passed down through familial generations rather than obtained through formal art school training. Unfortunately, many see this hand-painted art form dying out as a younger generation of artists chooses computer-produced graphics over oil paint to create billboard art and advertisements, and possibly weakening the community’s ties to the film industry it so ardently supports. —SBR