Color Matters - Pakistan - Cultural History as a Key to Color

Cultural History as Key to Color - The Lahore Fort and Badshahi Mosque

Lahore Fort and the Badshahi Mosque
Photo courtesy of Muneeba Asif Ali

The historical landscape of any place in the world serves as an essential key to colors – to meaningful colors in a culture. This was the focus of the color workshop for 2^nd year Visual Communications students at BNU in Lahore, Pakistan.

students on steps to the Mosque

The project began with a field trip to the Lahore Fort and the Badshahi Mosque (whose estimated date of initial construction is the 11^th century – long before the Gothic cathedrals of the Western world). The assignment required that each student take approximately ten sets of photographs. Each set required a panoramic shot of any building on the 48 acres of the Fort and Mosque and 4-5 close up shots of the same structure. (A possible total of 50 or more images.) A concentrated focus on the colors and textures was the primary issue.

Of note is the fact that most of the students had visited the Fort and Mosque several times during elementary school and high school field trips. In spite or this, the experience of observing the colors of these significant historical buildings from near and far was an invaluable experience.

Next, the students submitted their photos for a review. The results of this survey were to be presented in a well-designed collage, triptych, or any organized composition.

Student submitting photograhps for review

Finally, here are two examples of the final results of this survey of the historical colors of the Lahore Fort and Badshahi Mosque.

Collage by Naila Kazim

Collage by (___)

Individual perceptions varied. Some students tuned in to the muted salmon orange hues of the masonry; others to the cobalt blues of the tiles. The compositions also included a range of designs, such as a collage of multiple images in random sizes and simplified triptychs.

Colors of Pakistan Pages

Table of Contents

The Colors of Pakistan

Color Symbolism Project

Cultural History as a Key to Color

The Colors of Political Protest

The Colors of Tarogil Village

Faces - Students and Teachers

Letters to America

Questions?

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