USC Pacific Asia Museum


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Pasadena, California 91101
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Visiting Truck Artist Haider Ali Visiting Truck Artist Haider Ali Visiting Truck Artist Haider Ali Visiting Truck Artist Haider Ali Visiting Truck Artist Haider Ali Visiting Truck Artist Haider Ali Visiting Truck Artist Haider Ali Visiting Truck Artist Haider Ali Visiting Truck Artist Haider Ali Visiting Truck Artist Haider Ali

From the Grand Trunk Road to Route 66:
Visiting Truck Artist Haider Ali

October 2, 3, 5, 8-12, 15-19, 22 2014

Colorful trucks and buses are a striking aspect of the landscape and society across Pakistan. Highly personalized designs celebrate regional treasures, legendary heroes, local flora and fauna, movie stars, myths and treasured words of wisdom—truck art is a truly dynamic folk art. Colorful elaborate designs on Pakistan jingle trucks brighten the Grand Trunk Road, which for centuries has linked Pakistan to neighboring countries. Decorated top to bottom with flowers, portraits, landscapes and poetry in brilliant colors, these transports are mobile art. And the artists who decorate them are in high-standing in the community.

As early as the 1920s, competing companies would hire artists to paint their vehicles to attract patrons. By the late 1950s, truck art flourished. Haider Ali is a truck artist based in Karachi, who was taught by his father from the age of eight. Ali’s work is much sought after in Pakistan. In 2002, the Smithsonian Folklife Festival selected Ali and bodywork expert Jamil-ud-Din as the best in the truck painting trade and brought them and a truck from Karachi to Washington D.C. Their finished masterpiece is now part of the Smithsonian Institution’s permanent collection.

While Ali has achieved world-wide recognition as a truck artist, he does not keep secret about the craft. One of his goals is to mentor young artists so they can carry on the legacy. Ali travels around the world, invited by museums and to special events to showcase his famed painting on donated trucks and cars. This month, USC Pacific Asia Museum, with support from the museum’s Pakistan Arts Council, vehicle sponsor Dara Shah Khan/Shahnawaz Restaurant and paint sponsor Sherwin-Williams, is hosting Ali as an artist-in-residence from Thursday, October 2 through Wednesday, October 22. From the Grand Trunk Road to Route 66: Visiting Truck Artist Haider Ali is a live event where Ali will start and finish painting a vehicle at the museum and partnering sites. There is no charge to watch Mr. Ali at work.

Schedule:

  • Oct 2, 3, at USC Pacific Asia Museum from 10am - 6pm
  • October 4, Artesia Diversity Festival
  • October 5, USC Pacific Asia Museum from 10am - 6pm
  • October 8, USC Pacific Asia Museum from 10am - 6pm
  • October 9, USC Pacific Asia Museum from 10am - 4pm, Downtown LA Artwalk
    6pm -11pm
  • October 10, USC Pacific Asia Museum from 10am - 10pm (Pasadena ArtNight)
  • October 11, 12 USC Pacific Asia Museum from 10am - 6pm
  • October 15, USC Pacific Asia Museum from 10am - 6pm
  • October 16, USC Pacific Asia Museum from 10am - 6pm
  • October 17, USC Pacific Asia Museum from 10am - 8pm
  • October 18, USC Pacific Asia Museum from 10am - 8pm*
  • October 19, USC Pacific Asia Museum from 10am - 6pm
  • October 20, USC Campus 10am - 6pm; click here for location
  • October 21, USC Campus 10am - 6pm; click here for location
  • October 22, USC Pacific Asia Museum from 10am - 6pm

* Discussion and reception, admission or membership required.
Held in support of From the Grand Trunk Road to Route 66: Visiting Pakistani Truck Artist Haider Ali, come enjoy learning about Pakistan's highly decorated "jingle trucks" as well as local art traditions as we take a cross-cultural look at humans' love for—and beautification of—their vehicles. Haider Ali will be joined by Dr. Denise Sandoval, guest curator of the Peterson Automotive Museum's La Vida Lowrider: Cruising the City of Angels and lowrider photographer Estevan Oriol for this conversation, hosted by Pakistan Art Council of USC Pacific Asia Museum president Hina Abidi.
Following the program, be sure to stay for the reception, featuring traditional Pakistani food, music, and truck art-inspired activities, plus of course viewing Mr. Ali's work in progress! Free for members, included with museum admission for non-members.

From the Grand Trunk Road to Route 66: Visiting Truck Artist Haider Ali is one of 30 events taking place in conjunction with the Los Angeles/Islam Arts Initiative presented by the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.

Mr. Ali’s visit is made possible by sponsors Amina Adaya, Tasawar Khan, Council General of Pakistan, Asad & Hina Abidi, Salim & Yasmin Adaya, Shabbir & Tahira Ali, Ahmed & Perveen Ali, Aziz & Deanna Khan, Anonymous, Council of Pakistan American Affairs (COPAA), Rizwan & Farah Bhatti, Adil & Durainaz Farooqui, Tariq & Tehmina Jesrai, Shahid & Kamran, Adnan & Tina Khan, Eyoub & Atiya Khan, Haroon & Mariam Rashid, Shiraz & Samira Saleh, Tahir & Shaila Andrabi, Moe & Bea Ansari, Feroz & Fauzia Ansari, Azam & Zubia Mirza, Usman & Shahbano Mohammed as well as through the hard work of the Pakistan Arts Council of USC Pacific Asia Museum led by council president Hina Abidi. Special thanks to vehicle sponsor Dara Shah Khan/Shahnawaz Restaurant, the Pasadena Museum of California Art, and paint sponsor Sherwin-Williams.