An Analytical Study of Design Configurations in Pakistani Paintings

This paper sets forth a scientific and analytical approach for understanding the creative process as manifested in a painting by focusing on design elements and principles. It is argued that an artist knowingly or unknowingly uses certain design configurations, which influences the viewer’s interpretation of painting significantly. Firstly, how a painter creates an artwork is defined in terms of the combined activity of his mental processes. These processes range from intuition to the final composition of the artwork and are actualized in different stages of the conception and final composition of an artwork. Secondly, the emotional and intellectual processes of the viewer are also pertinent in critically evaluating the essential message in an artwork. The meaning of this message, therefore, relies as much on the viewer as on the artist. This becomes clear by looking at design configurations as manifested in the works of contemporary Pakistani painters. The paper provides a new way of understanding the work of Pakistani painters from the perspective of design.