Giuseppe Schembri Bonaci
In the 1960s, Malta was passing through extremely turbulent times. It was a time during which the country managed to edge away from its Italian historicity and at the same time escape from the profound relationship it held with the British Empire. Malta's fascinating multiculturalism throughout her entire history contributed greatly to the development of the specific modern identity of these islands.
From an Italian Neapolitan culture which remained dominant until the beginning of the Second World War, Malta exploded outwards to a rather violent cosmopolitan and global culture. This occurred by means of many painful problems. The Maltese identity is enriched with, amongst others, the presence of these two cultures: the Italian and the British.
On the other hand, Malta always formed an integral part of the European continent. The connection with France, due to the Knights of St. John, the Norman times, and also due to emigration towards the French Maghreb, meant that Malta played an important and radical role within this mixture of cultures.
There were various other spectacular waves of influence with this coexistence between Maltese and 'foreigners', who together created a Mediterranean centre of creativity, a rich development which happened before our very eyes, an element which we are sometimes not aware of ourselves. We require shock therapy to realise such incredible happenings.
It was an Italian artist from the North of Italy, a daring and genius bandit who arrived on Maltese Catholic shores to display another reality to the world, a reality which in fact went against the dogmatic and canonic beliefs of his time. His realism shocked everybody, and is still provocative today. This artist, known as Caravaggio, pioneered a new philosophy, one which paradoxically went even against its own Baroque, and opened up the road for the realist revolution.
With his dark provocations, Caravaggio subversively undermined the dominant thought of his era, and because of him we now had to re-evaluate our mode of seeing reality.
In more recent times, a similar shock occurred. Yet we would be mistaken if we interpret such shocks solely as external forces. On the contrary, as Prof. Mario Buhagiar and Charlene Vella have shown, Malta had her own Renaissance much earlier than the arrival of Caravaggio.
Thus, Malta has an extremely interesting history with regards the artistic relationship with the masters of the early Renaissance, namely with de Saliba and da Messina. Such provocations make sense only once change had already begun to take root before. Without these a priori roots, no organic growth may occur. Organic developments took place in Malta prior and with the arrival of Caravaggio and also of Mattia Preti, amongst others.
In the 1960s, there was the arrival of Anthony Burgess (1917-1993), Julian Trevelyan (1910-1988), Mary Fedden (1915-2012) and Victor Pasmore (1908-1998). However, it is important to change the opinion that Pasmore found himself on artistically barren land, and catalysed a modern revolution in Maltese art. One cannot forget that Antonio Sciortino had already created his monumental classical, Rodinesque, Futurist masterpieces, George Preca his modern/modernist paintings and the spiritual-avant-garde sculptures of Josef Kalleya placed the Maltese artist on a high international level of art, works of Vince Apap, Willie Apap, George Fenech, Alfred Chircop and many others.
There was a group of well-trained artists who had already established a name for themselves. The experiments of Antoine Camilleri and Esprit Barthet, the anti-dada Dadaism of Gabriel Caruana, and many others who were participating in the evolution of European art with great fervour and originality.
Pasmore arrived upon such fertile and rich ground and due to this succeeded in shaking the foundations of art, as did Caravaggio in his own time.
In the 1950s and 1960s Malta saw the birth of the Modern Art Circle. Preca exhibited his works in the Commonwealth Institute Art Gallery in London, Barthet experimented with collage, Camilleri with drip painting and the objet trouvé. The Bottega Group (1947), Atelier '56, the 1958 participation of Malta in the Venice Biennale, an event which was only repeated one other time after 41 years! There was also the Young Artists Group, the Artists' Guild, and afterwards Vision '74.
In other words, Pasmore settled in Malta at an auspicious time, wherein both Pasmore and the Maltese artists could give birth to a new artistic culture. Here, and in this manner, Maltese art was excitingly skyrocketed into modernism.
Like Caravaggio, Pasmore was, mildly speaking, not a reserved person. He was a rebel. Similar to the British composer Benjamin Britten and the great 20th century poet W.H. Auden, Pasmore rebelled against everything, particularly against the Second World War. He declared that he was a 'conscientious objector', meaning that his beliefs were so contrary to those of the war that he could not participate in such an event. Regardless, he was still summoned for military service. He refused, was arrested and condemned to imprisonment.
Together with Ben Nicholson, he introduced the artistic philosophy of Russian constructivism and the principles of the German-based Bauhaus school into the United Kingdom, principles which managed to beautifully but cautiously seep into Malta. His works began to receive recognition as the most revolutionary within the context of British art.
Although Pasmore consistently insisted on the autonomy of painting and rejected the influence of his surroundings, a process of research has today been initiated by the author which has found that his works changed radically after he settled in Malta. The forms, colours and harmony between forms and line changed in his work. One can also see the abstract from of the Maltese farmhouse appear in his paintings and architectonic works. Not only did the Maltese farmhouse as an abstracted form influence Pasmore, yet one can also observe the presence of megalithic forms. Together with the mysterious forms of the sea and the Mediterranean night, we find them within Pasmore's profound creativity. He was dramatically influenced by the rubble wall and the quarries of Malta and Gozo. The obvious influence of Malta on Pasmore necessitates studies which would explore such links more deeply.
Pasmore established intimate relationships with the Maltese artistic scene, especially with Gabriel Caruana, Richard England, Alfred Chircop, Anton Agius, and with many others. These relationships were intimate, of great admiration which proved to be reciprocally influential.
Pasmore's leftist biography and his connection to the English Communist Party have been discussed for years. In spite of everything, many of his works display interesting and provocative political content. His collages include political declarations, for example Abstract in White, Grey and Ochre and Rectangular Motif in Black and White. One may sense in these works and in others indications towards the revolutionary Paris Commune of 1871. Pasmore was also an active member of the Artists International Association, an association strongly connected to the international communist movement. In Triangular Motif in Pink and Yellow we can also see his declaration towards the proclamation of the People's Republic of China. And many others.
Here in Malta we also have some of his political works, as well as others. For Whom the Bell Tolls. This work is a response to the work of Ernest Hemingway. The story of Hemingway is one which lucidly elucidates the tragedy of the Spanish Civil War and the fight of the Republicans against Franco's fascist forces assisted not only by the Nazi States and European Fascists, but also the liberal world and the Vatican State.
At the opening (3rd November 2014) of the Pasmore Gallery in the annexe of the Central Bank, the absence of the Maltese progressive and leftist forces was resounding. It was a brilliant idea and implementation by the Pasmore Foundation. As I have always stated earlier, the left prefers to sip a cup of coffee around the corner. With the absence of the left, the ideals which provoked and granted Pasmore all his creative energy, together with the Catholic blessing of the artist's works reflected a total dominance of rightist and conservative ideals inside this historic gallery. There may be nothing wrong with this, but must we continue to drink coffee when activities of such importance to Maltese history are taking place?
The Foundation was an idea of Prof. Richard England, who together with Dr. David Tonna succeeding in implementing this brilliant idea. Wendy Pasmore, Victor's wife, is the president of this Foundation.
And now? Will we bury Pasmore under all blessings as we buried Caravaggio for 400 years?
Article edited and translated by Nikki Petroni