HA -126 Islamic art and civilization: explaining Islamic art to newbies
Please write a “discussion: explaining Islamic art to newbies.” for the HA -126 Islamic Art and Civilization online class based on the article it’s given at the bottom (PDF file). I will post some examples on the bpttoem too.
Unit 3 discussion: explaining Islamic art to newbies. Question
In this unit you’ll be exposed to what we might call the basics of Islamic art: you’ll know something about the religious doctrine and practice, the early history of Islam and the important historical figures. You’ll also be exposed to a number of monuments produced by the early dynasties of Islam.
Your discussion question is this: based on what you know about Islamic art so far, how would you respond to someone who knows nothing about Islamic art and has had little exposure to art history in general who asks you, as a trusted friend, “What is the nature of early Islamic art? Or to put it more bluntly, why does early Islamic art look the way it does?”
In your responses you can use what you’ve already learned and read, of course, but try to think about the bigger picture as well: how does one explain the formation of a visual culture to someone who knows nothing about that culture?
Make sure you respond to a classmate’s post as well as posting your own response.
As a guideline for your responses, be sure to read the “Instructions for Discussion” section of this module. Your discussion responses will be graded on the quality and depth of what you have to say as well as how you present what you have to say.
Example :
Explaining Islamic art to a newbie should include both the geographical, historical and religious aspect, as they are all equally important for the development of the Islamic art through art history.
Something important to explain to a newbie is that the term “Islamic art” refers not only to the religious art made for Islamic practices, but also to the art made from all the people living in the parts of the world where majority of people are believers of Islam. As the Islamic world today includes large territory spreading from Morocco in Africa to Indonesia in Asia, with multiple languages spoken, its art is very diverse and has been evolving for nearly fourteen hundred years. Throughout history, from the life of Prophet Muhammad in seventh century Arabia, spreading through the deserts of Africa, the land between the Atlantic and the Indian oceans and central Asia, its cultural epicenter moved from Syria, Iraq to Turkey, as different dynasties like Umayyad or Abbasid dominated the Islamic lands, while constantly changing and being influenced by other cultures of the time, especially the Roman, Byzantine and Persian sources, growing to what we understand today as Islamic art. As no culture can exist on its own, Islamic art, particularly in the early period, adopted already known elements from the western world such as columns, arches and domes, or materials like brick, stone or mosaic, transforming them into a new, Islamic style. However, just like a piece of architecture from Eastern Europe can be very different than a similar structure in the Western Europe even if they both relate to Christianity, an Islamic building of India such as Taj Mahal can be quite different from The Dome of the Rock in Israel, or an Islamic building in south Spain, as different local culture or available materials created unique local styles and how previous architectural elements have been used, which, in the end, shows the diversity of Islamic art throughout the world.
Another significant aspect to explain to an Islamic art newbie is that unlike European arts, in its core, Islamic art has been typically characterized by the absence of figures in its expression, caused by the teaching of Quran, the sacred text of Islam, that our of respect to the God, Allah, he or the living creatures in general should not be visually depicted, as he is unique and like nothing else. With that in mind, we understand the absence of imagery in Islamic art, or the “aniconism”, which focuses more on architecture, calligraphy and the arts of the book, textiles, pottery, glasswork, ironwork and the like, rather than painting or sculpture. In the visual sense, Islamic art is characterized by extensive use of calligraphic, intricate geometric and abstract floral patterns, often symbolizing the infinity and eternal nature of Allah, which is something we can first notice when looking at the Islamic piece of art or architecture. Colorful porcelain arabesques with geometric pattern, writings of verses from Quran, glass and metal ornaments, or heavily decorative textiles are all recognizable elements of Islamic art and all equally important.
Teachings of Islam, especially its Five Pillars, also heavily influenced the evolution of Islamic art, especially Architecture, as they still do today. To understand the core of Islamic art, something to recommend to an Islamic art newbie is a visit to a local mosque. Paying closer attention to the way the interiors of mosques are designed, the adorations of the walls and rugs on the floors or watching how Muslims pray or how important Arabic language is for Islamic art can help a newbie get a better idea of why Islamic art looks the way it does and how it relates to the lives of Muslims. Ultimately, Islamic art is trying to convey the spiritual representation of Islamic vision of the universe, and its logic, order and harmony. Perhaps that is where lies the beauty of Islamic art and its architecture. I hope all this would be helpful to someone new to understand Islamic art at least a little bit better.
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