Islamic art and civilization
Please write a “discussion: focus on calligraphy, painting and carpets ” for the HA -126 Islamic Art and Civilization online class. I will post some examples at the bottom too. The discussion has to be more than 600 words.
discussion question: focus on Islamic art in southeast Asia.
Look at the objects and monuments discussed in this unit; do their forms, shapes and styles surprise you based on what you already know at this point about Islamic visual culture? Is it possible to summarize or characterize the relationship between Islamic art in southeast Asia and the traditional (or pre-Islamic) visual cultures that preceded the arrival of Islam?
What to do:
1. Listen to the VoiceThread presentations about the historical contexts of Islam in Southeast Asia and selected examples of art and architecture.
2. Read the short essays in the Resources folder (these are links to museum websites rather than PDF files).
VoiceThread presentations
https://m.blog.naver.com/rjwltakf291/223481295032?afterWebWrite=true
Resources folder
islamic influence in southeast asian visual culture
https://asiasociety.org/education/islamic-influence-southeast-asian-visual-arts-literature-and-performance
indonesian islamic art
Example :
To better understand the differences and similarities between the Islamic art in Southeast Asia and the rest of the Islamic world, we should try to reflect on the historical and cultural conditions of the region at the time Islam was spreading to Southeast Asia and the geographical path of how Islam reached the area in the first place.
After the spread of Islam from the middle east to India, the further trade from India and Arabic lands went in the direction of Southeast Asia. Together with the trade came the exchange of knowledge, ideas, and beliefs. Furthermore, European colonialism and Christianity affected the area tremendously, together with Buddhism and Hinduism that have been the dominant religions in these lands for centuries but were slowly taken over by Islam. And even though Islam reached this part of the world somewhat later compared to the rest of the world, and it is sometimes neglected, the majority of the population of Southeast Asia today, except for the Philippines, is predominantly Muslim.
As the existing cultures and religions were already present in these areas for centuries, it is no surprise that the Islamic art, being heavily influenced by the existing condition, is somewhat different than what we are used to seeing in the rest of the Islamic world. Buddhism and Hinduism, which were not only religions but a way of life and tradition, were embracing the teachings of Islam, merging existing stories with new ones. This blend is especially visible in architecture, and the religious temples and mosques of the early period embrace both Buddhistic/Hindu and Islamic elements. Pitched cascade roofs, something very specific for the roof of Buddhistic temples, but also religious objects of other native religions of Southeast Aisa, were often used for new mosques as well, as in most religions, the verticality was symbolizing a way of connecting to the divine in the sky, which shows that as a concept, Islamic teaching didn’t differ much from the existing. Just focusing on the shape of these mosques, we can immediately see how Islamic religious buildings in this area differ from the Islamic buildings of the Arabic world. In somewhat later periods, as Islamic art in these areas slowly evolved, we can see stronger Arabic influence, especially Persian, as the domes are more used than cascade roofs.
Another interesting feature of Southeast Asian mosques is lack of wall adornment, which is unusual when compared to the mosques of the middle east that rely on rich wall tile decor. Walls are usually white, almost plain, and a reason for that is the tendency of the Southeast Asian architecture to create minimalistic, airy spaces, full of light. The architects of the region focused more on creating bright open spaces rather than focusing on wall treatments. The only decor we can notice in the interior design are rugs and structural elements like columns, so often the building’s structure creates the visual interest of the interior. Compared to the rest of the Islamic world, where the interiors of the mosques are filled with mosaics and arabesques, and almost seem overwhelming with color and detail, Southeast Asian mosques appear very minimal. In later periods, we can slowly see more wall treatments, especially on the facade, and more Arabic, even South Spain influence in combination of brick and stucco on the facade. Calligraphy, especially for decoration of Coran, is still important, but we can clearly see that compared to the Arabic manuscript illuminations, focused on rich decoration of pages, Southeast Asian Coran manuscripts are much more minimal, and focus on geometric elements and symmetry while appearing almost abstract. When it comes to Islamic textile of Southeast Asia, pattern used seem quite different than the floral and vegetal elements we are used to seeing in the Arabic Islamic art, and they often include native and traditional Hindu and Chinese elements, which shows very diverse international influences in local Islamic art. The appearance of cemetery structures is interesting as well, which are quite unusual for the rest of the Islamic world, and the rich reliefs in stone they are built of, that almost appear like the Buddhistic carvings in wood. The blend of different styles and those carvings and reliefs make them appear almost non-Islamic and unique in the history of the Islamic art.
Some similarities between Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern architecture do exist. We still have minarets as one of the main features, but they do seem a more Mughal, as the proximity of India and the direction of the spread of Islam brough some of those style variations. Wall orientation and qibla wall are still important, and we sometimes have minbars dominating the interior as well. Calligraphy as a decor is still present, especially in the interior space and manuscripts. And the general use of space remains the same. It is the influence of other cultures that makes Islamic art appear somewhat different than the rest of the world.
Pointing out all these differences and similarities shows how unique and sometimes neglected the Islamic art of Southeast Asia is, as the art history from the European perspective mostly focuses of the history of the Arabic lands, which is probably the first preconception of the Islamic art most people have.
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