Islamic Art - Week 4

"Islamicate" (M. Hodgson)

• "Islamic" à related to central religious texts and authorities • "Islamicate" [double adjective like "Italianate"] à larger cultural framework related to society where Islam is a major factor; participated in by Muslims and nonMuslims (includes literature, art, etc.)

Decorative Illumination in Books

Although there has been a tradition of wall paintings, the bestsurviving and most highly developed form of painting in the Islamic world involves miniature in illuminated manuscripts, or later as a single page for inclusion in a bound album of miniatures and calligraphy.

Hajj or Pilgrimage

Annual obligation only for those who are physically and financially able to perform it. 2 million people go to Mecca providing an opportunity for those of different nations to meet one another. Pilgrims wear special clothes: simple garments which strip away distinctions of class and culture, so that all stand equal before God. (Ihram)

Arabic wall of the Cathedral, Zaragoza, Spain

Art created by Muslim artisans - frequently for non-Muslim patrons

Miniatures

Because miniatures were an art of the court and not seen in public, constraints on the depiction of the human figure were much more relaxed, with miniatures often containing great numbers of small figures. The tradition of the Persian miniature has been dominant since about the 13th century, strongly influencing the Ottoman miniature of Turkey and the Mughal miniature in India. Besides Qur'anic verses, other inscriptions include verses of poetry, and inscriptions recording ownership or donation.

Geometric art

Designs; squares, hexagons, octagons from the circle.

Orientalist painting

Harem fantasies and romantic depictions of heroic Arab horsemen.

Inside the Dome of the Rock

Inscription inside the Dome: "There is no God but God; Muhammad is his prophet. Jesus is also his Prophet, but God has no son; He neither Begets nor is Begotten"

Kufic

Kufi or Kufic: is noted for its proportional measurements, angularity, and squareness. Kufic is one of the earliest styles to be used to record the word of God in the Qur' an. One of the early kufic inscriptions can be seen inside the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem.

Monotheism

No other deity except the one God

Aniconism

No representation of human or animal forms in religious context

Mosques

Place of Prayer

Contemporary Art

Shirin Neshat, 1996 (text on hand is from a Persian poem)

Ta'liq or Farsi

Ta'liq means "hanging," referring to the shape of the letters, is a cursive script developed by the Persians in the early part of the 9th century A.D., and it is also called Farsi (Persians).

Architecture

The distinguishing motifs of Islamic architecture are ordered repetition, radiating structures, and rhythmic, metric patterns.In this respect, fractal geometry has been a key utility, especially for mosques and palaces.

Mohammad

The last messenger of God in the teachings of the Qu'ran

Geometric Patterns

Three elements are the basis of proportion in arabic Calligraphy: • The height of the alif, which is a straight and vertical stroke (3-12) dots. • The width of the alif, (the dot) which is the square impression formed by pressing the tip of the calligrapher's reed pen to paper • An imaginary circle with •alif as its diameter, within which all Arabic letters could fit and be written.

Tughra'

Used by the Ottoman sultans as their signature. It was supposed to be impossible to imitate

Social meanings of Islamic art?

• Art created for Muslim patrons (often by non-Muslim artisans): Dome of the Rock • Art created by Muslim artisans (frequently for non-Muslim patrons: Mudejar art in Spain • 19th-century European Orientalist Art depicting an imaginary Middle East (based on 1001 Nights, etc.) • International modern art created by Muslims

Kaaba

• Earlier pagan structure • Reappropriated as the symbolic center of the Islamic world • Place were all Muslim prayer is directed • Ultimate destination of Islamic pilgrimage

Architectural Detail

• Elaborate surface decoration • Complex geometric designs & Arabesque • Emphasis on pattern and symmetry • Interplay of abstraction, organic form and script

Calligraphy

• Held in the highest esteem • Displayed on walls, books and art forms • Used to convey information • Used for purely for aesthetic purposes

Islamic art and the museum

• Major collections (Smithsonian/Sackler, Metropolitan) include everything made or used by Muslims as "Islamic art," but there is no equivalent category of "Christian art" • Why would Europeans/Americans consider religion as the basis for everything among Muslims?

Falnama

• Manuscripts containing a range of images, from planets and zodiac signs to the lives and deeds of Abrahmic and Islamic saints and prophets. • Recite certain prayers before opening the manuscript randomly to an image and its accompanying text. • Meant to aid a seeker in the process of making difficult decisions • Seekers were encouraged to emulate the ethical and moral behavior of the prophets and saints portrayed in the Falnama

Primary Styles

• Over 100 Styles of Calligraphic Writing • These are examples of the most common styles

Ban Against Figurative Art (in religious context)

• Produced universal forms Created a passion for abstraction in symmetrical, meditative geometry

Arabesque

• Style of decoration characterized by intertwining plants and abstract curvilinear motifs • Adapted by Muslim artisans about AD 1000 • Derived from the work of Hellenistic craftsmen working in Asia Minor • Highly formalized • For religious reasons, no birds, beasts, or human figures were included. • Became an essential part of the decorative tradition of Islamic cultures.

Islam

• Submission to God's will • Muslims are those who have submitted to God's will

Calligraphic Applications

• To Glorify & Beautify God's words • As a form of worship • As a spiritual activity • Aesthetic/Artistic value • Identity

Problems of Definition

• Where does the term "Islamic art" come from? • Possible meanings based on use and interpretation: - Beautiful objects used for sacred purposes (Qur'ans, mosques) = "sacred art" - Forms of design ("arabesque" floral designs, geometry, calligraphy) that some people consider symbolic of religious themes

Mohammad

•Muslims consider him to be the restorer of an uncorrupted original monotheistic faith.

Aniconism

•Practice or belief in the avoiding or shunning of images of divine beings. •Islam sees figurative art as a challenge to the omnipotence of God.