My interest in art did not begin with a crush on Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. Although Michelangelo’s David, Monet’s Lily Pond, Picaso’s Guernica, and others are impressive, fine arts and I were like red and violet – spectrum apart. Like millions of Americans, I struggled with museum art. I felt as if I needed a PhD in art to appreciate it. I have always thought that art is supposed to be aesthetic and inspirational, not irrelevant and lifeless objects locked in a cold museum.
Although finest handymen of Islamic calligraphy are obscure names, Ibn Muqlah, Ibn al-Bawwab, Hafiz Osman, Ismail Gulgee have all earned a distinction in Islamic arts. The magnificence of their craftsmanship is displayed in museums all over the world. They represent diversity of regions, artistic expressions, epochs, styles, cultures, yet uniquely relevant to the Islamic traditions.
As Pablo Picasso mentioned “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up”, I picked up art in spite of museum culture. Fortunately, during graduate school I dabbled my way into reading different styles of Islamic arts. In Islamic arts, specifically Arabic calligraphy, I discovered an intertwining of art and ethics. The ethical dimension related to Islamic art is often depicted in a religious context. For example, Prophet Muhammad’s sentiments “God is Beautiful and He loves beauty” is illustrated in elegant styles and curvilinear patterns by master calligraphers. The name of artist may not be prominently displayed in any of the works but the name of God often bears testimony to a faith based culture.
Islamic art consists of diverse fields and time periods. Generally, Islamic art is referred to a collage of masterpieces produced in the Muslim world. The fields incorporate architecture, calligraphy, arabesque, pottery, paintings, sculptures, tiles, metallurgy, ceramics and many other categories.
Interestingly, Prophet Muhammad described God with 99 beautiful divine attributes and one of these unique names is Al-Musawwir, the one who arranges forms and hues of creation, and who is the shaper of majestic beauty. Musawwir in Arabic is also commonly used for an artist – the one who shapes, colors, and captures beautify. The world is seen as artistry of God.
Unlike the modern museum culture, mosque was a focal point of art exhibition in the Muslim world. The plush carpets were embroided with details of fruits and gardens of Paradise. The geometric patterns glistened on tiles and ceramics. The architecture was almost always local but borrowed its blue print prayer niche, pulpit, prayer rows, and space for women and children from the mosque of the Prophet Muhammad. Like early monasteries, mosques would store masterpieces of illustrious calligraphic Qur’ans. The book-binding and arabesque arts evolved into embellishing and ornamenting the divine words. The central mosques were also civic centers and often stored great collection of books on many subjects. The walls of mosques were often decorated with picturesque scenes to inspire paradise, paintings of gardens and calligraphy from the Quran. The mosques opened up to the marketplace where house décor and collectibles were displayed in the open. All these artifacts were ensemble in a mosque or its proximity for an awe inspiring experience to the believers.
History & Culture
Like all places, art found a distinct place amongst Muslim aristocrats. The Umayyads, Abbasids, Mamluks, Mughals, Ottomans and Safavids have literally left treasure troves of Islamic art from Spain to China. Each area of the Islamic world has regional flavor. For example, mosques in China and Turkey are very different in their style of architecture. Chinese mosques are not identified with large thin pencil-like minarets and round domes that are often a common site in the Middle East. Traditionally, Chinese mosques resemble pagodas found in other East Asian countries. Even Arabic calligraphy found in these mosques resembles regional Chinese calligraphy. Yet, every mosque in China and other parts of the world is aligned toward the Holy City of Makkah for prayer direction.
Arguably the most spectacular of Islamic art is displayed in the Dome of the Rock (692) in Palestine, the Taj Mahal (1652) in India, and Selimiye Mosque (1574) in Turkey. In the Innocents Abroad Mark Twain mentions the Dome of Rock, “The inside of the great mosque is very showy with variegated marble walls and with windows and inscriptions of elaborate mosaic”. The golden dome, octagonal structure, mosaic of calligraphy and marble in a green courtyard gives an awe-inspiring experience. The Taj Mahal or Crown Palace is a mausoleum built by Mughal emperor Shah Jehan in memory of his wife. It is a synthesis of Indian and Persian architecture adorn with white marble, multi-chambered cube, vaulted archways, arched balconies, central onion dome, four cylindrical minarets, embellished with precious stone inlays, carvings, stucco, and verses from the Quran. The Taj Mahal is considered the finest of Indian and Persian art.
The Selimye Mosque is an Ottoman magnum opus, an amalgamation of colleges, hospital, library, public baths, hospices, and markets – a city within a city. The interior is dominated by seemingly hovering dome, gigantic chandelier, colorful mosaics, spacious display of windows and semi-circular arches, decorated with floral patterns and enormous calligraphy. The display of these arty grandeur and opulence has turned every cynic into a believer.
These architectural monuments and wonders of the world are a collection of history and art that stand frozen in time. My interest in modern Islamic art is rooted in a historical context of faith and ethics. Like the great works of the past and present, beauty separates great wonders from ordinary names. I hope to continue my effort and present work of beauty and bliss of the past to future generations.