In our post-9/11 world, a greater understanding across cultures is more important than ever before, yet the purpose of this program is not simply to provide political or historical context. ... Read allIn our post-9/11 world, a greater understanding across cultures is more important than ever before, yet the purpose of this program is not simply to provide political or historical context. Rather it is to explore and celebrate the great richness of Islamic art and architecture t... Read allIn our post-9/11 world, a greater understanding across cultures is more important than ever before, yet the purpose of this program is not simply to provide political or historical context. Rather it is to explore and celebrate the great richness of Islamic art and architecture throughout the world to peer into extraordinary palaces and mosques, decorated with exquisi... Read all
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The film by Robert Gardner is about the Islamic art as a reflection of the historical development of the religion Islam. In 7th century during the mutual wars between Byzantium and Persian empires the tribes of Arabia began the greatest revolutions and become united in the new faith of Islam that spread across Mediterranean Sea to all around the world. The beginning of the Islamic religion, the context and people involved in its history are mirrored by the Islamic art which shows its importance. The film uses the word, space, ornament, color and water as the main themes to explore the Islamic art. It is totally different from the previous movies in terms of the colorful modern style shooting. It also has more of explanatory and narrative characteristic without any actors. Even though the historical films might be boring for some people, the colorful and golden Islamic Art depicted in the film make it attractive for viewers. This paper will argue that the Islamic art is not simply about elegance and beauty that has to be appreciated but it is the mirror of the historical changes, experience of people through which the religion Islam has evolved and constructed that separates Islamic culture from other religions. One of the first features of the Islamic art that reflects the history of the religion is the word. In Muslim tradition, Islam began when Allah sent Koran (the word of the God) to Prophet Muhammad in 610. The God's gift in Islam is Koran and that is why the writing becomes central feature in Islam which shows the importance of the word of God for Muslims. The Koran became the focus of devotion as well as the focus of Art. It can be seen that in many dishes, plates, ceramic objects, architectural buildings in which they use words in Arabic language, especially the name of Allah and the Prophet Muhammad. One of the famous buildings is Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem which is believed as a sacred place from which the Prophet Muhammad prayed with other prophets as Abraham, Moses and Jesus (6min15sec). The Arabic inscriptions inside the shrine make the building uniquely Islamic which constantly emphasize the oneness of the God that differentiates it from the Christianity. However, Berkey (2003) argues that "they display minor variations from the received text" which means that the inscriptions do not reveal any accounts about the form in which they historically appeared in that time (p.59). It shows that the Islamic art can be served as a basis for the ongoing debate on the origins of Islam. Therefore, the artistic production is not made for admiration but also to show the cultural and historical messages to the viewers. Another type of building of the Islamic art is a mosque which is known as the praying place for Muslim society. The importance of mosque is that humans allowed to have their own experience with God for which we need space. One of the most unique religious mosques mentioned in the film is the Great Mosque of Djenne. Historically, it was built in the 13th century by King Koi Konboro who decided to build a place for a Muslim worship. The outside of the building comes from west-African tradition but the inside has all the elements of Muslim tradition. The roof of the building supported by 99 columns which correspond to 99 names of God. It also shows how diverse the Islamic architectural world is. The small windows on the walls allow the natural light to reach the hall which is much different from the light outside the building. The light can be interpreted as the religious enlightenment that can be achieved only through effort to enhance religious faith during the life path. It also corresponds to Berkey's (2003) discussion of Islam that "the Koranic verses favor ties of faith and the primacy of the bonds of personal commitment to the faith group" (p.67). The largeness of the building is a symbol of how large the world is and how small we are as people, which also corresponds to Islamic understanding of the human being that we are slaves of God. The greatness of the mosque does not only show how attractive it is for people but it is a culturally unique and it shows how individuals perceive the place they pray. This kind of older buildings are mostly build with conventional raw materials without any decorations but later the development of architecture shows the involvement of ornaments, colors and nature in the Islamic art. One of the greatest examples that involve all of these three elements is a textile industry. The textiles as carpets were used to depict images of the great rulers as well as nature that was a symbol of abundance and also Islamic words. The depiction of nature includes the images of natural creatures as flowers and "the different stages of their birth and death", which also suggests about non-eternity of present life mentioned in Koran but it is important to note that Muslims were always against idolatry so they did not use images to pray (47min41sec). It was also said by God in Koran that "to know me, know my creations" which also emphasizes the reason why the nature was involved in art. The nature is not just about creatures but also about abundance of color which also become the branch of industry that evolved the Islamic art. One of the examples is metal work and combination of different metals to get various colors show that people did bother about it. It can be seen from the Blue Mosque Masjet Kabood in Tabriz which adopted glazing technique which helped to paint directly on the surface of tile. The mosque is designed not only with beautifully inscribed Arabic words but with ornaments of flowers. The astonishing beauty of the surface of the building could be criticized because the mosques are meant to pray not to admire. However, this shows that time-to-time architects developed different techniques to develop design of the Islamic art. The nature involves not only colors but also water which is considered to be a symbol of life. It is useful to mention the important verse from Koran that "God has made everything alive through water." This shows that water is perceived as an essential to day-to-day human life but also for the Islamic art in making the vessels to carry water. These vessels were used to provide cleanness in terms of cleaning hands before meal or even cleaning the body before praying. It also had value in architecture which can be seen from the Palace of Chehel Sotoun which was surrounded by the waters of the fountain. The palace is also called the palace of forty columns but there are only twenty woolen columns supporting the building which are doubled by being reflected on the body of water. It shows that water excited imagination of viewers and added some inventiveness to the Islamic art. All of this analysis of word, place, ornament, color and water in the Islamic art shows that it can be admiring and delightful for all people not only the religious ones. Everyone can find something attractive and close to their soul from all of these masterpieces. However, as it can be seen from this paper that the Islamic art is not only about beauty but it underlines the historical and cultural basis. The five themes are included in the art in order to show its historical development as people began to implement their knowledge about word, place ornament, color and water in the art. Overall, the film represents the complexity of the Islamic art because it reflects the cultural and historical background and factual information behind it.
References:
Berkey, Jonathan. (2003). The Formation of Islam: Religion and Society in the Near East, 600-1800. New York: Cambridge University Press, p. 57-70.
- ainurtemirbolat
- Mar 25, 2020
Details
- Runtime1 hour 30 minutes
- Color