Tag: Art
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Art Curation in South Africa
Aaliyah Ahmed, Head Curator at Our Cape Town Heritage, discusses her background in art curatorship and the functions of curators in museums and galleries. She highlights the impact of curatorial practices on Islamic history in South Africa post-Apartheid and emphasizes the need for authentic faith-based narratives in contemporary art spaces, advocating for a deeper understanding…
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An Introduction to Arabic Calligraphy: Q&A with Ihsan Design Studio
Zahra Abdulameer, founder of Ihsan Design Studio, discusses her journey in Arabic calligraphy, as both an art and science taught from master to student. Based in Dearborn, Michigan, she strives to create meaningful art that honors tradition while embracing innovation. Her practice reflects sincerity, excellence, and a connection to the Qur’an.
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Beyond Function: Art in the Muslim Community
If you’ve ever visited an art museum with a gallery devoted to Islamic art, you probably saw many commonplace objects behind glass. Things like vases, plates, incense holders, and ink pots can be found in these galleries, adorned with intricate patterns and calligraphy. For the modern-day viewer, a question may arise when examining these highly…
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Symbolism and Spirituality of the Turkic Carpet
The tropes of rug design can be observed in traditional Turkish and Turkic inspired prayer mats: borders enclosing labyrinthine floral patterns and vegetation can be equated to Paradise, the ultimate abode shielded from the vicissitudes of life, saturated with greenery and lusciousness. The sustained stylistic usage of flowers infuses them with spiritual lustre, signifying fertility and…
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The Artist and the Nafs in Modernity
This epitomizes the phenomena of the modern artist, marketing themselves as a part of the art, rendering the art and its meaning as secondary. The commercialization of art and the aggrandization of the self become imperative in propelling the artist’s quest for financial gain. In essence, art is now judged on its ability to be…
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Towards An Islamic Theory of Culture Part I: On Culture & The West
While the term “cultural studies” would not emerge as a distinguished academic discipline until the 1960s (with the establishment of the Centre for Cultural Studies in Birmingham), culture as an aspect of social life was first given serious consideration in the nineteenth century. During this period, many of the thinkers occupying the academic sphere of…
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Paranoia of Islam in Literary Orientalism
As Islamophobia pervades the world, invading minds and infecting intellect, Muslims have arisen as a target for collective crucifixion and condemnation. It’s a tradition of hate with a hoary past, the complexities of which can be navigated through a sustained investment in critical thinking. Amidst the tumult of the Lebanese Civil War and the Iranian Revolution,…
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Art as a Reflection of Civilization
“Islamic art” is broadly understood as all the arts that have been produced in the Muslim world. However, it does not simply denote the crafts of Muslim patrons.