What is it that makes ‘Islamic’ art ‘Islamic’? In this brief essay, the author explores what links art spanning 14 centuries, several continents, varying political regimes, internecine differences and cultural and ethnic boundaries.
The Language of Art
A picture, it is often claimed, can speak a thousand words. By that logic, objets d’artshould be very talkative indeed. Yet time after time we find ourselves amid paintings, crafts and sculpture that speak a language we don’t quite understand. Their beauty or ambience may delight the eye or spirit, but leave the mind or intellect unsatisfied. A common response is to insist that ‘art’ is all ‘heart’ — and leave it at that.
via Beyond the exotic – the pleasures of ‘Islamic’ Art ::Islamic Arts and Architecture.
Ismailimail 