Akunna Iheduru

This piece is in response to the text entitled “Misconceptions on the Nature of Islamic Art” by Ismail R. Al-Faruqi. Al-Faruqi critiqued many Western views of Islamic art which he felt were inaccurate or unfair representations of the true nature of art in a Muslim context. He counters the Western view of arabesque as “anti-natural” in comparison to previous European (Hellenic) forms of arabesque.

To me, the ultimate message of arabesque art is the complexity and interconnectedness of Islam as a faith. The repetition of particular symbols or images of foliage stress their significance in a way that is far from monotonous. The Qu’ran is oftern viewed as the prime expression of art to Muslims, so arabesque depictions of Quranic verses are quite common on artwork as well as interior decor for Mosques and other places of worship. Al-Faruqi also mentions the fact that the “ornamental decoration” composed of both arabesque foliage designs and Arabic calligraphy may have been preferred to historical Muslims, who shied away from extravagant displays of art when related to Islam.

I liked the beauty and meticulousness of the arabesque designs, so I decided to create a small piece of art that depicted it on a smaller scale. I arranged cutouts made from glitter-embossed paper in a style which is reminiscent of arabesque. Since arabesque desings are usually intended to illustrate some aspect of Islam, I chose to arrange the cutouts in the Arabic script for Allah. The calligraphy is quite interpretive, as most calligraphy tends to be.