Photography
Here I have in mind two things: First, the mystical dimension of the ayat: that all creation is a ‘sign’ of God that refers to God’s grandeur, and the many poets who describe nature in this way. Second, and moreso, I think of Gülru Necipoğlu’s book, The Topkapi Scroll–Geometry and Ornament in Islamic Architecture. In her discourse on the geometric ‘arabesque,’ she systematically refutes prevailing Western interpretations of architectural and decorative arts that import a methodological framework so as to fragment, appropriate, ‘other’, and dismiss the art of the Islamic East (66). Her survey is rigorous and critical, finding much to be desired from studies “characterized by sweeping generalizations unsubstantiated by concrete data” (80). She wants to honor the multiplicity of artistic forms, in their cultural contexts, and both avoid and point out essentialism on the part of scholars.
I tend to be more aligned with Seyyed Hossein Nasr (who I got to portray in our section debate!), insofar as I do think there is an underlying spiritual unity to the multiplicity of artistic forms, and that this stems from the inner life of each individual connecting, through the creative act, to a shared and ultimate source. However, I think that Necipoğlu actually does a better job of illustrating the multiplicity of which that beauty is comprised, through her detailed analysis. I was struck by Al-Faruqi’s description in particular, of the arabesque as a representation of God’s infinity. To him, far from being contentless, it seeks an aesthetic of inexpressibility: derived from and pointing toward the transcendent (76).
In this photograph, I attempted to depict the conversation about artistry with an assemblage of patterns: some human, some divine. The tree is overgrowing the wall and cracking the tiles in the sidewalk. My point is, first, that there are many patterns and one God. But while the world is marked by a combination of divine and human handiwork, ultimately it is God’s artistry that is lasting. As we debate back and forth about meaning and craft, the tree just grows and grows.