I know a little about islamic art, what would you like to know. I am not an expert. I do know that they do not paint or represent the human form in any way. They do calligraphy and pattern. It is going against the literal nature of the Qur'an to represent the human form, therefore they choose to stick to the written form mostly. This is done several ways. Pattern is used to represent the infinite nature of God, it is used on building interiors and sometimes on pieces of art alone. Many westerners find this type of repetitive art uninteresting, because we are not used to seeing something without a main focal point, like a figure. The other type of islamic art used is calligraphy. This can span from beautiful long strokes of colorful bands of just one word to whole paragraphs of the Qur'an. This is the most popular art form in islam.
I am interested in religious art too. If you have any specific questions please ask. I am happy to do my best to try to answer. I hope this helps a little. I know more about Islamic art but I have to get to school.
Cheers.
15 Feb 2009, 3:51 pm
