Islamic Art Exhibit

 The Islamic exhibit was very interesting. It wasn't what I was expecting. I think I was expecting to see less artifacts and more 'art' but then as I went through I realized that a lot of the historical things I was viewing were art, especially to us. While a lot of the things to an Islamic person would have seemed completely every day, for us they were art. The images, sculptures and rugs spoke worlds about their culture and what was important to them. The religion in the culture is of course different from our BYU mormonism. There were many God's that were displayed on one of the walls. I think it said that there were 100s of different God's. However, there were also a lot of similarities. Family is very important to them. They are very concerned with adoring their God's. They have prayer rugs that they use when they pray. Religion is a huge part of our life just like it is in ours. Some of the religious things I saw in their artwork was the beautiful representations and symbols of their God's. Their artwork is a great representation of their adoration of their God's. I think a lot of the way they worship is through art and the symbols of their worship and the recited prayers (from the prayer rugs). In Christian art, there are typically just images of deity and of Bible stories we hold dear to our hearts. The geometry of the Islamic art was incredible. It talked about the circle and how it doesn't have a beginning or an end. The table cloths were also made into circles. Symbols are extremely important in the expression of reverence. Christians have symbols as well. Mormon's have a lot of symbols. All of these are used to attach remembrance of divinity to ordinary things. I think that most artists, myself included tend to stick to our own culture as a means of expression. I was actually thinking while I was in the exhibit about how beautiful everything was and wishing I understood more about it. I also remember thinking that I could take an idea from a different culture and introduce it to my own and it would seem new, exciting and different.