Islamic Art Exhibit

    Going to the Islamic Art Exhibit was really quite neat. Honestly, I have never actually been to an exhibit at the MOA, even though I eat lunch at the cafe there nearly every day. One of my flatmates has taken Arabic here at BYU, and is minoring in Middle Eastern Studies. As a result, I have hear more about that region of the world, and have come appreciate it more than I would otherwise. Needless to say, I was looking forward to seeing the exhibit so that we would be able to talk about it and she would be able to enlighten me further.
    Overall, I thought the exhibit was really well done; I was surprised at how enjoyable it was and how quickly time went by (though I had only a short 30 minutes to spend there). Compared to art in Western civilizations, Islamic art is vastly different. It was interesting to see how many pieces incorporated either letters of their alphabet, or figures that were similar to the alphabet. I though this was particularly interesting because, in Western art, we tend to focus on either landscapes or people, etc. With Islamic art, their characters are so beautiful that they can, and frequently do, use it to create amazing artwork. However, In more earlier years of Western culture, letters could be very stylized, so in some ways, it really was not too different than how Western ark used to be.
    Furthermore, I was surprised to see how many artifacts were religiously carved or drawn. I suppose that by doing this, they kept their faith at the forefront of their minds and had a constant awareness of the devotion to the religion. This devotion was, and is, so important to them, that they placed it wherever they could. Although Christian art is manifest by means other than just paintings, the Islamic people seem to be more keen on putting religious symbols or depictions on every day items than Christians.
    Even though I have been way more exposed to Western art, I found the style (geometry and pattern) of the Islamic art to be absolutely gorgeous. In fact--especially in regards to the patterns that were connected, or seemed to tie together--I felt a sense of grander and wonder when observing these relics, almost as if they were representing the eternal nature of God and time. I think that it is possible that this is the actual purpose of such designs, and that they are so precise because of the devotion and reverence that the Islamic people have for Deity.
    After visiting the exhibit, I learned that I can appreciate things, that may seem a bit obscure to me at first, once I get a sense of where the creators were coming from. I love variety in creativity, too. The artists whose work I observed inspired me to pay close attention to details because that is where a lot of beauty can be found.