Islamic Art Exhibit

Last year I had a friend who is from the Islamic part of the world. He attends BYU because his uncle and aunt did and testified that BYU is a great university to attend. They also said that this university would be a safe place for him to be. As such he traveled for countless hours to the United States for an education. When he found out that the Islamic art exhibit would be here he was one of the first to view the exhibit. His excitement to the exhibit opened my eyes to the reality that this exhibit is a piece of his culture and as such I had a peaked interest in attending the exhibit.

I really loved going through the MOA. What felt foreign to me was all the calligraphy. Islamic art tends to use words as art whereas a lot of art outside of Islamic art is done with images that bring words to mind. Also, the use of images within images was presented and that was also foreign. I loved how sometimes you had to step back and take a look at the full picture and sometimes you had to step closer to see the little details. However, most of the time, you had to keep twelve inches away from the artwork. I know that because a security guard had to advise me not to be so close to the artwork, silly me. What felt very familiar was the belief of God which was advocated in all its pieces of art, whether it be through calligraphy, symbols, carpets, or doors. Everything that was exhibited was representative of God. This was familiar to me since we believe that everything we do should glorify our Father in Heaven.

By glorifying God through art in the Islamic faith it is the same as Christian art. However what makes it different is that Islamic art uses for geometry and patterns. Christian art uses more images of the life of Christ. These images include Christ, colors, and a definite image. Islamic art uses simple shapes and sizes. This can be an expression of reverence by not exploiting the image of God.