Thursday, March 1, 2012

A Simple Beauty


I was really excited that this was our assignment for this week because from the beginning of the semester I have been walking through the MOA wondering what they were building and why.  My first response to the exhibit was that there was a lot of Qur’an’s and I thought that was really interesting.  I’ve never really Bibles in an art museum before and I just thought that was so interesting that they would create artwork around their most sacred book.  It made me think that I should be doing that to my scriptures.  I think creating beauty around their scriptures is so amazing and they honor this book with beauty and why shouldn’t we do that with out scriptures?  It’s shows how much they appreciate this book.
 I really loved going and visiting the exhibit and seeing the amazing artwork, most of my life I have seen European artwork and Islamic artwork is nothing like European artwork.  It’s so beautiful in its own way; bring out the beauty in the simplest bowl or rug.  In most artwork made in Italy or Paris it’s a painting or a sculpture of people or a landscape, there isn’t any bowls or scissors or rugs that were considered art and put in a museum.  But I really like that these pieces were put in the show because they are beautiful and unique and amazing.  I think that I really learned something about what I consider art and what my creative tendencies are.  I was going through this exhibit and just marveling at the bowls and the rugs and the scrolls that were in this show.  They are just bowls, someone could have eaten out of that thing but that doesn’t make it any less beautiful because it really is amazing.  I also really like the scissors the show, they were a bird but it was a pair of scissors, which is amazing that something so simple is really stunning.   I think this shows that I love everyday things that can be beautiful and can be made to be marveled at.  

3 comments:

  1. You brought up a really interesting point about how much Muslim artists must value Islamic scriptures; I had never really considered that contrast between the West and the Islamic world. I've seen plenty of old Bibles in history museums and such, but I can't think of a time I ever saw a Bible in an art exhibit. It makes a lot of sense that the most important book in Islam would receive a lot of focus in their art. Plus, if the art is meant to glorify God, then what better way to make sure it is readily available to help inspire viewers than to adorn the scriptures with it? That was a cool observation, Jacy.

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  2. I was excited that this was our assignment as well. I always learn so much and love going through the exhibits in the MOA, but for some reason I never get around to it unless it is an assignment. And I was just as amazed as you were about the ordinary things being made so beautiful. Wouldn’t it be cool if we had scissors that were handmade to look like birds? I’d buy a pair.

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  3. I liked what you said about something as simple as a rug or a pair of scissors being turned into a piece of art. I think that in the Islamic world, those small and simple works of art are part of a larger expression of their culture. It's interesting that such detail would be put into something so small and seemingly insignificant - but doesn't the intricate and delicate design make it so much more meaningful? I certainly think so, and I sometimes wish we as Americans could take as much time to make the little things important.

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