Reflections 10 - The Islamic galleries
I'm not a complete newcomer to Islamic art, so perhaps my experience in these galleries is less revelatory than it might be to someone else. I expected to be impressed by the multiplicity and complexity and harmony of the various designs - the way in which geometric and floral forms work together - and I was. But three aspects of the works on display have especially caught my attention.
First, they speak to the enormous expanse in time and geography - and the wealth - of the Islamic world. I suppose the same might be said of the works in the Chinese galleries and the Medieval galleries. But when you see objects that come from Spain and Morocco and Syria and Turkey and Iran and Turkmenistan, that reality hits home.
Second, the galleries make me realize how little I know about the history of these countries. And if I know so little, most Americans, I dare say, know even less. Given the importance of this area to world peace, this ignorance is really shameful.
Finally, although I knew that calligraphy - especially passages from the Qu'ran and other moralizing texts - was important to Islamic art, I don't think I realized just how important. It was striking to see it integrated into so many different media - architecture, ceramics, painting, weaving, etc. I remember many years ago I saw an exhibit at the New York Public Library called something like "Peoples of the Books," which showed scriptures and texts sacred to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The premise of the show - very PC and not at all subtle, as I recall - was that all three religions are united in revering the word of God, so we should all be more tolerant of each other. The objects on display at the Met are not so "preachy," but they support the idea that the god of Islam is not so very different from that of the other faiths.
First, they speak to the enormous expanse in time and geography - and the wealth - of the Islamic world. I suppose the same might be said of the works in the Chinese galleries and the Medieval galleries. But when you see objects that come from Spain and Morocco and Syria and Turkey and Iran and Turkmenistan, that reality hits home.
Second, the galleries make me realize how little I know about the history of these countries. And if I know so little, most Americans, I dare say, know even less. Given the importance of this area to world peace, this ignorance is really shameful.
Finally, although I knew that calligraphy - especially passages from the Qu'ran and other moralizing texts - was important to Islamic art, I don't think I realized just how important. It was striking to see it integrated into so many different media - architecture, ceramics, painting, weaving, etc. I remember many years ago I saw an exhibit at the New York Public Library called something like "Peoples of the Books," which showed scriptures and texts sacred to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The premise of the show - very PC and not at all subtle, as I recall - was that all three religions are united in revering the word of God, so we should all be more tolerant of each other. The objects on display at the Met are not so "preachy," but they support the idea that the god of Islam is not so very different from that of the other faiths.
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