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About this product
Product Identifiers
PublisherBloomsbury Publishing
ISBN-101780765614
ISBN-139781780765617
eBay Product ID (ePID)150561404
Product Key Features
Book TitleArt and Architecture in the Islamic Tradition : Aesthetics, Politics and Desire in Early Islam
Number of Pages304 Pages
LanguageEnglish
Publication Year2013
TopicMiddle Eastern, Criticism & Theory, Buildings / Religious, Criticism, History / General
IllustratorYes
GenreArt, Architecture
AuthorMohammed Hamdouni Alami
FormatTrade Paperback
Dimensions
Item Height0.7 in
Item Weight14.9 Oz
Item Length8.3 in
Item Width5.4 in
Additional Product Features
Intended AudienceTrade
Dewey Edition23
Dewey Decimal726.2
Table Of ContentIntroduction Architecture and Meaning in the Theory of Al-Jahiz Architecture and Poetics Architecture and Myth Al-Jahiz in the Mosque at Damascus: Social Critique and Debate in the History of Umayyad Architecture Architecture and Desire Conclusion
SynopsisWhat is 'art' in the sense of the Islamic tradition? Mohammed Hamdouni Alami argues that Islamic art has historically been excluded from Western notions of art; that the Western aesthetic tradition's preoccupation with the human body, and the ban on the representation of the human body in Islam, has meant that Islamic and Western art have been perceived as inherently at odds. However, the move away from this 'anthropomorphic aesthetic' in Western art movements, such as modern abstract and constructivist painting, have presented the opportunity for new ways of viewing and evaluating Islamic art and architecture. This book questions the very idea of art predicated on the anthropocentric bias of classical art, and the corollary 'exclusion' of Islamic art from the status of art. It addresses a central question in post-classical aesthetic theory, in as much as the advent of modern abstract and constructivist painting have shown that art can be other than the representation of the human body; that art is not neutral aesthetic contemplation but it is fraught with power and violence; and that the presupposition of classical art was not a universal truth but the assumption of a specific cultural and historical set of practices and vocabularies. Based on close readings of classical Islamic literature, philosophy, poetry, medicine and theology, along with contemporary Western art theory, the author uncovers a specific Islamic theoretical vision of art and architecture based on poetic practice, politics, cosmology and desire. In particular it traces the effects of decoration and architectural planning on the human soul as well as the centrality of the gaze in this poetic view - in Arabic 'nazar'- while examining its surprising similarity to modern theories of the gaze. Through this double gesture, moving critically between two traditions, the author brings Islamic thought and aesthetics back into the realm of visibility, addressing the lack of recognition in comparison with other historical periods and traditions. This is an important step toward a critical analysis of the contemporary debate around the revival of Islamic architectural identity - a debate intricately embedded within opposing Islamic political and social projects throughout the world.
