Art History Guide

Art tends to mirror cultures to a degree. When it comes to Islamic Art, this is definitely the case. Cultural and religious values are obviously a strong part of any art that has come out of the Islamic worlds. Reality tends to always center around God with their work. A very interesting aspect of Islamic art is the highly detailed calligraphy that is part of nearly every work of art throughout their history.

Qur’an stand, A.H. Dhu al-Hijja 761/October–November 1360 A.D.
Made by Hasan ibn Sulaiman al-Isfahani
Probably Iran or perhaps Central Asia
Wood, carved and inlaid; 16 1/8 x 51 1/4 in. (41 x 130.2 cm)
Rogers Fund, 1910 (10.218)

Calligraphy is the most highly regarded and most fundamental element of Islamic art. It is significant that the Qur’an, the book of God’s revelations to the Prophet Muhammad, was transmitted in Arabic, and that inherent within the Arabic script is the potential for developing a variety of ornamental forms. The employment of calligraphy as ornament had a definite aesthetic appeal but often also included an underlying talismanic component. While most works of art had legible inscriptions, not all Muslims would have been able to read them. One should always keep in mind, however, that calligraphy is principally a means to transmit a text, albeit in a decorative form.

Objects from different periods and regions vary in the use of calligraphy in their overall design, demonstrating the creative possibilities of calligraphy as ornament. In some cases, calligraphy is the dominant element in the decoration. In these examples, the artist exploits the inherent possibilities of the Arabic script to create writing as ornament. An entire word can give the impression of random brushstrokes, or a single letter can develop into a decorative knot. In other cases, highly esteemed calligraphic works on paper are themselves ornamented and enhanced by their decorative frames or backgrounds. Calligraphy can also become part of an overall ornamental program, clearly separated from the rest of the decoration. In some examples, calligraphy can be combined with vegetal scrolls on the same surface though often on different levels, creating an interplay of decorative elements.

[Via metmuseum.org]

calligraphy, islamic art, art history

“By the time Robert Rauschenberg completed the first of his Cardboards in 1971, he had already been breaking ground as an artist for twenty years. He first gained international acclaim in 1958 when he exhibited twenty of his Combines at the Leo Castelli Gallery in New York City.â€?

This is how the programme reads for the retrospective exhibition of ‘Cardboard Combines’ which are on exhibition at The Menil Collection. Cardboards and Related Pieces, at The Menil collection is on view through May 13th; so if you haven’t yet seen this wonderful exhibition then I strongly suggest you go. It was much better for me, as an artist, to forgo looking at the works during the opening hoopla and come back to experience the works on a personal and intimate level. Once you see these works I am certain you will instantly come to know what I mean in regard to a personal and intimate experience with the works.

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I would like to thank 451 Press for sending me over to rescue arthistoryguide.net

I currently am a writer/editor for 1PStart.com

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Currently, I work as a freelance visual artist. My primary interests are in graphic design, photography and mixed media. Art and art history have been a passion of mine for as long as I can remember. I hope to bring back some life to this blog and encourage readers to learn more about art and artists from the past, present and future. After all what’s happening today in art is already part of history tomorrow. I have an interesting article from Houston based artist Dune-Micheli Patten headed your way in the morning. Please enjoy!

Below are some photos of Dune-Micheli Patten:

Imhotep was an Egyptian priest who became the chief architect for the Third Dynasty Pharaoh, Djoser. Imhotep was an extremely talented man who was well known for his wisdom in practical matters and also his wealth of knowledge in the field of health and well being of human individuals. It was said that he could extract medicine from plants and herbs and would treat common ailments such as arthritis and appendicitis with these home brewed medications.

One of his greatest achievements was the first structural monument to be made from cut stone. He designed and oversaw the building of the tomb of Pharaoh Djoser, a complex containg the first pyramid ever at Saqqara

The pyramid rises out of the Egyptian desert not unlike the more famous ones one in Giza In fact the Saqqarra pyramid predates these master works by a thousand years. In gradual measure the pyramid rises to 197 feet by 6 steps made of limestone and clay

The step pyramid is the centerpiece of a large complex that, in it’s day, was surrounded by a 37 foot high wall

In the 1999 movie “The Mummy”, an Egyptian priest named Imhotep was introduced to unsuspecting movie watchers as his transmogrification into a God was almost completed save for the heroics of an American mercenary played by Brendan Frasier. The truth of Imhotep’s real life is more fascinating than the movie script reveals.
Imhotep lived between 3000 and 2000 years before Christ and is known by some as the “Father of Medicine”
His most important achievment in my mind is his creation of building in stone. He was the first architect to use cut stone in a step pattern to build a pryamid.

What is Art? Where does creativity come from? What is beauty? Such difficult questions. These questions have been debated for centuries. Everyone wants to weigh in on the activity of Art but it is very difficult to define Art. In my own mind, I believe that Art is a function of expression and a representation of beauty. The great literary artist Leo Tolstoy was a well-known proponent of the expression theory. He supposed that an artist feels an emotion; then after recreating the feeling or emotion in himself, he attempts to create a work that conveys that emotion or feeling to others who are observing the work. If the feeling is not conveyed or transferred then the artwork fails. Looking at Art from this perspective seems to reduce Art to merely a means of communication. This perspective is limited and narrow in scope, but it is also much too all encompassing. The main argument against this theory is that it would include things not traditionally regarded as art, and excludes things that have been considered great works of art for centuries.
Surely Art IS a means of communication, but Art communicates something deeper than just feelings. It conveys, without words, comprehension of the artist’s state of mind. His inner state of being is revealed through the artwork. This, I believe, is the true aim of Art. It must be intentional. It is an intentional act designed to transfer emotional content and to elicit a emotional response from the observer.

Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund

April 16, 2007, will be remembered as one of the darkest days in the history of the Virginia Tech community and the world beyond.

To remember and honor the victims of those tragic events, the university has established the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund to aid in the healing process and generate financial support.

The fund will be used to cover expenses including but not limited to:

• Grief counseling
• Memorials
• Communication expenses
• Comfort expenses
• Incidental needs

If you plan to give, please click the link below:

This week there occurred a tragic event that has struck many people and caused shock, and pain, and has injected fear and worry into the community, the nation, and the world. The shooting at Virginia Tech is the worst mass murder on a college campus ever. It will reverberate for many years.
Why? Why did this happen?
There has been much said about mass murder and violence. Books have been written and cases have been studied but there are no easy answers. Some say it is a psychiatric problem, others say it is a problem of society and a symptom of it’s ills. There is no reason. It was senseless. It is my belief that Art can be a comfort in this time of sorrow.

The Creation of Adam.

Michelangelo painted this in the earlier 1500’s on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. His depiction of God reaching down from heaven and instilling life into Adam is a most comforting image. It shows us the mindset of the people of the early church. God is shown as a gentle elder surrounded by cherubs, in a space that seems to be outside the realm of reality, like a rip in the fabric of space and time. This convey a sense of purpose for the man Adam.

Although I am not a religious man, this painting, technically a fresco gives me a sense of calm, knowing that this painter created a great work of Art that has survived for centuries and has astonished people down through the ages. Michelangelo surely worked despite tragedy in his life at his time in society.

Do not despair. Life is full of senseless tragedy, but if we can learn to channel that fury, that anger at an unknowable universe, into Art and creation, this could be a much different world.

What is Inspiration?

“Inspirations never go in for long engagements; they demand immediate marriage to action.” -Brendan Francis Behan

When inspiration strikes you, do not delay in turning ideas into reality. Your dream will come when you put to work the strength of your mind, your senses, your back. It is easy to procrastinate and put off but that just makes getting started even harder. Inspiration will not linger while you hem and haw.

“We should be taught not to wait for inspiration to start a thing. Action always generates inspiration. Inspiration seldom generates action.”
-Frank Tibolt

Action is ideas in motion. Creative facilities are contingent upon the ability to construct what the mind has envisioned. This works in all mediums. If inspiration is not felt, work anyway. It might be that the next spark will occur as you put paint to brush or pen to paper. It might not but odds are that if you are engaged in the act of creation, something is already working in a deeper way. Inspiration occurs on a deeper level like the act of creation.

” An idea not coupled with action will never get any bigger than the brain cell it occupied. “ -Arnold H. Glasow

Physics demands this. I believe that there are eternally huge spaces contained within your brain cells and it is beyond what we think we know. We have not the power to recreate easily what our minds can easily perceive.

“Write while the heat is in you. The writer who postpones the recording of his thoughts uses an iron which has cooled to burn a hole with. He cannot inflame the minds of his audience.” -Henry David Thoreau

All these quotes stress the action of doing. This is where inspiration comes from. To wait and make a note to do something when the time to work is just at that point, where you want to put it down and quit. You will be inspired, you will be motivated, you will be an artist.

The man considered to be the master of conceptual art and the founder of the minimalist art style, has passed away. Sol Lewitt died from complications from cancer on Sunday, April 8, 2007. He was 78 years old and had been living in Chester, Conn for the past two decades.
Some of Lewitt’s contributions to the art world include a series of dynamic wall paintings that were considered “conceptual” because the painting itself was of less importance than the “idea” of the artwork. To Sol, the essence of art is not in the work but in the original idea as formulated by the artist.
Much of Lewitt’s work was structural as opposed to sculptural.

His prolific two and three-dimensional work ranges from Wall Drawings, over 1200 of which have been completed, to photographs and hundreds of works on paper. Some of the most dramatic pieces includes structures in the form of towers, pyramids, and geometric forms.


This example is one from a collection of engravings done in black and white done in 1999 a tribute to his contributions even into his 70’s..