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Beauty Where It May Not Be Expected

© Gretchen Wms. Jurek

The New York Times, parts of it which I have chosen, arrives in my e-mail every day. Mostly, I have selected the arts, with a sprinkling of international news. No sports, no business. But the arts. Recently, an article by Holland Cotter helped me understand verbally what I have been feeling intuitively - that we here in the "west," have, for the most part, been ignorant of the vast realms of Islamic art and culture. For me, the article is thought-provoking from the start, given the writer's admission that s/he does not go to exhibits to be uplifted or assisted to heal or feel "better." I find that interesting.
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/07/arts/d...

This entire vastness of art was not so much as mentioned when I was in college, along with no Indian art, no art of the Philippines, nor Malaysia.

If nothing else positive comes of this entire debacle and horror of terrorist attacks and the U.S. bombings, one thing that rises above it all is our new spotlight on these cultures, their geography, and their arts. It is so different from other art forms with which we are familiar that it is almost like discovering an underground city filled with "new" art. But it covers entire nations, and is in museums and around mosques, throughout cities, in homes. We now have a chance to look at, to enjoy, to study these wonderful creations. The al-Qaeda and Taliban and other political fanatics have not, in their destruction and hatred, destroyed Islamic art. This link to the New York Times article will get you started. I think that now quite a few U.S. museums will be convinced to bring these pieces in and showcase them. I imagine that a lot of students will now major in Mid-Eastern studies, Islamic arts, calligraphy, the Koran, Arabic cultures and history. I repeat, this horrid, unimaginable destruction has uncovered for us new avenues to new beauty and creativity. I hope that these arts will help in the understanding and healing that must transpire among all of us in order for us to have a livable world.

I know that I, for one, will be looking for ways to learn more about all of this area of study where I am truly ignorant.

Besides, I love the flow of calligraphy.

By the way, there is an opening for a Contributing Editor in Islamic Art and Calligraphy. See "Become an Editor" here to the left.

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