To the Muslim artist, the goal is not to replicate nature in its physical form. Rather, it is to convey what it represents spiritually. Forms such as sculpture and painting, the two most important mediums in Western art, have less importance to the Islamic artist. They are more likely to favor textiles, ceramics, metal wares, and glass.
Islamic art shuns the depiction of deities, human beings, and animals because of the belief that God alone creates living beings. Iconoclasm, which is the destruction or avoidance of icons, is a part of Islamic religious art. It has been a motivational force for the creation of stylized forms.
Stylized human or animal forms and figural motifs are seen regularly as surface ornamentation for architecture or objects such as books and book bindings. These figural-based designs are made of colorful, geometric patterns known as “arabesques,” a word meaning “in the Arab style.” As these patterns seem to have no beginning or end, they are used to represent the beginning-less and end-less nature of life.
Another canvas Islamic artists commonly used was textiles. These colorful composites were made primarily of wool, cotton, linen, and silk. A design or pattern could be woven into the textile material and transported anywhere as it folded easily and did not break. As they were woven on a loom, the nature of the designs and colors lent themselves to the creation of multiple originals that could be disseminated throughout the land.
Religious Islamic art values essence and meaning above physical representation. Stylized interpretations of the sacred are both practical and beautiful, seeking to fulfill religious inspiration and necessities of the faith. Not all Islamic art is religious, however, and secular examples do not shun physical forms. All inspiration is worthy of expression, whether physical or spiritual.
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