This is Civilisation

This channel 4 programme was the fourth in a series, very plesent to watch, great overview of modern artart. 

DVD Islamic Art at the V&A

This DVD gives an insite into how much time, planning and scope of detailed thought requierd by curators when they plan a new exhibition.  It also made me aware of the types of exhibitions (moile shows) I found this most interesting.
The Islamic Art shown on the DVD was very nice, types of art were : - ceramics, textile, metal and glass. the textiles and ceramics were very coulorful and highly patterned.

Notes on CCANW

Notes on CCANW

Clive Adams on Arnolfini, Mostyn and CCANW availablr at http://www.artcornwall.org/interviews/Clive_Adams_CCANW.htm  accessed on 20/9/2012 at8.25pm

affiliation

CCANW' s decision to set up a Project Space in Haldon Forest Park was encouraged by the potential of a partnership with the Forestry Commission

interest

CCANW are interested in promoting the environmental benefits of using local, sustainably grown timber in architecture and design

contempory art world

CCANW have also organised many other exhibitions and activities, across all the art fields.

viewer

it attracts around a quarter of a million visitors a year, so the potential for CCANW to engage new audiences with the arts and, at the same time, to interest them in enviromental issues is considerable.

 Centre For Contemporary Art And The Natural World. Available at: http://www.ccanw.co.uk/ Accessed on 20/9/2012 at 2.25pm 

Directors:  

 Tristram Besterman, chair, Phil Collins, Charlotte Rathbone, Jem Southam, Peter Young, Rick Bond, Dave Pritchard, Emma Rothwell, Henrietta Vercoe, William Lana 

Between them they have relevent art, curatorial, teaching and marketing experience

The Centre has three chief aims:

• To develop new understandings through the work of contemporary artists which explores the social, environmental and scientific issues involved in our changing relationship to nature.
• To create new art and art practice by supporting artists to respond to the wider historical and cultural constructions of 'nature'.
• To increase access to the contemporary arts by breaking down barriers to public engagement.

 viewer

Artists, students, young people, families, the rural community, disabled people, those from different cultural backgrounds and socially deprived areas

For the local community, tourists, established and emerging artists, for both experts and the broader public, both locally, nationally and globally. It also attracts new audiences for the arts that are more informed, artistically aware.

 Funding

The Centre for Contemporary Art and the Natural World is a registered limited company no.4141506 and a registered charity no.1092019

CCANW is pleased to acknowledge support for its 2012-13 programme from Arts Council England, Heritage Lottery Fund, Jerwood Charitable Foundation, The Norman Family Charitable Trust, Devon County Council, Teignbridge District Council and The Forestry Commission

RESEARCHING ONLINE

RESEARCHING ONLINE                                       7^TH OCT 2012

Dolowitz.D., Buckler.S., Fionnghuala.S., (2008).  Palgrave Study Skills Researching Online, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.

Typical URL. Has four key components, 1, everything before :// indicates protocol, this tells computer with information needed to achieve compatibility with resource to be accessed.(Hypertext Transfer Protocol).(Dolowitz p5)

Usenet or newsgroups.  Usenet is series of virtual bulletin boards :- may be useful for research.   Usenet is not posted to mailbox. To access must have news reader program, and have to actively access messages.

Qualitive methods :- “qualitive studies are designed to: ‘construe the attitudes, beliefs and motivations within a subject....the researcher...will attempt to gain an inside view of the phenonomenom, getting as close as possible to the subject of the research’( Walliman (2005,p.247).

 qualitive studies rely on spoken or written words, numbers can also be used”. ( Dolowitz.  p.37).

Quantative methods :- involve large scale studies. -  Converting data to numbers.

Documentation :- “written, printed, photographed, painted, or recorded material that can be used to provide information or evidence” ( p 39).

Searching :- ask three questions –  1  what am i looking for.   2  what are the most relevant terma.   3  what tools are best to use.

THE MOORES ISLAM IN THE WEST

Brett.M., Forman,W., 1980, THE MOORES  ISLAM IN THE WEST. Great Britain : Orbis Publishing Limited.

The Muslim Mind                                                 Page 56 = 69

They believe that their religion is the only true religion and it is their duty to wage war upon the unnatural condition of the non-believers i.e. the Christians, Jews, and pagans beyond their boarders to reduce as far as possible their influence in the world, and dominate the Christians and Jews within their boarders under there protection.

There attitude is therefore one of superiority.

They believe that when they rule over the infidel (christiansm jews etc.) that   heavenly order will be achieve on earth.

Behold a king yesterday absorbed in pleasure,

Judge then his kingdom with woe and war,

See now the sun in the scales of Libra dropping,

Out of his fortune’s delightful tower.              (Brett. P69)

The Arab Mind

p73

Their writing “”their shapes was an insight to the eternal. No forms could excel the pattern of the letters”

People who spoke Arabic as there first language were blessed.  “no sound more beautiful “

P84

“the poet was a mirror of the society, his verse the final form of a way of life modeled upon its images.  Stylization went very deep in a civilization which had no drama, but acted out its sense of the theatrical in its manner of living.”

ISLAMIC ART

"Islamic art developed from many sources: Roman, Early Christian art, and Byzantine styles were taken over in early Islamic art and architecture; the influence of the Sassanian art of pre-Islamic Persia was of paramount significance; Central Asian styles were brought in with various nomadic incursions; and Chinese influences had a formative effect on Islamic painting, pottery, and textiles."^[4

There are repeating elements in Islamic art, such as the use of geometrical floral or vegetal designs in a repetition known as the arabesque.

Typically, though not entirely, Islamic art has focused on the depiction of patterns and Arabic calligraphy, rather than on figures,

Human portrayals can be found in all eras of Islamic art, above all in the more private form of miniatures,

Small decorative figures of animals and humans, especially if they are hunting the animals, are found on secular pieces in many media from many periods,

Ilkhanid piece in silk, cotton and gold, Iran or Iraq, early 14th century

Javanese court batik, in typical reddish-brown colour, from Indonesia.

The development and refinement of Indonesian batik cloth was closely linked to Islam.

Rugs and carpets

From the yarn fiber to the colors, every part of the Persian rug is traditionally handmade from natural ingredients over the course of many months.

Corner of a 16th century Persian carpet

Carpet weaving is a rich and deeply embedded tradition in Islamic societies, and the practice is seen in large city factories as well as in rural communities and nomadic encampments.

Islamic art as a whole aims to create an ambience which helps man to realise his primordial dignity; it therefore avoids everything that could be an 'idol' even in a relative and provisional manner - nothing must stand between man and the invisible presence of God - thus eliminating all the turmoil and passionate suggestions of the world and in their stead creating an order that expresses equilibrium, serenity and peace.

Geometry

Islamic art expressed the logic and order inherent in the Islamic vision of the universe.

The study of geometry also fed an ardent preoccupation with the stars and astronomy. All this in turn nourished the Arabic passion for creating infinite, decorative patterns.

Muslim intellectuals recognized in geometry the unifying intermediary between the material and the spiritual world

the development of infinitely repeating patterns can represent the unchanging laws of God. Muslims are expected to observe certain rules as were originally set forth by the Prophet Muhammad

the circle, and its centre, are the point at which all Islamic patterns begin and is an apt symbol of a religion that emphasizes one God, symbolising also, the role of Mecca, the center of Islam

From the circle comes three fundamental figures in Islamic art, the triangle, square and hexagon. The triangle by tradition is symbolic of human consciousness and the principle of harmony. The square, the symbol of physical experience and the physical world-or materiality-and the hexagon, of Heaven. Another symbol prevalent in Islamic art is the star and has been the chosen motif for many Islamic decorations. In Islamic iconography the star is a regular geometric shape that symbolizes equal radiation in all directions from a central point.

All regular stars -- whether they have 6, 8, 10, 12, or 16 points -- are created by a division of a circle into equal parts. The center of the star is center of the circle from which it came, and its points touch the circumference of the circle. The rays of a star reach out in all directions, making the star a fitting symbol for the spread of Islam.

One such use of the star in mosaics is in 'God's spider web', the very name of which evokes the 'miracle of the spider':  The mosaic spider's web, however, resembles its model only remotely. It is in fact a geometrical rosette, which begins as a star and then extends outwards in interlacing bands, that follow a rigorous plan, and form a rich extensive network. Calligraphic ornamentation also appears in conjunction with geometric patterns.

 

Rabee al-Thaanee    Available at:
http://www.salaam.co.uk/themeofthemonth/march02_index.php?l=9 , Accessed on 23/9/2012 at 12.48pm