Reflection #8

The Article “Islamic Art and Design: Activities for Learning” created by The Metropolitan Museum of Art provides instructions for teachers wishing to teach their students about Islamic Art. The article gives tips to teachers about how to engage students in creating their own versions of Islamic art, and describes the first basic property of Islamic art as being “made up of a small number of repeated geometric elements” where are based off of the circle, the square, and the straight line. The second property is that Islamic art is “two dimensional” and has a “background and a foreground pattern.” The background and foreground can be highly contrasted or very difficult to distinguish, but they do not attempt to create depth, but rather are appreciated for their flat, two-dimensional qualities. Islamic art is “not designed to fit within a frame,” according to the third element described but The Metropolitan Museum of Art, but instead Islamic art has the freedom to be “indefinitely expandable.” Many of the methods described in this article for teaching Islamic art suggest that students learn by tracing and replicating patterns that have already been created. Is this technical approach to art still allowing students to express their own creativity? If we were to provide students with the basic tools for geometric shapes, and then focus more of the lesson on allowing student to create their own design, they might find a deeper, more personal connection to Islamic art.  As an elementary student, I was often asked to replicate drawings and patterns. I was fascinated by many of the pictures I was given, but wanted to replicate them exactly, rather than use my own creative talents to change the artworks and make them my own. I never learned about Islamic art specifically, but I did learn about creating and illustrating with geometric patterns in an artistic way as part of the Waldorf School curriculum.

Variation of a Six Pointed Star From a 6th Grade Main Lesson Book

Variation of a Five Pointed Star From a 6th Grade Main Lesson Book

Variation of a Square From a 6th Grade Main Lesson Book

Variation of a Twelve Pointed Star From a 6th Grade Main Lesson Book

Variation of a Six Pointed Star From a 6th Grade Main Lesson Book

Variation of a Six Pointed Star From a 6th Grade Main Lesson Book

The curriculum at Hawthorne Valley Waldorf School where I went for grades 2-8 also included some teaching of Islam. We learned about Mohammed and about the Qur’an, however, we did not learn about many of the artistic and geometric aspects of the book itself as is was discussed in Fayeq S. Oweis’s article “Islamic Art as an Educational Tool About the Teaching of Islam” Oweis described the complex ways that Arabic calligraphy is incorporated into the artwork. The lettering is created with carefully constructed geometric proportions that enhance the Islamic artwork. The article described six common forms of Arabic calligraphy the “Kufic,” the “Thuluth,” the “Nasakh”, the “Ta’liq,” the “Deewani,” and the “Riq’a.” All forms of writing were though to have been taught to human beings by God, and this made them sacred to the Islamic people. The Qur’an itself, according to Oweis is beautifully decorated with geometric and floral patterns that inspire Islamic art. When students were asked to complete activities where they created their own versions of Islamic art, they became interested with the culture of Islam, and were willing to learn more, despite many of the stereotypes and stigmatisms many Americans place on Islamic culture after the tragedy of Nine Eleven. Can art help to eliminate cultural prejudice? Because students were able to move past the cultural barriers created by the society in which they live and become interested in a foreign culture, I think art has potential to help students realize the beauty and importance of other cultures such as that of Islam.

Variation of a Twenty-Four Pointed Star From a 6th Grade Main Lesson Book

Variation of a Six Pointed Star From a 6th Grade Main Lesson Book