JAVA SCRIPT
Despite Indonesia being the planet’s most populous Muslim nation, it produces remarkably little art with religious content. Agus Baqul Purnomo is a Javanese artist whose work goes beyond the usual written exclamation of God’s name. He focuses on popular prayers and entire verses from the Qur’an, treating them in a way that has helped spread his message beyond his own country.
It is as rare for contemporary art of an Islamic nature to be displayed in Malaysia as it is to find it being created in Indonesia. The most regionally aware gallery in Kuala Lumpur has long been Valentine Willie Fine Art. Since VWFA is promoting Agus, there’s a chance of a resurgence of spiritual art in Southeast Asia. Even the title of the exhibition gives a clear impression of what is coming next. ‘Recite! (Iqra!)’ is the name of the show as well as being a root of the word Qur’an. It turns up frequently in the holy book and gives an immediacy to the Qur’an that is not found in all works of scripture; it is God’s personal command to believers.
These are abstract works that incorporate calligraphy in an unconventional way. Rather than aiming for the centre stage that calligraphers tend to seek for their writing, there is more of a rough-and-ready approach. The result is a greater sense of movement than is usually seen with Arabic script. An essential difference between the two civilisations that have placed the greatest importance on writing as art – China and the Islamic world – is the instrument of calligraphy. Chinese art, being written with a brush, has usually been a more fluid expression than Arabic, which is traditionally executed with a reed pen.
Agus Baqul’s work exudes the energy of graffiti. The formation of the words with a brush, in acrylic, gives them a rare spontaneity and, at two metres high, the canvases have an almost wall-like quality. The combination of texture and rhythm creates a look of artfully arranged mayhem which makes them unique in the Islamic world. Not even in Iran, which has done more with calligraphy than might be thought possible, has the same sense of movement been accomplished with words that are usually set in stone.
'Recite! (Iqra'!)' at Valentine Willie Fine Art, Kuala Lumpur. Until 5 September
A BOARD CANVAS
A similar theme to Agus Baqul Purnomo’s ‘Insha’allah’ (God Willing) prayers on canvas are ‘Insha’allah’ surfboards. Part of a project on display at Breenspace gallery in Sydney, this exhibition of Islamic-themed surfboards is unprecedented. Islam and surfing are two worlds that rarely meet. In Sydney, there have been violent clashes of cultures between ‘white’ surfers and mainly Muslim youths. It has been a trying time for Sydney’s true surfing community, a group that is committed to harmony and oneness with the world and the wave.
Australian artist Phil George’s solution has been to create a series of surfboards called ‘Borderlands’, which were greeted with enthusiasm at this year’s Art Dubai festival. With Islamic designs imprinted on them, these boards really embody two worlds. There is surfing culture: easy-going attitude and not too much concern about being fully dressed. Then there is Islamic culture: more emphasis on covering up, less of the relaxed attitude.
‘Borderlands’ looks for some common ground.
Being the well-travelled and Islam-friendly individual that he is, the artist immediately reminds us that his boards are not meant for walking, surfing or any activity other than being viewed. They stand, like primeval sculptures, and that is all they are supposed to do. The impression is in some ways unnerving. Despite most of them being very much more colourful than the average cemetery, they impart the feeling of gravestones.
In their quiet, totemic way they show the universality of much Islamic design. Most viewers won’t know they are looking at motifs that have been inspired by the artist’s countless visits to mosques and other buildings of the Middle East. There is geometry and there are arabesques along with the tree and life and calligraphy. They are mostly filled with colour and all are oven baked to make them luminous as well as durable.
The boards make a vivid statement about the transfer of cultures. The non-calligraphic versions could also be mass produced for the new type of surfer chick that is beginning to emerge in Australia. Muslim women surfers and lifeguards have become a surprising feature of beach life. No doubt they will eventually be able to coordinate their surfboards perfectly with the ultra-modest beachwear known as a ‘burqini’.
Borderlands by Phil George, at the Breenspace Gallery, Sydney
TURKEY
Turkey is staking a claim to some of the cultural cachet that the Gulf has been trying to acquire in recent years. The 11th International Istanbul Biennial goes beyond the glamour of some rival art expos in the Middle East and takes a serious look at issues. The concept of the latest biennial is taken from Bertholt Brecht’s Threepenny Opera and asks the question ‘What keeps mankind alive?’ Taking the alternative approach one step further, the announcement of the concept was not issued in the form of a press release; instead it was delivered as a dramatic performance on a stage, under the supervision of a Croatian theatre director. As a coup de grace, the curators comprise four women.
Whatever the art shows, the biennial shows what a complex place Turkey is. Observers who see the country as a simple battleground between secularists and Islamists should look at the ideology behind the biennial. It’s all about value systems and there’s a fair amount of creaking Sixties idealism rising to the surface. The aim is to make the viewer a more productive participant, going as far as using the word “accomplice”. Anyone who yearns to rediscover the message of Brecht and Old Left rhetoric can fully engage in this concept, which does have the good grace to laugh at itself. Nothing could be much further than the creative approach happening in the Gulf. The artists are equally different from the mainstream to the south and serve as a useful reminder that art in the Islamic world is not entirely about the Arab and Iranian spheres of influence. Also, how close Turkey feels to Europe...
Istanbul International Biennial, 12 September to 8 November
Greece
In neighbouring Greece, the Islamic activity has been subdued for a long time, but there is an exciting exhibition starting this month with an Islamic connection. M.C. Escher is among the most famous Dutch artists of the 20th century and his playful drawings are known to everyone who has ever browsed in a calendar shop. At the Hxxxx Museum is a definitive display of xxxxx, including many of the works that Escher himself admitted a debt to the culture of Moorish Spain. The latest exhibition at this fascinating museum is the fourth in a series dedicated to Escher. It explores his use of colour, which is also inspired by Al-Andalus, although it is his geometrical genius that is most clearly derived from the tiles he admired at monuments such as Alhambra in Granada.
Although Escher is generally remembered for his extraordinary monochrome works which distort space, they acquire an extra dimension with the application of colour. This meant additional work for the artist, who needed to make extra woodcut blocks, but the results are stunning. They were created to satisfy his own quest for understanding colour combinations and none was ever intended for sale.
‘Escher in Colour’ at the Herakleidon Museum, Athens. Ends 15 November
Exhibitions of traditional Islamic art are sparse at the moment, although a promising one is opening this month in Washington DC. ‘Falnama: The Book of Omens’ takes a look at the somewhat neglected field of divination. Although not an entirely orthodox area of Muslim belief, it makes for a visual fiesta. Astronomy, astrology and dream interpretation came together in manuscripts known as Falnama, which were especially popular in 16th and 17th century Iran and the Ottoman empire. These large-format books were illustrated with all the brilliance of the time, which was a highpoint for the art of miniature painting.
‘Falnama’ at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. From 12 September 2009 to 3 January 2010
Jameel Prize
This is the last month to see the art event that has been described as “the Islamic art world's equivalent to the Turner prize.” The winner of the Jameel International Art Prize is Afruz Amighi has been chosen as the winner of the Jameel international art prize, touted as, for her painting 1001 Pages. Nine artists were shortlisted for the award, worth £25,000, whose work the panel judges to 'contribute to a broader debate about Islamic culture'. Zaha Hadid, patron of the Jameel prize, hopes the biannual event will inspire future generations of contemporary Muslim artists. Shortlisted works can be seen in a temporary display gallery at the Victoria and Albert Museum until 12 September 2009
Mohammed Abdul Latif Jameel got a bargain with his sponsorship of this biennial event, with its first prize of GBP25,000. It has generated a lot of publicity. GBP5.5 million for the Jameel Gallery at the V&A.
