Who would have thought that I’d remember how much I like Islamic art in, of all places, a Coptic museum? Now I should probably clarify that I don’t mean art necessarily by Muslims, for Muslims, or about Islam. I just mean the art that’s associated with Islamic culture and history and that often uses themes or tools very characteristic of Muslim art, like precise geometrical shapes or the lack of faces and icons.
Some friends and I went to Coptic Cairo today. If you don’t know, the Copts are a Christian religious minority in Egypt. We checked out the museum and I was pretty unimpressed. Honestly, I think I have yet to be impressed by any art exhibit or museum. So unless I’ve just visited all the wrong ones, I’m beginning to think that I’m not particularly interested in whatever it is that museum-seekers enjoy, which I must admit is a bit of an intellectual let-down for me, especially because I’ll be taking half my course load in Art History next semester in London. I can definitely appreciate the need to preserve old art and artifacts, and the stories behind the pieces and their creators and influences are often fascinating, but I would enjoy just as much, in all likelihood more, to read or hear about the incredible material or new method or tools so-and-so artist used centuries before anyone would expect. Because, quite frankly, I don’t want to see mediocre quality paintings and random preserved pieces of intricate yet completely unoriginally carved columns, even if they are from 5 thousand years ago or something.
Still, the experience wasn’t completely empty. While I wasn’t too fond of the actual exhibited work, I thought the museum itself was fantastic. It was full of these beautiful wooden panels on the wall with intricately carved holes that functioned as windows letting just the right amount of daylight in to create a good ambiance. It reminded me of one of those aspects of Muslim architecture I studied growing up that always made me feel so solemn. I’ve seen plenty of them before, but I can’t seem to get over the effect. The other part I loved was this massive central room with high ceilings that was all white and displayed a handful of stone pieces. It probably seemed more Roman than anything else, but the lighting and I suppose just being in Cairo or something, I’m not really sure, made me feel like all it was missing was a big fountain in the center with 4 streams going to the 4 corners of the world like the one in the Alhambra. Though I think I’m just romanticizing now. It’s pretty irrelevant, because either way it gave me some good personal insight about what kind of art and architecture I enjoy. Nothing I didn’t already know in the back of my head, but now that it’s in the forefront it might give me some guidance for when I go about my studies in London.
Youm Sayeed!
18 June, 2010
So after your post, I was compelled to read some news. Still reading. Good post, you're like the kid that likes bubblewrap more than the present.
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