The induction of Arabic calligraphy and arabesque in contemporary art

Abstract

Despite the vast amount of documentation and descriptive studies already carried out by scholars, Islamic art had remained, until now, a singularly neglected field and has continued to be a closed book as far as its symbolic meaning is concerned,. However, a recent flurry of attention has been directed towards contemporised Islamic art. While Arabic calligraphy and arabesque took centre stage in Islamic art, the contemporary movement denigrated them, and the modern artists who inducted elements of Arabic calligraphy and ornaments into their paintings and designs strayed far from the essence of Islamic religion and traditions. This study seeks to present the ways which developed Arabic calligraphy and arabesque in the historical and aesthetical contexts, then analyzed three main impulses which contemporised the Arabic calligraphy and arabesque and enhanced their development in contemporary art, hence used these impulses as a source of inspiration for posters derived from the contemporary experiences in Islamic art, the impulses which. Furthermore, it relies on the artists’ contemporary experiences in the context of Uganda which affirm a cultural integration that spawned a secular and contemporary Islamic art. Several methods of data collection, such as literature review and observation, were used and the collected data was critically analysed. These were based on the interpretation of selected cultures and artists in relation to the contemporisation of Islamic art themes, to inspire the studio work. The outcome was depicted in posters and a composition-of-art book to project the manifested features of Arabic calligraphy and arabesque in contemporary designs.