Art of the Middle East: Modern and Contemporary Art of the Arab World
Let’s face it when most of us think of the Middle East we think of conflict, violence and extremism, rather than a vibrant and artistic culture. But “The Art of the Middle East” works to dispel these stereotypes. It is a tribute to close to almost 300 avant-guard artists who have sacrificed — sometimes through persecution and exile — to keep artistic culture alive over the past hundred years or so. Collectively, these individuals connect East and West, encourage understanding and bring to the world some of the most eloquent, politically fierce, passionate and spiritually edifying art.
Early on in the book we see the importance of the recorded word as art. Saeb Eigner gives us a brief history lesson as the Arabic language evolves into a written script. When the revelation of Islam to the prophet Mohammed in the early seventeenth century brought about the need to copy the holy text of the Qur’an, the goal of scribes became to make the writing be as beautiful as possible.
Source: www.edgeboston.com