Introduction of Art in Islam

The term Islamic art not only describes the art created specifically in the service of the Muslim faith (for example, a mosque and its furnishings) but also characterizes the art and architecture historically produced in the lands ruled by Muslims, produced for Muslim patrons, or created by Muslim artists. As it is not only a religion but a way of life, Islam fostered the development of a distinctive culture with its own unique artistic language that is reflected in art and architecture throughout the Muslim world. The lands newly conquered by the Muslims had their own preexisting artistic traditions and, initially at least, those artists who had worked under Byzantine or Sasanian patronage continued to work in their own indigenous styles but for Muslim patrons. The first examples of Islamic art therefore rely on earlier techniques, styles, and forms reflecting this blending of classical and Iranian decorative themes and motifs. Even religious monuments erected under Umayyad patronage that have a clearly Islamic function and meaning, such as the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, demonstrate this amalgam of Greco-Roman, Byzantine, and Sasanian elements. Only gradually, under the impact of the Muslim faith and nascent Islamic state, did a uniquely Islamic art emerge. The rule of the Umayyad caliphate (661750) is often considered to be the formative period in Islamic art. One method of classifying Islamic art, used in the Islamic galleries at the Metropolitan Museum, is according to the dynasty reigning when the work of art was produced. This type of periodization follows the general precepts of Islamic history, which is divided into and punctuated by the rule of various dynasties, beginning with the Umayyad and
c

Abbasid dynasties that governed a vast and unified Islamic state, and concluding with the more

regional, though powerful, dynasties such as the Safavids, Ottomans, and Mughals.

With its geographic spread and long history, Islamic art was inevitably subject to a wide range of regional and even national styles and influences as well as changes within the various periods of its development. It is all the more remarkable then that, even under these circumstances, Islamic art has always retained its intrinsic quality and unique identity. Just as the religion of Islam embodies a way of life and serves as a cohesive force among ethnically and culturally diverse peoples, the art produced by and for Muslim societies has basic identifying and unifying characteristics. Perhaps the most salient of these is the predilection for all-over surface decoration. The four basic components of Islamic ornament are calligraphy, vegetal patterns, geometric patterns, and figural representation.

The Brief History of Art in Islam

Islamic art was started in longtime ago, but there aremany people who classified in many era among them the beginning of islamic art .The period of a rapid expansion of the Islamic era forms masterpiece which can not be value. Because islam in past time consist of many derived peoples and many area was defeated which are pluralism and have many point of view .Then islam want to unite many differenciation and to survive the influence so they create art .The art just form the style of the groups of moeslim leaders and sometimes form the memories by given the high symbol which believe in that area it has been defeated .From many conquest , Many leader want to create kingdom and dynasty to spread islam wider and make easy controll the military . But moeslim spread islam not just by defeated other area but also create art to spread peacefully and take social hearth .

The first dinasty whom moeslims have , Bani Umayyah. Bani umayyah advance in many sectors which has aim to spread islam. Among of them is islamic art ,Bani Umayyah introduce many building/mosaic , rock art , great epigraphic frieze, wall painting ,ceramics and specie which have islam characteristics,like strong Byzantine, mosaic against a gold background , and quran monument in Damaskus ,Yordania ,Jerussalem and soon .

From this picture we conclude that Bani Umayyah is big kingdom and give many influence changing for common people . it tried to create coin to measure thing accurately which approven that the mindset of king really developed .From islamic art ,bani umayyah want to express their pride by create many masterpiece. The first picture is great mosque in Damaskus ,the mosque was built in syria in 634m and the biggest fourth mosque in the world when islam defeated arab by damaskus .In there we beliefe that the graveyard of Husein Ali,Saladin and Yahya prophet .From thats building we can know many knowledge, so that art is give manythings and value which make us have beneficial . Abd al-Malik introduced standard coinage that featured Arabic inscriptions, instead of images of the monarch. The quick development of a localized coinage around the time of the

Dome of the Rock's construction demonstrates the reorientation of Umayyad acculturation .And the king want to measure the things accurtely Great epigraphic frieze is the inheritance which explained what happened in past time . The frieze presents considerable stylistic and decorative analogies with inscriptions that can be dated to the late tenth and early eleventh centuries. The second one dinasty is Bani abbasiyah. Bani abbasiyah is the progressing damaskus toward Baghdad , and from Baghdad move in Samara . From there , there are many acculturation from China ,India , Iran and Eurasia which influence many sector in the kidngdom especially art and culture. The prominent art is cluster nowl , type of porcelain which glazing by metallic and give colour effect .The innovation from fustat and it be popular fast in Persia, Syiria ,Mesopotamia in Fatimiyah era.It conclude that bani abbasiyah maximise their knowledge to inovate the art to be expensive product. Then Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture. Stucco may be used to cover less visually appealing construction materials such as concrete, cinder block, or clay brick and adobe. We know that Bani abbasiah develop the calligraphy and symbol of islam to be wall carving which can interest many people when they entered the building or kingdom.

The Islamic Art Style

A. Calligraphy

Calligraphy is the most highly regarded and most fundamental element of Islamic art. It is significant that the Quran, the book of God's revelations to the Prophet Muhammad, was transmitted in Arabic, and that inherent within the Arabic script is the potential for developing a variety of ornamental forms. The employment of calligraphy as ornament had a definite aesthetic appeal but often also included an underlying talismanic component. While most works of art had legible inscriptions, not all Muslims would have been able to read them. One should always keep in mind, however, that calligraphy is principally a means to transmit a text, albeit in a decorative form.

Objects from different periods and regions vary in the use of calligraphy in their overall design, demonstrating the creative possibilities of calligraphy as ornament. In some cases, calligraphy is the dominant element in the decoration. In these examples, the artist exploits the inherent possibilities of the Arabic script to create writing as ornament. An entire word can give the impression of random brushstrokes, or a single letter can develop into a decorative knot. In other cases, highly esteemed calligraphic works on paper are themselves ornamented and enhanced by their decorative frames or backgrounds. Calligraphy can also become part of an overall ornamental program, clearly separated from the rest of the decoration. In some examples, calligraphy can be combined with vegetal scrolls on the same surface though often on different levels, creating interplay of decorative elements.

B. Geometrical Pattern

Geometric patterns make up one of the three nonfigural types of decoration in Islamic art, which also include calligraphy and vegetal patterns. Whether isolated or used in combination with no figural ornamentation or figural representation, geometric patterns are popularly associated with Islamic art, largely due to their aniconic quality. These abstract designs not only adorn the surfaces of monumental Islamic architecture but also function as the major decorative element on a vast array of objects of all types. While geometric ornamentation may have reached a pinnacle in the Islamic world, the sources for both the shapes and the intricate patterns already existed in late antiquity among the Greeks, Romans, and Sasanians in Iran. Islamic artists appropriated key elements from the classical tradition, then complicated and elaborated upon them in order to invent a new form of decoration that stressed the importance of unity and order. The significant intellectual contributions of Islamic mathematicians, astronomers, and scientists were essential to the creation of this unique new style.

C. Figural Representation in Islamic Art

With the spread of Islam outward from the Arabian Peninsula in the seventh century, the figurative artistic traditions of the newly conquered lands profoundly influenced the development of Islamic art. Ornamentation in Islamic art came to include figural representations in its decorative vocabulary, drawn from a variety of sources. Although the often cited opposition in Islam to the depiction of human and animal forms holds true for religious art and architecture, in the secular sphere, such representations have flourished in nearly all Islamic cultures.

The Islamic resistance to the representation of living beings ultimately stems from the belief that the creation of living forms is unique to God, and it is for this reason that the role of images and image makers has been controversial. The strongest statements on the subject of figural depiction are made in the Hadith (Traditions of the Prophet), where painters are challenged to "breathe life" into their creations and threatened with punishment on the Day of Judgment. The Quran is less specific but condemns idolatry and uses the Arabic term musawwir ("maker of forms," or artist) as an epithet for God. Partially as a result of this religious sentiment, figures in painting were often stylized and, in some cases, the destruction of figurative artworks occurred. Iconoclasm was previously known in the Byzantine period and aniconicism was a feature of the Judaic world, thus placing the Islamic objection to figurative representations within a larger context. As ornament, however, figures were largely devoid of any larger significance and perhaps therefore posed less challenge.

As with other forms of Islamic ornamentation, artists freely adapted and stylized basic human and animal forms, giving rise to a great variety of figural-based designs. Figural motifs are found on the surface decoration of objects or architecture, as part of the woven or applied patterns of textiles, and, most rarely, in sculptural form. In some cases, decorative images are closely related to the narrative painting tradition, where text illustrations provided sources for ornamental themes and motifs. As for manuscript illustration, miniature paintings were integral parts of these works of art as visual aids to the text, therefore no restrictions were imposed. A further category of fantastic figures, from which ornamental patterns were generated, also existed. Some fantastic motifs, such as harpies (female-headed birds) and griffins (winged felines), were drawn from pre-Islamic mythological sources, whereas others were created through the visual manipulation of figural forms by artists.

Arts and Iconoclasms in Islam

A. Iconoclasms in a brief Iconoclasms is a practice destroying religious icons and other symbols or monuments, usually with religious or political motives. People who engage in or support iconoclasm are called "iconoclasts", a term that has come to be applied figuratively to any individual who challenges established dogma or conventions. Conversely, people who revere or venerate religious images are (by iconoclasts) called "iconolaters". Iconoclasm may be carried out by people of a different religion, but is often the result of sectarian disputes between factions of the same religion. But, in general, means the act of destruction Iconoclasms sculptures, paintings, monuments, or symbols (icons), both theological and political reasons. B. The Iconoclasms practice in Islam Here is some practices of iconoclasm in Islam that have a relation in art and Islam itself. As we know that statue is an art, we all know about Ibrahims prophet story. Ibrahims father is one of the musyrik that do worship to a statue, Ibrahims father and friends think that their God is those statues. Ibrahim try hard to disenchant his father, but it is useless. His father does not listening to his son. So Ibrahim decide to destroy all of the statues in one night, the nigh when all of the people go camping to outside town because its tradition. And Ibrahim stayed at home. Ibrahim started to destroy all of them, but he did not destroy the biggest statue. And finally Ibrahim being called for trial. And then Ibrahim said that the biggest statue who destroyed those statues.

On 12 October 2011 and then, the Liberal Islam Network held a monthly discussion by presenting the three speakers, each representing the three religions in Indonesia. Saras representing the Hindu goddess, Grace Iones representing Christianity and Islam represent Ulil Absar Abdalla. Discussion moderated by Abd Moqsith Ghazali.

On August 2010, there was a tragedy, when the muslims did a rude thing, it is the destruction of Semar Statue. They thought that in Purwarkarta the majorities the religion of the citizenship is Muslim but why the government let this happened, and according to the article, the Muslims had already do protest to the government, but the government did not listen to them.

According to Saras, the person who did the iconoclasms is a person that has no respect to the history, because Semar is the one who helps Islam become popular in Indonesia.

References
Literature:

Bloom, Sheila and Jonathan, eds., Rivers of Paradise: Water in Islamic Art and Culture, Yale University Press, 2009.

Ettinghausen, Richard; Oleg Grabar, Marilyn Jenkins-Madina (2003). Islamic Art and Architecture 650-1250 (2nd ed.). Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-08869-4.

"Arts": Jones, Dalu & Michell, George, (eds); The Arts of Islam, Arts Council of Great Britain, 1976, ISBN 0-7287-0081-6

Hillenbrand, Robert. Islamic Art and Architecture, Thames & Hudson World of Art series; 1999, London. ISBN 978050020305.

Web sources Citation: http://ml.scribd.com/doc/47422017/6-Konsep-Seni-Dalam-Islam http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_art#The_beginnings_of_Islamic_art http://www.google.co.id/imgres?imgurl=http://1.bp.blogspot.com http://blog.wiemasen.com/penghancuran-patung-purwakarta/ http://islamlib.com/id/artikel/ikonoklasme-dalam-agama-agama-perbandingan-hindukristen-dan-islam Wikipedia