In a world where the making and consumption of art is constantly changing, the term "Islamic art" can be hard to define. Through the exploration of a wide array of media-from painting, sculpture, and photography to video and multimedia-an internationally renowned group of scholars, collectors, artists, and curators tackles questions such as whether the art has to come from the Middle East, whether it must have a religious component, and, indeed, whether the work of art must be made by a Muslim. Based on a series of papers presented at the 7th Biennial Hamad bin Khalifa Symposium on Islamic Art in 2017, the essays in this volume grapple with these questions from a range of viewpoints. These texts-including beautiful illustrations of major works by contemporary artists from the Muslim world, including Newsha Tavakolian, Shahzia Sikander, Hassan Hajjaj and Lalla Essaydi-invoke a lively discussion of how the arts of the Islamic lands link the past with the present and the future.

Distributed for the Qatar Foundation, Virginia Commonwealth University, and Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar

About the Author
Jonathan Bloom and Sheila Blair, who have shared the Hamad bin Khalifa Endowed Chair of Islamic Art at Virginia Commonwealth University since its establishment in 2005, are the co-organizers of the Biennial Hamad bin Khalifa Symposium on Islamic Art.

Reviews
"Sparking constructive dialogue and tackling elusive definitions . . . Incredibly valuable."
-Cindy Helms, New York Journal of Books

CHOICE Outstanding Academic Titles, 2020





Book Information
ISBN 9780300243475
Author Jonathan M. Bloom
Format Hardback
Page Count 360
Imprint Yale University Press
Publisher Yale University Press