Collections: Arts of the Islamic World

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Sufi-Inspired Artist Books

Deirdre Lawrence on July 10, 2009

One of the great feelings I experience at the Brooklyn Museum is when I see a true connection between the Library and art collections here. This connection was felt recently at a public program showcasing the work of the widely-admired translator Zahra Partovi and the Brooklyn-based artist Kelly Driscoll. Kelly and Zahra's work Fragments of Light II is now on view in the exhibition Light of the Sufis: The Mystical Arts of Islam and several other books published by Vincent FitzGerald & Co. are on view in the Library display cases on the second floor. The conversation included Zahra, Kelly, Ladan Akbarnia, Hagop Kevorkian Associate Curator of Islamic Art, and me, with a large audience made up of artists and artisans who have collaborated with Vincent Fitzgerald over the years. We had a lively conversation and the opportunity to view some remarkable books.

This panel discussion, held Saturday June 13, 2009 at the Brooklyn Museum, addressed the production, collection, and display of Sufi-inspired artist books. Zahra Partovi, whose artist book Fragments of Light II is featured in the special exhibition Light of the Sufis, discussed her art in conversation with collaborating book artist Kelly Driscoll, Hagop Kevorkian Associate Curator of Islamic Art Ladan Akbarnia, and Principal Librarian Deirdre Lawrence.

Vincent has been the primary leader in the overall conception, design and production of these books, pulling together incredibly talented artists and artisans to create them. The books, all inspired by the Sufi poetry of Rumi as translated by Zahra Partovi, are a jewel in the crown of our artists' book collection and remain wonderful examples of how contemporary art can carry on the essence of traditional art.

How did these wonderful books come into the Brooklyn Museum collection?

Back in October 1998 the Brooklyn Museum held an exhibition entitled Royal Persian Paintings, The Qajar Epoch, 1785-1925 curated by Dr. Layla Diba. This exhibition was one of several that Brooklyn has featured over the years and an example of the Museum's long standing interest in Islamic art. The Library collection is also rich in this area due to a series of grants from the Hagop Kevorkian Fund and donations such as the personal library of noted Islamic scholar Charles K. Wilkinson whose selected acquisitions are on view in the newly reinstalled Islamic Art galleries.The Library has a collection of artists' books, ranging from multiples to limited editions to unique works, many of which relate to the cultures represented by the Museum's object collections. Many of the books published by Vincent FitzGerald & Co. fall into this latter category as they resonate so well with the Islamic collections here.

I first met Vincent FitzGerald and Zahra Partovi in the Dieu Donne Galleries in 1999 at an exhibition entitled Dialogues in Collaboration: the publications of Vincent FitzGerald & Co. I remember being swept off my feet by the books on view and wanted to bring some of these books into the Brooklyn Museum collection.  Both Vincent and Zahra recognized the Museum's longstanding interest in Islamic art and knew their books would fit in well with our collections.

Through the generosity of anonymous donors and guidance from Vincent we were given nine books created by Vincent FitzGerald & Co. The books demonstrate in a beautiful way that thirteenth-century Persian poetry can be made intellectually accessible to a present-day audience. Since we acquired these books we have featured them in exhibitions such as Working in Brooklyn: Artists Books in 2000 and they have been a favorite of visiting teachers, students and artists in the Library Reading Room. Both visually challenging and intellectually stimulating, these books speak to the future of the book as a vibrant tool for communication while being works of art in themselves. The Fragments of Light series is the most recent example of innovative ways Vincent and his collaborators challenge the definition of the book.

Come visit and see these great books in person!

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Reinstalling the Arts of the Islamic World

Ladan Akbarnia on May 26, 2009

For those of you who have been missing the arts of the Islamic world (or wondering what it is you've been missing), we are almost finished with our reinstallation of the past several weeks. The galleries had been a sandy beige for some 2-3 decades, so the new dark color will probably be the first thing you notice on your next visit. When I came to the Museum in early 2007, I knew that it would be a few years before we would be making any big structural changes to the second floor, where the Islamic galleries are located. But I really wanted to do something in the meantime to bring some attention to the arts of the Islamic world, which are a constant reminder of the positive and beautiful aspects of Islamic culture. I wanted the objects to "pop out," for the focus to be on the art rather than the space in which the art is exhibited. I thought a dark, grayish or charcoal blue would be a nice change of scenery and a great backdrop for the objects of various media in rich cobalt blues, turquoises, deep reds, and purples found in the arts of a territory spanning from Spain to China and Southeast Asia, and even the contemporary diaspora. Golds and silvers also look great against this blue, whether on metalwork or paper; luster ceramics now feel like they sparkle!

To give the designer, Lance Singletary, a sense of what I imagined, I picked up a couple of paint swatches from the hardware store and he took it from there. I can't stress enough how important these conversations with the designer are, because if Lance didn't "get" what kind of vision I had for the space, it would have ended up looking a lot different than what you're about to see in this video. He will explain how he came up with the subtle details that make for an extraordinary change on a relatively modest budget. It's been an intense project that came together in an incredibly short period of time, thanks to the help of a whole team of people— curatorial staff, conservators, editors, designers, painters, electricians, art handlers, maintenance staff, technology staff, the security staff who kept an eye on me on many a late night at the museum, and more (I really hope I haven't overlooked anyone here!). Ultimately, though, you will have to come see for yourself when the galleries open to the public on June 5, 2009—in the meantime, check out this "behind-the-scenes" video of some of the reinstallation:

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Man with a Sword

Angela Ferrante on March 19, 2009

Having the opportunity to write labels for objects in the collection is one of my favorite things about being an intern at the Brooklyn Museum. One of my labels is for a work entitled "Man with a Sword," part of a group of drawings currently on display in the Arts of the Islamic World gallery. This installation of objects explores drawing as a medium of expression in the eastern Islamic world.



I chose to do research on this piece for purely aesthetic reasons as well as to satisfy my own curiosity. The drawing seemed different from other Islamic drawings I had seen, and I wanted to find out why. When you can devote your time to researching one particular object in depth, you come across an incredible amount of interesting information. Unfortunately, limitations on text length mean it's not possible to share every bit of available research with the museum's visitors, so the goal in writing a label like this is to convey a large amount of information in a clear and concise yet simultaneously interesting way. The most difficult thing is deciding what you want to focus on.



Compared to the other drawings in this installation, "Man with a Sword" seems oddly rigid and geometric, which is unusual when so many Islamic drawings are driven by the smooth, graceful brushwork style inspired by Islamic calligraphy.  As I discovered in my research, this work was created in the tradition of Islamic astrological drawings. The Book of Fixed Stars, written by the Iranian astronomer ^cAbd al-Rahman al-Sufi in 964 CE, would have provided ample source material for the artist who created "Man with a Sword": it is filled with anthropomorphic representations of different constellations. For me, the most interesting thing about Al-Sufi was that he was one of the first to translate Greek astrological works into Arabic and compare the two cultures' constellations; Boötes, the likely inspiration for this piece, was referenced as early as Homer's Odyssey (ca. 700 BCE) and appears in numerous ancient mythologies as a hunter or herdsman. This became the focus for my label-writing, since I thought that other people would find it interesting as well.

Works on paper are light sensitive, and can only be displayed for a few months at a time. Drawings of the Islamic World will be on display until April, however, so there is still time to see "Man with a Sword" in person!

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