My presentation at ISNA conference in Fall 2008:

My purpose in today’s presentation at ISNA is to make our community aware of the contemporary work of Islamic artists. The majority of Muslims tend to connect Islamic art only with traditional Arabic calligraphy and architecture. But due to so many changes in social, political and global life, today’s Muslim artist cannot just confine her or him to traditional calligraphy and the arabesque form. No doubt these are important legacies of Islamic art but let us face the reality. Today’s art scene has changed dramatically. The audiences are spread worldwide. It is a global marketplace. Art is done on canvas using manufactured paints and inks or otherwise is computer generated and is hung on walls in commercial galleries and museums. Gone are the times when art was confined to the palaces of the rich and powerful. Today, art is a part of everyday life and is found everywhere. Machines are introduced in each field from carpet weaving to tile making. Instead of giving value to only traditional arts, we have to value the contemporary Muslim artist’s efforts and struggles in keeping pace with what’s happening around us.

So here are some random questions. The answers would be many and so I ask you to please keep them in the back of your mind as we move forward with this presentation.

What are we painting or sculpting or how are we making art today?

Are we just copying the content of western art or are we adopting the contemporary art techniques and filling in with our own content?

Should we react to all the injustices that the Umma is suffering today and turn into mere visual journalists or should we use art to point to the greater and higher Islamic values?

Can we afford to just bask in the glories of the past and ignore the times that we live in now?

Those are important questions indeed. But it is sometimes worth our while to look back at where we are coming from to help us know where we are going to.

In order to get a good understanding of how Muslims have expressed themselves

through the ages, we have to review the journey of Muslims through the ages.

When Muslims started expanding out of Arabia, all that they had were Faith and Islamic values, horsemanship and courage, the art of assimilation and some skills in weaving, storytelling, known as the tradition of Hakawati and of course great skills in poetry and verse.

As the journey unfolded, from each new host country that embraced Islam, different Muslim artistic expressions evolved. Take for example those gorgeous decorative tiles that adorn so many buildings. First made in Iran and Turkey, they flourished and refined as the art form, spread throughout the Muslim world, till the form was perfected and became the Muslim legacy for later generations. Similar is the story of the arch and the dome taken from the Romans.

This is also true about Arabic calligraphy, decorative arts for everyday objects, glassmaking, textiles, carpets, architecture and so on. Like in many other areas of life, the influence of the Silk Road on artistic expressions is undeniable. Artistic ideas and expressions traveled back and forth becoming refined and more perfect.

We thus see the term Islamic Arts suggest an art unified in style and purpose, with certain common concepts that distinguish the arts of all Islamic lands.

Now I would talk about some important legacies and concepts of Islamic arts and later, using examples from my own work, I shall attempt to present the efforts and struggles of myself, trying to express life around me while also making an effort to maintain in a small measure the legacies and concepts of Islamic art.

I have identified six important concepts.

1. The concept of Tawheed was the central theme. Unity and the need to keep everything in its rightful place were important to Muslim artists who used it to achieve harmony, beauty and symmetry. Amazing craftsmanship was revealed as the artist’s sole purpose was to please Allah SWT and thus it had to be perfect and meticulous. Muslim Spain and the Alhambra Palace complex are great examples of a creative people expressing themselves to the best of their abilities. The same genius was displayed in the construction of the Taj Mahal. Research is showing us that the layout of the Taj complex is based on a plan sketch that is found in a work of Ibn Arabi.

2. The concept of light (“Allahu noorus samavaath wal ard”) inspired the creation of glass lamps, illumination in calligraphy, in brilliant blown colored glass which dazzled the eye, the inlaid work with semi-precious stone and glass etc.

3. The concept of Jannah, the Garden of Paradise, was another motivation. We can see the motifs of garden layouts on Persian carpets and rugs. We also see the great Islamic landscaped gardens and their reflections in miniature paintings. Consider the Chahar Bagh, Shalimar Gardens or the Court of Lions. Breath-takingly beautiful indeed.

4. The concept of presenting Allah’s word in the most beautiful form resulted in different styles of Arabic calligraphy. And this form was not only limited to the manuscripts but extended to all arts- including inscriptions on palaces, applied to metal arts, pottery, stone, glass, wood and textiles.

5. Another concept of Islamic art is the preference for covering surfaces with patterns composed of geometric or vegetal elements. Complex geometric designs as well as intricate patterns of vegetal ornament (such as arabesque) create the impression of unending repetition, which is believed by some to be an inducement to contemplate the infinite nature of Allah. These delicate filigree-like lattices with mathematical precision are carved in marble and wood dazzling the beholder both on the inside and the outside.

6. The form of storytelling started being illustrated under the influence of Indo-Persian patrons of art and we have books like the Shahnama, Akbarnama, and Persian and Mughal miniatures. Here I would like to emphasis one point. Contrary to popular belief, figural imagery is an important aspect of Islamic arts. Such images occur primarily in secular and especially courtly arts and appear in a wide variety of media in most periods and places in which Islam flourished. In Islam figuration was prohibited in Mosques and other religious places for the fear that it would foster idol worship. Scientific treatises of great importance were produced and these were also beautifully illustrated.

So keeping these concepts as the central themes, Islamic arts have revived and survived through all ages and all cultures.

Today we are at a new challenging situation but surely no different than past challenges. We merge the traditional with the modern like always; create memorable artistic expressions by remaining true to the essence of our values.

Islamic values are the most important and I believe if we live islamically, it would reflect in our works of art even in the contemporary world. I have been painting for more than thirty years now. I was trained as a Fine artist and received master’s degree from M S University, Baroda India. And then I got married and Alhamdulilah embraced Islam. So my journey is slightly different than a born Muslim artist. After marriage while I was taking in the concepts and values of Islam, I was exposed to a wealth of Islamic arts and Arabic calligraphy in Iran and the Middle East, countries where we lived after marriage. I was especially taken with the lyrical line of Arabic calligraphy. I used to copy for hours the different styles and movement of the line forming meaningful and the sacred words of Allah.

At this time, as Islam was deepening within me too, I was especially touched by two major principles of the faith.

Allah is One, abstract, formless and beyond imagination and secondly He has created such diversity among humans and He commands them to live together in harmony and turn towards Him with praises to establish Tawheed, that is unity. So through calligraphy I was trying to pay my gratitude to Allah and with the same lyrical line, I started doing these connected figures as if I wanted to bring the whole world together. As if I want to spread Allah’s love by bringing people together with this single line of positive energy. Allah wants us to live together and share together and thus I recreate these visions which show people in celebrations, visiting neighbors, and family reunions, celebration of life, glow of unity and the hope of the new earth.

At the same time I was also influenced by the compositions in the miniature paintings, so I have done several paintings where I am telling stories of my journey in a very contemporary style on square boards with mixed media. Square is again borrowed from our symbolic spiritual cube-The Kaaba.

The same line has allowed me to laser cut on CAD/CAM sculptures in aluminum of happy people celebrating life.

I truly believe that art is a form of worship and through this act of worship; I always wanted to depict the 99 Beautiful Names of Allah. I always felt that it had to be different and it had to be my humble offering. In 2002, after 9/11 when the world looked at Islam and Muslims in doubt and disbelief, I felt that now I have to do something meaningful to help people understand that Allah has all the Power, all the Attributes and it is up to us humans as to how we translate these powerful energies contained in His Names into good for the world. I had to present Allah in all the Magnificence that my feeble mind could imagine.

After moving to the US from Kuwait in 1986, I had made up my mind to serve Islamic communities in the US. Using my education in Fine Arts and the wealth of Islamic arts that I was exposed to in the Middle East, I started creating Islamic greeting cards. A small woman owned business sprouted and Alhamdulillah it has been increasing continuously. This year I have added the 100^th design to my line of cards. To be able to work as an artist in this way is indeed a blessing.

]]> http://blog.salmaarastu.com/?feed=rss2&p=234 3 http://blog.salmaarastu.com/?p=229 http://blog.salmaarastu.com/?p=229#comments Wed, 24 Feb 2010 03:33:16 +0000 salma-admin http://blog.salmaarastu.com/?p=229 Yesterday at the Creativity and the spiritual path conference I had the opportunity to meet and know many Muslim artists in diverse fields. It is interesting to know that there are so many young artists blooming on Islamic Horizon.

I have always admired the jewel-like quality of miniature paintings and illuminated books from the Indian subcontinent. They are treasured for their artistry, fine colors, and polished finishes. The paintings were created from nature, from pulp to paper, and from mineral to paint. I want to maintain that devotion, but use my knowledge of contemporary painting techniques. Being a mixed media artist I choose wood panels to work on, as they allow me maximum facility to use different materials with acrylic paints. I do not want to do very small pieces, so I use 18” X 18” or 21” X 21” square boards. I select a square shape since I want to use another square to glue on the board to create three-dimensional effects, and also to accent the compositions. Then I prepare the wood surface by applying three separate coats of gesso. I work with several color glazes instead of mixing colors on the palette and in between I use sandpaper to remove portions of the paint and add details with pen and ink. The process intoxicates me, and it also starts creating the story. I start with a very rough idea, and it slowly develops. I try to maintain the jewel-like quality of original miniatures, so I like to give a final glaze of an actual gold color. These pieces allow me to sit and meditate in between my other large and free-flowing works.

The primary and original aim of miniature paintings, whether religious, epic, or portrait, was to tell a story. What better style to tell my own stories?

Here on these large canvases, I want to release myself from telling human stories through the lyrical line. I also want to free myself from the actual meaning of the words and the text. I just want to plunge myself into the pleasure of contemplating the abstract flow of the swelling lines, and form compositions of lines and fields within given space. Though color is a particular interest of mine, in my present work I am experimenting with the movement of lyrical Arabic calligraphy line with minimal use of color. I want to release myself from the temptation of using color and enjoy the celebration of calligraphy through lyrical visions. Here the flow of humanity and spirituality merge. I am painting several canvases to absorb the lyrical language that starts from the field of action and sits in the field of the heart.

The Hindu Lord Krishna began to dance his way back into Salma Arastu’s paintings, years after her conversion to Islam. How and why did it happen?

I wanted to tell this story in “Painting Past Borders,” my article in the July/August issue of Tikkun, but didn’t have the space.

Looking through Arastu’s beautiful art book, I became curious about her “Blue God” series. Like the rest of her work, the lyrical lines in this series echo the flow of Arabic calligraphy, which the artist studied after leaving behind her Hindu past and embracing Islam. But the paintings also hint at the Hindu stories of her childhood, weaving together both of her spiritual lives. How did Lord Krishna dance back into Arastu’s paintings?

Here’s the story she told me:

Until I was twenty-four, these [Hindu gods] were images in my eyes. I had been a very spiritual person because my mother was very, very spiritual. We were always supposed to get up in the morning, have a bath and do prayers. We had a small temple in the house; we had everything there: Lord Krishna, Lord Rama, everything. That’s how I grew up-reading those stories, listening to those stories.

When I was very young, my mother used to say Lord Krishna is the one who will always love you. Don’t ever think nobody’s there to love you, because he loves love-he’s all love. It was an image she had given me of Lord Krishna. He was always in my mind.

Photo of Salma Arastu by Sabiha Basrai

I don’t deny that after marriage [and converting to Islam] I tried to hold myself back and not think in that direction. And in a way I liked it because I liked abstraction more than the images. Because I felt that images were distracting, but this [Islamic] meditation is free-I can look at the sky and just pray, look at the water and just pray-I don’t have to look at the images to pray. So I liked it and I’ve continued, and my mind is trained like that now.

But now after many years, when I’m trying to depict love and harmony in my paintings … I think it came when I was doing Sufism. Sufism is all about love. Islam is all about love. Christianity is all about love.

So I think somehow it came back to me: Lord Krishna, that is. That he is surrounded by all these village women and he’s playing the flute and they are all losing their minds and they’re so happy to be in his presence. This image really appealed to me. It’s coming in a very abstract form, but it’s come in quite a few paintings recently. So I call it the “Blue God” series.

I’m inspired by how Arastu has managed to paint beyond borders and find bridges between her religious and familial communities. Tikkun’s art director, Sabiha Basrai from Design Action Collective in Oakland, is also excited about Arastu’s work. Here’s what Sabiha — a Californian with ties to both India and Islam — wrote for Tikkun after visiting Salma Arastu’s studio:

I am always glad to meet other Muslim women like me whose faith and culture inspire creativity and compels us to promote social justice in all aspects of our lives.

    Sabiha Basrai

Salma grew up in a Hindu family in India, and later embraced Islam through marriage. She told me that the transition was very easy and natural; that although her rituals changed, her faith stayed the same. Her Hindu family and Muslim in-laws have all supported her decisions and encouraged her career as a painter. Salma feels only the love that unites us all. Being in her studio brought out those same feelings within me-love, harmony, and peace came through her paintings, which were scattered around the space. Some of her canvasses were huge-the colorful images towered above me and left me feeling calm.

Salma and I are both part of the Dawoodi Bohra community-a sect of Shiite Islam predominantly made up of Indians and Pakistanis. We are about one million strong, worldwide and our traditions are very uniquely South Asian. Our cuisine, language, and dress are all infused with Indian culture. I was raised in a Bohra family-my parents moved to California from India and I grew up experiencing both Eastern and Western cultures. Salma understands this duality having raised her children in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania where she and her husband settled after leaving India and living in Iran and Kuwait.

Salma Arastu has been painting for thirty some years. Born into Sindhi and Hindu tradition in India, she later embraced Islam through her marriage. She has traveled extensively and lived in various countries–India, Iran, Kuwait, UK, Germany and finally the US, where she moved in 1987. In her work, she tries to bring together Eastern spiritualityand western techniques of painting, learned over the years.

Three elements are strong influences in her work: Folk art, miniature art and Arabic calligraphy, all adopted along her journeys. Seeing the unity of an all-encompassing God, she was able to transcend barriers often set forth in the traditions of religion, culture and the cultural perceptions of handicaps–she was born with no fingers on her left hand.

Her personal triumphs have been defined and shaped by the simple principle of faith in the divine power, the compelling force which has guided her life and work. As both a Hindu and Muslim woman, a multi-cultural artist, and a mother, she sees unique opportunity in creating harmony and world transformation through the expression of the universe in her art.

Sufi series I
Mixed media on canvas
36 x 24

Sharing Light
Mixed Media on Canvas
38 x 48

The Homeless I
Mixed media on board
38 x 48

Conversation with the artist

What is the inspiration behind your work?

Well, I cannot deny the influence of Paul Klee, Miro and Picasso from Europe, M.F. Husain and Amrita Shergil from India. I liked the human figure and I admired what these artists had done with them. I wanted to break the traditions and create something new with the figures which would convey my feelings of love, peace, unity, sharing and celebration of life. I have worked hard for several years to achieve this, and I think today I have successfully developed my own interpretation and form. My story begins with a lyrical line and this same lyrical line allows me to design Arabic calligraphy or draw abstract images of crowds of people with same facility. My inspiration is my faith and it keeps me motivated to do more and more. Painting is a way of worship for me.

Tell us about your journey? How did you become an artist? Did you receive any formal training?

Art is my need; a need to express and reach out. From my childhood days, I felt that I had something important to say and I used to doodle a lot. I have been painting for more than thirty years. I earned my degrees in Fine Arts from the College of Fine Arts and Architecture, Jawaharlal University, Hyderabad in 1971 and later in 1974 from the MS University in Baroda, India. I have traveled extensively–from India to Iran to Kuwait to UK, Germany and to the US. And last year, I moved from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania to the East Bay. I have lived for long periods with amazing people and fascinating communities. Folk art, miniature art and Arabic calligraphy are three strong influences on my art, adopted along my journeys.

Describe your style? What medium do you work in?

I am creating a body of work of through a continuous, lyrical line to express joy in the universal spirit that unites humanity. This lyrical line has been my guide over the blank surface of the canvas. With years of practice, it has become freer and more energetic. It has allowed me to create calligraphic designs or a flow of humanity with same facility. I want to spread God’s love by bringing all people together with this single line of positive energy. I have created several pieces that show unity and celebration together. In my art, people are not given any identity and thus represent the entirety of humanity without differences. I recreate these visions which show people in celebrations, visiting neighbors, family reunions, celebration of life, glow of unity and hope of the new earth. I am inspired by Arabic calligraphy and Persian and Mughal miniature arts but my work is very contemporary. I mix both the worlds-Eastern spirituality and Western techniques effortlessly and the results are very original and colorful and lyrical. I paint, sculpt and I am also a print maker. My paintings are varied in sizes and range is from 60”/90” to 20”/20” and I work on paper, board or canvas.

Technically, my work is evolving, and I keep exploring new materials and mediums to convey my expressions. I often use paper, fiber, molding paste etc. to create textured surfaces on which I paint with thin layers of acrylic paints or glazes. Recently, I have started using copper figures on these textured surfaces which give a unique glow to my compositions. I often add fine details with pen & ink as if embroidering them and thus finally bringing the piece together.

What would you consider your biggest success as an artist?

Alhamdulillah I am grateful and here are some achievements listed by the media:

How has your work been received by the world and what is next for you?

I am grateful to God as I get very good feedback from my art patrons. They find my work joyful and peaceful. My greatest pleasure is when people find the same message from my paintings that I try to convey. I am attempting to create a world through my art work in which the magic of communion plays a central role. My subjects include people, who do everything together. They initiate each other, they celebrate together, they grieve together, they pray together. In this global world, it is important that we understand each other, accept each other with our differences, and emerge as one human community for the success of humanity.

Salma Arastu’s art tells a story. She does not plan it that way but says, “Somehow the messages start appearing as I work. These messages are of love, peace, sharing and celebration of life.”

Born into a Hindu family in Rajasthan and married to a Muslim, Arastu uses an exquisite combination of painting and calligraphy to depict various aspects of social, cultural and spiritual life. For California-based Arastu, the varied tones and texture of her art are a reflection of her diverse life, seen in works like “Musical Fountains,” “The Puppets,” “Alone in the Crowd,” “The Naming Ceremony,” “Hope-the Sun,” “Praying Together.”

Arastu, who was born without fingers on her left hand, graduated in fine arts from M.S. University in Baroda, Gujarat in 1974 and started working in mixed media. After a while, she felt the need to move from two-dimensional to three-dimensional surfaces. She started exploring various mediums and experimented with clay and papier-mâché, ultimately adopting laser-cut aluminum expression of calligraphic characters and figures.

Elaborating on her 30-year creative journey she says. “…I used to draw abstract human figures since my fine art education days. And after marriage I was exposed to the wealth of Arabic calligraphy as we moved to Iran in 1976 and then to Kuwait in 1980. I started working as a volunteer in the Islamic art museums.” She had to copy text from early manuscripts as part of her work and was charmed by the flowing lines of Arabic calligraphy. Gradually the lines merged in her imagination, appeared as the flow of humanity and created designs. “My calligraphy style is free and flowing as I do not follow any particular style but work with the space and the feel of what I am writing,” she says.

Arastu prefers to keep her paintings faceless because she believes that faces limit her creations in terms of their ethnicity, race and religion. “Right from the beginning…I used to believe that we are all one. We are from a common spirit. There is no identity or features as these elements create differences….The faceless figure is the universal human figure….”

Arastu and her husband, Alamdar Husain Arastu, an architect, chose to move to the United States because “we thought that we would fit well in the American way of life. I think that we were also adventurous and wanted to find greater challenges.” She is impressed by the honesty of Americans, their will to enjoy life and their arts, music and other festivals. As for Indian influences she says, “It is but natural. I am a true Indian at heart, very spiritual, and believe in tolerance.”

Arastu also draws on her own experiences, such as a scene that has remained in her mind since childhood. “It was when my mother, who was the energy and inspiration for the whole household, broke down…crying and uttering that she had become a widow. So many women were surrounding her, trying to console her. I knew that I had lost my father. I was 10 years old then and had returned from school. I watched that scene from the doorstep,” she says. Now it is conveyed in her work, “When She Became a Widow.”

Arastu says that when she was a student in India in the early 1970s, she thought art was limited to certain groups or institutions only, not accessible or understood by common people. “But in the mid 1980s, on arriving in the U.S., I found that art was flourishing there, great importance was given to art in schools and people appreciated it,” she says.

Arastu seems satisfied with the acceptance of her art in America. “…Ninety five percent of my patrons are American. People from the subcontinent…still do not invest in art so commonly.”

Apart from painting and sculpture, writing is her favorite hobby. Her first book of poems in Hindi, Dard Ki Seedhiyan, was published in 1981. After her arrival in the United States, she started writing in English. Her recent book, The Lyrical Line, has about 30 short poems. “Some expressions cannot be painted and so I turn them into poems.”

Kalart began its existence as a traditional gallery in the late 90’s. It was founded by San Francisco architect, Arvind Iyer. With the dot.com bust in 2001, Mr. Iyer decided to focus his efforts on his core architectural business. He rented out the space to another gallery. With the recent re-location of that gallery, Kalart Gallery has, in the best Indian tradition, been resurrected. Currently it is not truly a commercial gallery. Rather it is devoted to projects and artists that appeal to Mr. Iyer.

Salma Arastu, a Bay Area artist by way of Rajasthan, India, approached Mr. Iyer about an exhibition of her paintings to coincide with the launch of her new book, “The Lyrical Line”. The exhibition, which included her painting, her book launch, a lecture and Sufi music at the opening, was just the sort of project that Mr. Iyer embraces.

Much of Salma’s work is influenced by Indian folk art, Mogul miniatures and Arabic calligraphy. She has combined these traditional influences with many of the western techniques that she has embraced in over thirty years as a professional artist (see also site banner). The result is lyrical work that can often approach abstraction, where her deep spirituality is always present.