January Issue 2000
Exhibit of Middle Eastern Art to Open at USC McKissick Museum in Columbia, SC
The Middle East and the prophet Mohammed once seemed remote to American culture. However, as economic ties to Middle Eastern countries strengthen, and as the US population increasingly reflects more Arab descendants, the culture of that region has become less mysterious.
A new exhibition scheduled to open Jan. 9 at the University of SC's McKissick Museum in Columbia, SC will explore Middle Eastern culture. Allure of the East, a nationally traveling exhibition of more than 50 works of art and decorative objects from the private collection of Syrian emigrés Drs. Joseph and Omayma Touma, will be on display through Mar. 5.
The museum considers the exhibition an opportunity to expand South Carolinians' understanding and appreciation the cultural history of Middle Easterners, which represent a population that has grown to more than 6,000 in the state, says Jay Williams, McKissick Museum's chief curator.
Eighteenth- and 19th-century Muslim prayer rugs and an array of decorative objects, including copper bowls and brilliantly colored tiles, are complemented by Orientalist European paintings by 19th-century artists fascinated with Islamic culture and noted for their romantic interpretations of the Middle East. These 19th-century painters were called Orientalists because the lands of the Middle East were often termed Oriental.
The objects in the exhibition, which were designed for secular and sacred use, have transcended the usual definition of decorative objects. The lofty status of textiles, the tradition of manuscript artistry and the passion for language and elaborate script have had tremendous influence on Middle Eastern art.
Middle Eastern art emphasizes pattern and decoration because human images are forbidden under Muslim theological law. Instead, elegance, naturalism and exquisite color characterize the art. Ceramics during the Ottoman reign (1281 - 1924) featured elaborate blue-and-white vessels inspired by Chinese porcelains. Unlike other rugs, prayer rugs have retained a certain amount of symbolism, including the symmetrical use of stylized lamps, a pair of candlesticks and floral borders and shapes that surround the mihrab, a pointed or stepped arch in the rug's center that represents a prayer niche in a mosque and marks the way to Mecca.
Visitors to the McKissick exhibition will explore on perspectives into Middle Eastern Art: one with the mark of authentic ideology and the other from an outsider's view of an alien culture.
The exhibition is organized by the Huntington Museum of Art in Huntington, WV.
For further information check our SC Institutional Gallery listings or call the museum at 803/777-7251 or visit its website at (http://www.c1a.sc.edu/MCKS).
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