Spotlight on Islamic Art

By Belinda Luscombe

One of the more unexpected effects of the Sept. 11 attacks on the U.S. has been a renewed interest in Islamic art. Though some galleries were initially concerned that shows of Islamic art would be ill received, the opposite has been true. A Montreal museum canceled a show of Muslim artists right after the attacks but reinstated it after public outcry. Several small galleries quickly put together exhibitions, including the Honolulu Academy of Art, which had planned to open an Islamic gallery late in 2002 with work from Doris Duke's collection but rushed out an exhibition of its own works last November. And the Los Angeles County Museum of Art last week announced the acquisition of the Madina Collection, which will make LACMA's the third largest Islamic art collection in the U.S. But it's not just galleries. College professors are reporting an increased enrollment in Islamic art courses. "I had people sitting on the floor, we were so full," says Renata Holod, professor of Islamic Art and Architecture, of her course at the University of Pennsylvania. Numbers are still small--Holod's class now attracts about 30 students--but it's a pattern that's being echoed on campuses elsewhere. "The art gives a more accurate view of that culture," says Linda Komaroff, LACMA's Islamic curator. "Visitors will come away with the idea that the people who created the stuff sought to surround themselves with beauty."

--By Belinda Luscombe