CMEAC Symposium. Moh'd Bilbeisi. March 7-8 2013. Paper 02

Denotation and Aesthetics in Islamic Art and Architecture

Written by:
Moh'd Bilbeisi, Professor
School of Architecture
Oklahoma State University

Presenting at:
CMEAC Symposium
College of Architecture
The University of Oklahoma
March 7-8 2013

Abstract:
The topics of denotation/meaning and beauty in Islamic architecture are enigmatic in nature. In Islam, the idea of creativity is closely associated with the divine and any attempts to discuss such an issue would render the argument blasphemous. While there is ample architectural research documenting the factual data of physical survey, conservation and decorative ornament, there is very little information about the roots and the concepts contained within the architectural work or treatment itself. Some ancient texts written by Bannas, builders, do reveal information of a technical and historical nature, but there is no discussion regarding the dictum inherent in the designs prior to the Ottoman era. To find any texts inferring the true nature of beauty, meaning, and ugliness we must look to the abundance of books written by enlightened Muslim Falasifa, the philosophers who translated the works of Greek philosophers and overlaid upon them Islamic canonical theology.

The difficulty in pursuing this branch of research stems from our inability to cognize the literary works left by the Falasipha, especially the ones who follow the Sufi tradition of writing in which there are two meanings for the physicality of the idiom: the Althaher, the apparent, and the Albaaten, the hidden, in addition to including ample references to the Qur'an, Muslim's holy book, and the Hadeeth, the words, actions, and disposition of the prophet Mohammed. In other words, western textual analysis is incapable of deciphering the true meaning of the text.

This paper will attempt to shed light on the concepts of meaning and aesthetics as written by three influential Muslim Falasifa; Ibn Sina, known in Greek as Avicenna (b. 980 C.E.), Ibn Rushd, known in Greek as Averroes (d. 1198 C.E.), and Ibn Arabi (d. 1240 C.E.). The three philosophers are well known to the west and their contributions to western thought are well established. While their literary work is diverse, ranging from treaties on medicine, optics, and surgery to poetry and politics, it converges at the end as discourses about the concordance of the notion of god, the concept of beauty, and how they achieve meaning.