Forethought

This website is intended to be a resource for people to become exposed to Islamic art and learn about it. On another note, this website presents Islamic artworks that emphasize the interaction between different worlds, different regions, and different groups of people. The purpose of that is to highlight how the Islamic world was influencing as well as being influenced by other worlds. It is also to promote the harmonious co-existence of other people within the Islamic world.

The website is inspired by the New York Times Close Read Website, which reads a few art pieces closely. However, this website is Close Look because it is presenting information as well as interactions that are meant to change people's perspective about Islamic World. The artworks included in this website are from the guide called Art of the Islamic World: A Resource for Educators, edited by Claire Moore and Maryam Ekhtiar and sponsored by The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The art included in the guide was largely commissioned by Muslim patrons but the artists and craftsmen who created these works, in some cases, were non-Muslims living under Muslim rule. While Islam has been practiced in all of these regions since the seventh century, Christians, Jews, Hindus, Zoroastrians, and Buddhists have also been a part of the communities within this geographic expanse. The common thread of Islam unites these regions and thus major recurring themes, forms, and modes of expression emerge. This guide aims to highlight these commonalities while emphasizing the unique culture of each region.

This website is designed by Toli Begum, a student at Fordham University majoring in Middle East Study and New Media & Digital Design. With her interest in areas of study, she wanted to introduce the Art History world to the Digital Design world. Although this website may not be the most transformative idea, the interactions on each page are meant to show how the consumption of Art History can be taken to a whole another level with the help of technology and Digital Design.