Arabesque and its Misunderstood Contemporary Applications Historical, Cultural and Aesthetic Underpinning

Abstract

Aim of the Study: The aims of this research include a brief investigation in the history and evolution of the arabesque in traditional and contemporary visual culture; a semiotic and visual inquiry in the meaning of the arabesque; the application of the arabesque in contemporary art, design and architecture. Specifically, the aim of this research paper is to find about the misunderstood utilisation of arabesque as a cultural confluence in contemporary art and design communication in a local as well as globalised environment.

Methodology: This paper underwent a qualitative inquiry on hermeneutic exploratory and descriptive research using the technique of innate expressionism by using secondary data furnished additionally with interviews.

Findings: It appears that no research has been fully carried out as to its contemporary development and application in the Pakistani art, design and architecture. This may be because Arabesques have traditionally been considered Islamic surface decoration and not an active visual language able to communicate culture specific meaning through contemporary advertising.

Conclusion: The art of Arabesque is gradually being replaced by its brash and thoughtless imitations which not only damage its relationship with its cultural context but also leads this unique element of ornamentation towards deformation and distortion with reference to its scale and proportions, thus paving way for extinction in future. Arabesque has also lost its place in contemporary Islamic art and architecture due to the absence or decreasing number of masters or traditionally skilled craftsmen practising this genuine artistic craft.