M7 Post

Art of Faith Series 

Islam Video

Various significant Islamic mosques were examined. This video started out by describing the first great masterpiece of Islamic art built in the seventh century, the Dome of the Rock. I'm familiar with both this mosque and the Hagia Sophia, but I've never heard of the other mosques listed in the video before. The Great Mosque of Kairouan immediately caught my attention. The amount of columns in the prayer room is remarkable. It was said that the intended propose of these series of columns was to create a sort of forest to block the view between those who pray and the imam. It was also dim, faintly light by countless chandeliers, in the prayer hall to help people focus on their prayers. In Islam, the relationship between people who pray and god is direct.

Hinduism Video  

The Kailashanatha Temple, Kandariya Temple, and the Temple of Vishnu of Angkor Wat stood out to me. It was amazing to see the Kailashanatha Temple carved out from a solid mountainside. This temple had to be cut from the top to the bottom which requires immense attention to detail. All Hindu temples essentially follow a similar design. The entrance faces the rising sun in the east, they have mandapas or halls, and an inner sanctum which is referred to as the garbha griha. This inner sanctum is the heart of the temple. It's kept dark inside to imitate the atmosphere of a mother's womb. All of the temples listed above have great, ornate carvings within.

Those two videos directly relate to the content in the folder. The Introduction to Mosque Architecture folder describes the common features found within mosques. A sahn or courtyard, mihrab or niche, minbar or pulpit, minaret or tower, and a qubba or dome are all basic features of a traditional mosque. The video touches on all of these terms, specifically the minarets that were added to the Hagia Sophia when the Ottomans took control and renovated it into a mosque.

The Shiva As Lord of the Dance (Nataraja) folder explains the significance of the sculpture. It's believed that this artwork depicts Shiva frozen in time during a moment of his dance within the circle of fire. This directly relates to the video when a tour guide explained that the sculptures and carvings on temples are captured during an activity or time of movement. None of them seem to be static.

I loved the films. I read the content in the folder before I watched them which gave me necessary background information to understand architectural terms. As stated above, both of the videos relate to the course content.

I chose the Islam and Hindu video because I wanted to learn more about the architecture of those religions. I'm familiar and fascinated with the mosaic work and domes of the Hagia Sophia and Dome of the Rock, but I wanted to learn about other Islamic mosques. As far as the Hindu temples go, I'm not familiar with any of them and wanted to learn more about the religion.