The denied Line

Abstract

This paper explores the connection between Islamic ornamental calligraphic expressions and the works of several classical modern artists, indicating similarities and an aesthetic nexus. Picasso and Kandinsky can be described as neophiles and innovators who admired traditional artefacts from foreign cultures. However, their artistic influences also reflect questionable behaviours, highlighting phenomena from the 19th and early 20th centuries where "the Orient" was not recognized as a civilized entity. Veiled and denied calligraphic linear aesthetics point to issues of Orientalism and primitivism. The artists sought purity and primitiveness in forms that would prompt a different perception for the avant-garde audience, cleansing their view from the beauty of idealism and the tangible world. Paradoxically, these attributes were characteristic of Islamic ornamentation, despite its symbolism and religious mysticism. Thus, modern artists' ambiguous attitudes must be examined, making this topic relevant to today's intercultural and transcultural discussions. Art allows viewers to experience and reflect on the artist's emotions and intentions. Early modern artists already depicted the Orient as a world of fantasy and exoticism while simultaneously portraying it as wild and threatening. Abstractions also reflect such controversies but with different artistic means. These problematic perspectives and veiled references fade over time behind the aura of such artworks. This issue is also present in Islamic ornamentation, whose grandfather, according to the author, is Plato. Consequently, the critical examination is crucial today to reflect on the concept of culture, detach pure ideas from their taken-for-grandness, and unveil obscured intercultural and transcultural perspectives.