What ties an 8th-century mosaic in the Dome of the Rock to a contemporary abstract carpet? For Islamic art historian Christiane Gruber, that question has driven three decades of research—pushing her away from the idea of a single \"Islamic art\" and toward a field defined by plurality and contradiction.
In this episode of This Being Human, Gruber joins host Mai Habib to read political meaning into sacred ornament, and to dismantle a persistent myth: that the Prophet Muhammad has never been depicted in Islamic art history. She traces how these depictions evolved from detailed faces to veiled figures wrapped in flame, and closes on her newest research interest—eco-Islamic art —and why stewardship and sacred water feel more urgent now than ever.
*The Museum wishes to thank Nadir and Shabin Mohamed for their founding support of This Being Human.*
Guest Bio
Christiane Gruber is the Mehmet Ağa-Oğlu Collegiate Professor of Islamic Art History in the History of Art Department at the University of Michigan, and founding director of Khamseen: Islamic Art History Online, a free digital platform for teaching Islamic art and visual culture. Her research spans medieval to contemporary Islamic art, with a focus on figural representation, depictions of the Prophet Muhammad, and book arts. She is the author of several books, including The Praiseworthy One: The Prophet Muhammad in Islamic Texts and Images (Indiana University Press, 2019).
Links & Resources
Key Moments
0:21 Introduction to This Being Human and Christiane Gruber
1:16 What comes to mind when we think of Islamic art
6:13 Moving beyond the idea of one \"true\" Islam
8:16 Reading political and religious meaning into the Dome of the Rock
10:50 The surprising history of depicting the Prophet Muhammad
13:52 The poetry behind the facial veil and the halo
18:57 Picture vs. picturation: representing the more-than-human
20:42 The Rose of the Prophet and the Sunnah of representation
22:19 Founding Khamseen, a \"COVID baby\"
25:07 Eco-Islamic art, from the Kaaba to climate change
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