VCUQatar hosted day three of the Islamic Art Symposium. Today's speakers were Yasser Tabbaa, D.Fairchild Ruggles, Howayda Al Harithy, Agnieszka Dobrowolska and Walter Denny.
Yasser Tabbaa, - 'Control and Abandon: Images of Water in Arabic Poetry and Gardens'. This presentation discussed the exchange and interplay between poetry and garden design of water in both poetry and architecture and examined its resonance from pre-Islamic times to the late medieval period and beyond.
Yasser is a scholar in Islamic art and architecture and occasional curator of art exhibitions. He has taught at several American universities including the University of Michigan.
D.Fairchild Ruggles, 'The Great Mosque of Cordoba; Fruited Trees and Ablution Fountains.' This presentation discussed the majestic architecture of the famous mosque and the fact that it was built with hydraulics in mind, both to fill the ablution fountains and to nourish the courtyard plantings.
Fairchild is a professor of art, architecture and landscape history at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and co founder and co director of the Collaborative for Cultural Heritage and Museum Practices.
Howayda Al Harithy, - 'Sabil Kuttabs and the Conception of Water During the Mamluk Period' This presentation explained that sabils (offering free water to the public) did not only develop from a simple attached feature to elaborate free-standing urban landmarks, but also evolved programmatically from the practical function of providing water to the commemorative purpose of glorifying the founders.
Howayda is a professor of Architecture at the American University of Beirut where she has taught studios in architecture and urban design and courses in art and architectural history and theory since 1994. She served as Chair of Department of Architecture and Design between 2004 and 2006
Agnieszka Dobrowolska - 'Architecture as a Message; the Sabil of Muhammed'Ali Pasha in Cairo' - Offering free drinking water to the public as charity from a sabil has been known throughout the Middle East ever since the early days of Islam. This presentation discussed the political statement expressed in architectural terms made by Muhammed'Ali Pasha in building a sabil at a prominent location on the main thoroughfare of medieval Cairo.
Agnieszka is a conservation architect who has worked for fifteen years on numerous archaeological and conservation sites in Egypt, directing a number of architectural conservation projects in the country, many of them in Cairo.
Walter Denny. "Water and Water Imagery in Architecture and the Arts in Ottoman Times' .This presentation discussed the variety of bath and fountain architecture created by the Ottoman Empire. These included public baths (hammam) and thermal baths (kaplica).
Walter has taught at the University of Massachusetts/Amherst Art History Program since 1970. His primary field of teaching and research is the art and architecture of the Islamic world, in particular the artistic traditions of the Ottoman Turks, Islamic carpet and textiles.
