'[This book] has originality and insight and throws fresh light on an important aspect of the art world. By letting the categories of artistic production, nationalist identity and subterfuge speak to, inform, and challenge one another, Virginia Whiles has created a rich text which gives both historical depth and contemporary significance on questions of art, commodification and identity.'-Parvathi Raman, Senior Lecturer in Social Anthropology, Department of Anthropology and Sociology, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London --

Deconstructing the Myths of Islamic Art addresses how researchers can challenge stereotypical notions of Islam and Islamic art while avoiding the creation of new myths and the encouragement of nationalistic and ethnic attitudes. Despite its Orientalist origins, the field of Islamic art has continued to evolve and shape our understanding of the various civilizations of Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Situated in this field, this book addresses how universities, museums, and other educational institutions can continue to challenge stereotypical or homogeneous notions of Islam and Islamic art. It reviews subtle and overt mythologies through scholarly research, museum collections and exhibitions, classroom perspectives, and artists’ initiatives. This collaborative volume addresses a conspicuous and persistent gap in the literature, which can only be filled by recognizing and resolving persistent myths regarding Islamic art from diverse academic and professional perspectives. The book will be of interest to scholars working in art history, museum studies, visual culture, and Middle Eastern studies.

Modern Art in Pakistan examines interaction of space, tradition, and history to analyse artistic production in Pakistan from the 1950s to recent times. It traces the evolution of modernism in Pakistan and frames it in a global context in the aftermath of Partition. A masterful insight into South Asian art, this book will interest researchers, scholars, and students of South Asian art and art history, and Pakistan in particular. Further, it will be useful to those engaged in the fields of Islamic studies, museum studies, and modern South Asian history.

A superb art book of one of the most arresting art movements in the world today Pakistan’s contemporary art scene is arguably the most exciting in South Asia. Wellknown curator, artist and teacher Salima Hashmi gives us a superb overview in this lavishly designed book, which includes interviews with artists such as Rashid Rana and pieces by writers like Kamila Shamsie and Mohsin Hamid.

One of the most remarkable artistic achievements of the Mughal Empire was the emergence in the early seventeenth century of portraits of identifiable individuals, unprecedented in both South Asia and the Islamic world. Appearing at a time of increasing contact between Europe and Asia, portraits from the reigns of the great Mughal emperor-patrons Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan are among the best-known paintings produced in South Asia. In the following centuries portraiture became more widespread in the visual culture of South Asia, especially in the rich and varied traditions of painting, but also in sculpture and later prints and photography. This collection seeks to understand the intended purpose of a range of portrait traditions in South Asia and how their style, setting and representation may have advanced a range of aesthetic, social and political functions. The chapters range across a wide historical period, exploring ideals of portraiture in Sanskrit and Persian literature, the emergence and political symbolism of Mughal portraiture, through to the paintings of the Rajput courts, sculpture in Tamil temples and the transformation of portraiture in colonial north India and post-independence Pakistan. This specially commissioned collection of studies from a strong list of established scholars and rising stars makes a significant contribution to South Asian history, art and visual culture.

This book documents the practice-led research of painting as a peripatetic art practice through travel and transient life in Australia, India, and Pakistan. Crossing disciplines of Art, Applied Anthropology, and Cultural Geography, painting is explored as a way of negotiating the uncertainties inherent in cross-cultural journeys, and the possibility of connecting with others in their lifeworlds. The ways of navigating and of making that support creativity in the field are identified, as are the multifarious conditions of the field in view of how these shaped painting, and ultimately, the consciousness of the artist through possibilities for empathy, advocacy, and activism. The book includes many images that illustrate the form which painting took in the field and the techniques employed to create these. Interactive links in the eBook edition enable the reader to view documentary films about subjects with whom the artist worked, and that illustrate the field and conditions of making. Throughout the book the reader may also engage with virtual tours of the Australindopak Archive as the art work generated by this research.

Islamophobia is one of the most prevalent forms of prejudice in the world today. This timely book reveals the way in which Islamophobia's pervasive power is being met with responses that challenge it and the worldview on which it rests. The volume breaks new ground by outlining the characteristics of contemporary Islamophobia across a range of political, historic, and cultural public debates in Europe and the United States. Chapters examine issues such as: how anti-Muslim prejudice facilitates questionable foreign and domestic policies of Western governments; the tangible presence of anti-Muslim bias in media and the arts including a critique of the global blockbuster fantasy series Game of Thrones; youth activism in response to securitised Islamophobia in education; and activist forms of Muslim self-fashioning including Islamic feminism, visual art and comic strip superheroes in popular culture and new media. Drawing on contributions from experts in history, sociology, and literature, the book brings together interdisciplinary perspectives from culture and the arts as well as political and policy reflections. It argues for an inclusive cultural dialogue through which misrepresentation and institutionalised Islamophobia can be challenged.