Boston College exhibit shows Islamic art wonders

A woman with flowers in her hair, beaded necklaces and red lipstick picks up a blossom to smell. Birds, monkeys and insects surround her as she walks through a colorful forest. This image from a 300-year-old velvet wall-hanging is not what usually comes to mind when most Westerners envision the Muslim world. But a new art exhibit at Boston College hopes to change that perception. “When you see the word ‘Islamic,’ the first word you think of shouldn’t be ‘terrorist,’ ” said Jonathan Bloom, an Islamic and Asian arts professor at Boston College. “If we recognize that Islamic culture has made great contributions to world culture, then we’re already a step ahead.” Bloom and his wife, fellow Islamic and Asian arts professor Sheila Blair, are curating “Cosmophilia: Islamic Art from the David Collection, Copenhagen,” on view at the McMullen Museum of Art at Boston College through Dec. 31. The term “Islamic art” describes both sacred and secular art created in places where Islam was the main re

A woman with flowers in her hair, beaded necklaces and red lipstick picks up a blossom to smell. Birds, monkeys and insects surround her as she walks through a colorful forest. This image from a 300-year-old velvet wall-hanging is not what usually comes to mind when most Westerners envision the Muslim world. But a new art exhibit at Boston College hopes to change that perception. “When you see the word ‘Islamic,’ the first word you think of shouldn’t be ‘terrorist,’ ” said Jonathan Bloom, an Islamic and Asian arts professor at Boston College. “If we recognize that Islamic culture has made grea