A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
Material Culture of Religion: New Approaches to Functionality in Islamic Objects
Religious artefacts are usually evaluated in the light of good-old symbolism rather than functionality. This makes these artefacts perceived as objects alienated to the contemporary paradigm of design in its classical sense the outcome of the formula ‘form follows function’. However, symbolism is not sufficient to explain the material culture of religious objects, because they mostly refer to specific practices and rituals. In this situation there is a strong need to go beyond purely symbolic patterns and have a fresh look at the issue of functionality and design.
This paper aims to discuss the historical origins and sociological perspectives of material culture of religion, with a specific reference to Islam and Sufism, interrogating religious objects with a view to focusing on their functionality. All these discussions are structured on the three basic categories of function, namely; techno-function, socio-function and ideo-function.
Material Culture of Religion: New Approaches to Functionality in Islamic Objects
Religious artefacts are usually evaluated in the light of good-old symbolism rather than functionality. This makes these artefacts perceived as objects alienated to the contemporary paradigm of design in its classical sense the outcome of the formula ‘form follows function’. However, symbolism is not sufficient to explain the material culture of religious objects, because they mostly refer to specific practices and rituals. In this situation there is a strong need to go beyond purely symbolic patterns and have a fresh look at the issue of functionality and design.
This paper aims to discuss the historical origins and sociological perspectives of material culture of religion, with a specific reference to Islam and Sufism, interrogating religious objects with a view to focusing on their functionality. All these discussions are structured on the three basic categories of function, namely; techno-function, socio-function and ideo-function.
Material Culture of Religion: New Approaches to Functionality in Islamic Objects
Bağlı, Hümanur (author)
The Design Journal ; 18 ; 305-325
2015-07-03
21 pages
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English
functionality , mobility , religion , design , Sufism
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