The Museum of Art has opened an exhibition on Islamic Art entitled Doris Duke’s Shangri-La: Architecture, Landscape, and Islamic Art. The event opened January 25th and extends until May 4th, but I had the added bonus of participating in a conversation with PhD student Ashley Diming about the potential artistic implications of the work. The exhibition is not only Duke’s work, it includes the photography of eight other artists of Islamic origin, all of whom participated in the Shangri La artists in residence program.
This exhibition is highly personalized, as much a personal scrapbook or photo album as it is a work of art. In fact, I personally see it as more of the former than a work of art not due to lack of artistic merit, but rather because there is so much personality and memory in every photo, every record of Duke’s experiences in Islamic countries.
Duke’s original intent was to document her honeymoon and travels through the world, but also to create a visual record of herself in the act of collecting Islamic art (pottery, sculpture, ceramic tiles) important to her during the period of 1935 and onward. As Duke continued her mission, her collection grew upwards of 60 original objects and a plethora of photographs of Duke on site.
The question in my head, and one which I wish I could have asked the artist herself, was, “so what matters more, the final presentation of the exhibition, or the journey itself?” I cannot speak for the artist, but I suspect it is difficult to answer this question, as both aspects of the exhibit seem quite personally fulfilling.
On one hand, this is a deeply personal artistic endeavor, lasting years, etching memories, and exposing the artist to unique and humbling experiences. On the other hand, the act of combining this journey is an act of affirming the meaningfulness of one’s own life—Duke shares an entire era of her life with the public, but in doing so recreates her own personal journey, perhaps even gaining deeper insights into what her motivations were, how each picture she took or object she collected forever changed her own life. And in turn, her journey of self-discovery becomes an opportunity for the audience to indulge in their own journey of self-discovery.
To me this exhibit is a perfect capstone for why art is such a great thing. Duke’s exhibition shows that while art doesn’t directly save lives, it sure makes life worth living. The journey to find and catalogue important works of art lead to Duke’s own growth as a photographer and exhibitionist. Duke is an inspiration to me, showing that if we live our lives the right way, everything we do can become a work of art.
Read more about the exhibition here: http://www.umma.umich.edu/insider/duke-programs
