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Sandow Birk
American Qur'an, 2015
Birk’s beautifully rendered images of contemporary life fill the pages of the American Qur’an, thoughtfully bridging two cultures and reflecting the artist’s experience of travel in the Islamic world. Appearing in full for the first time, this lavishly designed volume—containing all 114 suras—melds past with present and East with West, like nothing before it. The result, hailed by Reza Aslan as "a great favor, not only to Muslims, but also to Americans," is one of the most original art books to appear in decades.
Hardcover book
12 × 16 in / 464 pages
MORE about this artworkAt a time when the United States was involved in two wars against Islamic nations, American-born artist Sandow Birk strove to consider the Qur'an as it was intended: as a universal message to humankind. Birk began the project with the question, “How can the message of the Qur’an be applied to a contemporary American life?”
From this starting point, Birk embarked on the most ambitious work of his career. Following in the grand traditions of ancient Arabic and Islamic artists, Birk hand-transcribed the entire Qur'an as was done in centuries past—abiding by the traditional prescriptions as to ink colors, page format, margin size, and illumination of page headings and medallions marking verses and passages. His hand-lettered calligraphy uses an American tradition of writing—that of urban graffiti street letters found around the artist’s Los Angeles neighborhood. A myriad of diverse scenes from everyday American life illuminate each chapter, or sura. While Birk’s skate-surf aesthetic permeates the book, the settings depicted cover an impressive panoply of America culture—unbound by any particular political persuasion or agenda.
Even before the first original paintings in Birk’s American Qur'an project appeared in exhibits at Catharine Clark Gallery (San Francisco) and Koplin Del Rio (Los Angeles) in 2009, veteran art critics expressed concern about its reception. Birk’s American Qur’an challenges the notion of aniconism—the eschewal of images in Islamic texts. This book represents the first published version of the Qur’an to contain text accompanied by representational illuminations—versus the geometric and vegetal patterns which adorn other tomes. In addition, the pairing of Islam’s holiest text with scenes from contemporary American life seemed potentially provocative, given the climate of the times. The project, however, was not only welcomed by the Muslim community but also celebrated as an "ambitious and valuable undertaking" (New York Times). At the same time, many saw it as taking part in an ancient tradition, one that, according to Yale University professor Zareena Grewal, "eschewed the irony and satire that have become the knee-jerk impulse of so many Western artists."
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Sandow Birk
American Qur'an / Sura 2A, 2011
Gouache, acrylic, and ink on paper
16 x 24 inches unframed
19 x 27 inches framed
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Sandow Birk
American Qur'an / Sura 2B, 2011
Gouache, acrylic, and ink on paper
16 x 24 inches unframed
19 x 27 inches framed
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Sandow Birk
American Qur'an / Sura 2C, 2011
Gouache, acrylic, and ink on paper
16 x 24 inches unframed
19 x 27 inches framed
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Sandow Birk
American Qur'an / Sura 2D, 2011
Gouache, acrylic, and ink on paper
16 x 24 inches unframed
19 x 27 inches framed
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Sandow Birk
American Qur'an / Sura 2E, 2011
Gouache, acrylic, and ink on paper
16 x 24 inches unframed
19 x 27 inches framed
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Sandow Birk
American Qur'an / Sura 2F, 2011
Gouache, acrylic, and ink on paper
16 x 24 inches unframed
19 x 27 inches framed
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Sandow Birk
American Qur'an / Sura 2G, 2011
Gouache, acrylic, and ink on paper
16 x 24 inches unframed
19 x 27 inches framed
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Sandow Birk
American Qur'an / Sura 2H, 2011
Gouache, acrylic, and ink on paper
16 x 24 inches unframed
19 x 27 inches framed
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Sandow Birk
American Qur'an / Sura 2J, 2011
Gouache, acrylic, and ink on paper
16 x 24 inches unframed
19 x 27 inches framed
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Sandow Birk
American Qur'an / Sura 2K, 2011
Gouache, acrylic, and ink on paper
16 x 24 inches unframed
19 x 27 inches framed
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Sandow Birk
American Qur'an / Sura 2L, 2011
Gouache, acrylic, and ink on paper
16 x 24 inches unframed
19 x 27 inches framed
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Sandow Birk
American Qur'an/Sura 5 (A-F), 2011
Gouache, acrylic, and ink on paper
16 x 24 inches unframed
19 x 27 inches framed
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Sandow Birk
American Qur'an / Sura 5A, 2011
Gouache, acrylic, and ink on paper
16 x 24 inches unframed
17 x 27 inches framed
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Sandow Birk
American Qur'an / Sura 5B, 2011
Gouache, acrylic, and ink on paper
16 x 24 inches unframed
19 x 27 inches framed
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Sandow Birk
American Qur'an / Sura 5C, 2011
Gouache, acrylic, and ink on paper
16 x 24 inches unframed
19 x 27 inches framed
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Sandow Birk
American Qur'an / Sura 5D, 2011
Gouache, acrylic, and ink on paper
16 x 24 inches unframed
19 x 27 inches framed
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Sandow Birk
American Qur'an / Sura 5E, 2011
Gouache, acrylic, and ink on paper
16 x 24 inches unframed
19 x 27 inches framed
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Sandow Birk
American Qur'an / Sura 5F, 2011
Gouache, acrylic, and ink on paper
16 x 24 inches unframed
19 x 27 inches framed
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SOLD
Sandow Birk
American Qur'an / Sura 6 (A-F), 2011
Gouache, acrylic, and ink on paper
16 x 24 inches unframed
19 x 27 inches framed
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SOLD
Sandow Birk
American Qur'an/Sura 6 (Panel A), 2011
Gouache, acrylic, and ink on paper
16 x 24 inches each unframed
19 x 27 inches each framed
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SOLD
Sandow Birk
American Qur'an/Sura 6 (Panel B), 2011
Gouache, acrylic, and ink on paper,
16 x 24 inches each unframed
19 x 27 inches each framed
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SOLD
Sandow Birk
American Qur'an/Sura 6 (Panel C), 2011
Gouache, acrylic, and ink on paper
16 x 24 inches each unframed
19 x 27 inches each framed
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SOLD
Sandow Birk
American Qur'an/Sura 6 (Panel D), 2011
Gouache, acrylic, and ink on paper
16 x 24 inches each unframed
19 x 27 inches each framed
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SOLD
Sandow Birk
American Qur'an/Sura 6 (Panel E), 2011
Gouache, acrylic, and ink on paper
16 x 24 inches each unframed
19 x 27 inches each framed
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SOLD
Sandow Birk
American Qur'an/Sura 6 (Panel F), 2011
Gouache, acrylic, and ink on paper
16 x 24 inches each unframed
19 x 27 inches each framed -
SOLD
Sandow Birk
American Qur'an / Sura 9 (A-E), 2011
Gouache, acrylic, and ink on paper
16 x 24 inches unframed
19 x 27 inches framed
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Sandow Birk
American Qur'an / Sura 11 (A-E), 2011
Gouache, acrylic, and ink on paper
16 x 24 inches unframed
19 x 27 inches framed
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SOLD
Sandow Birk
American Qur'an/Sura 14 (A-B), 2010
Ink and gouache on paper
16 x 24 inches unframed each
19 x 27 inches framed each
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SOLD
Sandow Birk
American Qur'an/Sura 15 (A-B), 2010
Ink and gouache on paper
16 x 24 inches unframed each
19 x 27 inches framed each
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SOLD
Sandow Birk
American Qur'an / Sura 15A, 2010
Gouache, acrylic, and ink on paper
16 x 24 inches unframed
19 x 27 inches framed
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SOLD
Sandow Birk
American Qur'an / Sura 15B, 2010
Gouache, acrylic, and ink on paper
16 x 24 inches unframed, 19 x 27 inches framed
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SOLD
Sandow Birk
American Qur'an / Sura 16 (A-D), 2011
Gouache, acrylic, and ink on paper
16 x 24 inches unframed
19 x 27 inches framed
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SOLD
Sandow Birk
American Qur'an/Sura 16A, 2011
Gouache, acrylic, and ink on paper
16 x 24 inches unframed
19 x 27 inches framed
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SOLD
Sandow Birk
American Qur'an/Sura 16B, 2011
Gouache, acrylic, and ink on paper
16 x 24 inches unframed
19 x 27 inches framed
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SOLD
Sandow Birk
American Qur'an/Sura 16C, 2011
Gouache, acrylic, and ink on paper
16 x 24 inches unframed
19 x 27 inches framed
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SOLD
Sandow Birk
American Qur'an/Sura 16D, 2011
Gouache, acrylic, and ink on paper
16 x 24 inches unframed
19 x 27 inches framed
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SOLD
Sandow Birk
American Qur'an/Sura 23 (A-C), 2011
Gouache, acrylic, and ink on paper
16 x 24 inches unframed each
19 x 27 inches framed each
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SOLD
Sandow Birk
American Qur'an / Sura 27 (A-C), 2011
Gouache, acrylic and ink on paper
16 x 24 inches unframed
9 x 27 inches framed
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Sandow Birk
American Qur'an / Sura 28 (A-C), 2011
Gouache, acrylic and ink on paper
16 x 24 inches unframed
19 x 27 inches framed
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SOLD
Sandow Birk
American Qur'an / Sura 29 (A-C), 2011
Gouache, acrylic, and ink on paper
16 x 24 inches unframed
19 x 27 inches framed
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SOLD
Sandow Birk
American Qur'an/Sura 31 (Panel B), 2009
Gouache and ink on paper
16 x 24 inches each unframed
19 x 27 inches each framed
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Sandow Birk
American Qur'an/Sura 34 (A-B), 2011
Gouache, acrylic and ink on paper
Each panel 16x 24 inches unframed, 19 x 27 inches framed
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Sandow Birk
American Qur'an / Sura 35 (A-B), 2011
Gouache, acrylic, and ink on paper
16 x 24 inches unframed
19 x 27 inches framed
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SOLD
Sandow Birk
American Qur'an/Sura 41 (A-B), 2011
Gouache, acrylic, and ink on paper
16 x 24 inches unframed each
19 x 27 inches framed each
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Sandow Birk
American Qur'an / Sura 45 (A-B), 2003
Gouache, acrylic, and ink on paper
16 x 24 inches unframed
19 x 27 inches framed
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SOLD
Sandow Birk
American Qur'an/Sura 56, 2011
Gouache, acrylic, and ink on paper
Each panel 16 x 24 inches unframed
19 x 27 inches framed
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SOLD
Sandow Birk
American Qur'an/Sura 57 (A-C), 2008
Gouache, acrylic and ink on paper
Each panel 16x 24 inches unframed, 19 x 27 inches framed
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SOLD
Sandow Birk
American Qur'an / Sura 58, 2011
Gouache, acrylic, and ink on paper
16 x 24 inches unframed
19 x 27 inches framed
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SOLD
Sandow Birk
American Qur'an/Sura 74, 2010
Gouache, acrylic and ink on paper
16 x 24 inches unframed
19 x 27 inches framed
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Sandow Birk
A View of the City of Mecca from Jabal al-Nour and the Cave of Hira, 2014
Oil and acrylic on canvas
48 x 65 inches
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Elyse Pignolet and Sandow Birk
American Mihrab #4, 2011
Ceramic and mixed media
21 x 16 x 2 inches
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Elyse Pignolet and Sandow Birk
CCTV, 2011
Ceramic and mixed media
14 x 14 x 12 inches
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Sandow Birk and Elyse Pignolet
Medallion, 2011
Ceramic and mixed media
50 inches diameter x 5 inches
Text: Turn away from the ignorant
—Sura 7, verse 199