The artists of a society are often an early indicator of the direction and values that the society as a whole will adopt and reflect - they’re the social equivalent of a canary in a coal-mine - setting trends, extrapolating into the future through art, testing boundaries. And art has the potential to push into a self-indulgent decadence or to open a deeper consciousness. In both instances it looks within the human soul, either prying open and celebrating the nafs al-amarra (Qur’an 12:53) or striving to penetrate beyond the tangible surfaces of reality to open paths for the birth of the nafs al-mutmainaa (Qur’an 89:27-30). It manufactures, exhibits, and communicates through its own compressed yet often profound language, using its own visual and verbal grammar and intonation. It can speak in the phrasings of the gutter or in the tongue of angels. It is one of the indicators of the internal state of humankind.
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nafs al-amarra: (”And I do not declare myself to be free, most surely man’s nafs (self/soul) is wont to command (him to do) evil, except such as my Lord has had mercy on….” 12:53)
nafs al-mutmainaa: (”O soul (nafs) that is at peace. Return to your Lord, well-pleased with Him, well-pleasing (Him)” 89:27-30)
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