IslamicArtist

Proving Islamic Art is still alive & and doesn't mean compremizing one's Islamic laws against images.

Languages: English

Job: Other

About Me:
Salaam, My name is Eric Wenger.

Art, for me, has been almost a salvation. When I am working I can take all those pent-up words and emotions and release them. The pleasure the artist derives from working with the different mediums is something that never goes away. At least, it hasn’t for me in 28 years, and I hope it never does. I was born in Hastings, Minnesota in 1962 & grew up most of my life in Lake City, Minnesota, where I still have family.

As a child I was always shy & introverted. When we moved to Lake City, I became even more withdrawn. I started spending long hours in my grandfather’s woodshop and learned the joys of working with my hands. This is also about the time I was introduced to art.

After high school, I went to college in River Falls, Wisconsin. It was there that my art training began in earnest. The teachers there encouraged the study of philosophy, theology, and history. After all an artist with nothing to say isn’t much good. I have always leaned toward expressionism, rough textures & very passionate & dramatic subject matters. Over the years my views and tastes have changed and with maturity I seem to prefer the more subtle and introspective subject matters. I have begun to prefer a happy whisper to an angry scream.

While in college I started working with the human figure in various mediums but after embracing Islam that all stopped. I then was forced by my willingness to submit to the laws forbidding image making & I began to truly grow as an artist as I worked to develop my present artistic style.

Even before Islam, while studying I was encouraged to go back and study the masters from many different cultures. During the course of this study I discovered a shocking revelation, for me. To portray pain and anger is easy; happiness and quiet contentment is far more challenging. The truly great masters can do both; if you don’t believe me study it for yourself it can be very enlightening.

When I first started learning blacksmithing, it was an extension of my use of metals in fine art. As my enthusiasm for the techniques grew, I dove deeper into the historical uses and objects created by the previous generations. My interest in historical blacksmithing culminated in my apprenticeship with a gunsmith where I helped to restore historical fire arms. As I worked with guns from the 18th & 19ty centuries, I was constantly amazed by the skill and precision of the old smiths, who were artists in their own right.

After my apprenticeship; I became involved in historical blacksmithing. But over the years the urge to create new and original work became stronger & stronger. As I worked I began to incorporate modern welding and technology into my metalwork. I also returned to non-functional sculpture and moved away from the traditional crafts.

Today my work includes modern wire-feed welding, but I still make extensive use of forging and traditional hammering & shaping. I believe that in the combination of the old and the new we can take the art of metal-working farther than our forefathers.

My work with Islamic calligraphy has had a profound change in my work. As I said earlier, all my previous work has been image-based. But with the prohibition on images in Islam, it has forced me to rethink and readjust all my previous training and experience. The change has been very exciting. I have been forced to go back to my very early training and relearn the basic rules of composition and balance.

I also have had to change the way I look at the world. Instead of my ideas and concepts coming from my imagination, I am seeing potential artwork all around me. I am flooded with new ideas almost constantly. It is exciting and frustrating at the same time.

As for myself....

I am Muslim American, who tries to make my living by creating halal artwork in the form of sculptures. (the sculpture below is "Allah". It is the 3-dimensional calligraphy of the word, in steel. This fall it is, insha Allah, my intention to see about being at the ISNA convention as a vendor if not an exhibitor in the Art show they are planning on holding. Make dua for me that it is affordable & that Allah makes it easy for me to travel to the event.

Cool Slideshows

Galleries & Shows my work has been in:  Artworks Gallery, Brookings, SD  Brookings Cultural Art Center, Brookings, SD  Period Gallery, Omaha, SD  Agora Gallery, Manhattan, NY  Brookings Cultural Art Center, Brookings, SD  St. Mary Invitational art show, Pierre, SD  Marshall Art Festival, Marshall, MN  Festival of Cultures, Brookings, SD  McCauley art show, Loveland, CO  Midpoint Gallery, Omaha, NB  The Barn, Sioux Falls, SD  Cliffhanger Gallery, Sioux Falls, SD  Islamic Calligraphy show, TX While most Muslims think of sculptures as human or animal, my work is neither. The closest art description would be modern abstract, though the work isn't abstract, but rather Arabic calligraphy. I sell my work online when possible and at galleries when I can. For my on-line sales I use Pay-pal for those individuals living in countries where pay-pal is available. Insha Allah, with time more countries will have pay-pal options. But that is another story.

I embraced Islam as my way of life in 1997 & got married to a fellow convert/revert in 1998.

My wife & I live in eastern South Dakota, where I own a small art studio & gallery.

As with any artist, my work is my focus. But I do have hobbies & outside interests; as well as a necessary "outside job" so as to pay the bills. Insha Allah, someday, I would like to be able to "retire" from outside work, so as to focus on my calligraphy art. Insha Allah, a means will be provided for me to do so.

The pictures are examples of Islamic calligraphy that are 3D, so they are hard to imagine sometimes in this 2D format.

I do produce commissioned (special order) pieces of specific attributes of Allah that someone may wish to have. So, if you would like a specific one of the 99 names of Allah, just let me know. Insha Allah, I can work to accommodate, if such an interest were to arise.

While most calligraphers are working with pen & paper, I work with welding torch & steel, as well as hammer & anvil. I use both modern metalworking techniques & old blacksmithing techniques to create one of a kind pieces.

One of the things that often amazes people is that I do not know how to read Arabic. I know letters, but I don't know the language, so I can't read a sentence. It is something, insha Allah, I create from the heart --since I am drawn to the lineal shape of Arabic & the spiritual meaning of the phrase I work with. Here are just a few of the words I have worked with: Allah Shukran Al Jabar Ya Rab Rab Ya Allah Alif La Miim Bismillah Fakr Shukra Subanullah Lammah Some I have made a number of different calligraphy styles with. I believe Ya Rab was the most diversely used word of all I have worked with. Here is an example of it, below. Three of the four are hammered Steel, while the fourth is hammered copper. One of the steel works has wood components, while the others are single metal sculptures.

Cool Slideshows

I love the innovative freedom I have in my work. So far, to my knowledge, I know of no other calligrapher working in a medium similar to mine. Metal has its own unique qualities. Sometimes I work in hammered copper, while other times I am working with steel.

Cool Slideshows

Recently I started working with mixed medium, which means I am adding other materials, such as glass, stone & other items into the design of the work.

Hobbies:
We have a number of wonderful Muslim artists producing Islamic art, & it is important as part of our Muslim culture we support Muslim culture, which includes the arts. Far too often, it seems, Muslims think artists should give their work away for next to nothing, yet in the next breath, Muslims will complain about the decline of the "Golden age of Islam". That "Golden age" was in part due to the promotion of the arts within the Ummah. Something that is out-of-balance today. Far too often, artistic people within the Ummah are marginalized for the sciences. While science is good, BALANCE in society is even better. Please support Muslim artists by purchasing original works of art from them! Whether the work in fiber art, metalwork, wood, painting, calligraphy or poetry. Islam has a rich artistic culture that continues...its not dead --- & we need to preserve & promote the Islamic arts within our current culture!!!! And quit treating it as if Islamic arts stopped in the 18th century! Here are some videos relating to art in the Muslim world. Hope you enjoy. Insha Allah.

Movies:
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Books:
I love reading. I have a diverse library of books at home & swap with my brothers & my brother-in-law books that we have found interesting. Between my wife & I, our library of books just keeps growing. Alhumdulillah, since she is a book worm too! Alhumdulillah.

Music:
My primary interests are Art...Below is my work, which you can also see at my homepage

I can also be found on facebook if you search for Eric Wenger (that's me!).

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