ART HISTORY AND ARCHITECTURAL SYMBOLISM: A Hermeneutical Critique

Abstract

I propose that the symbolic in general, and especially the symbolic in art, rests upon an intricate interplay of showing and concealing.1 In Truth and Method Gadamer views the study of history from a hermeneutical perspective, presenting a new way of dealing with and understanding historical texts. He sees the wholeness of a historical tradition as an illusion, He argues that the split between the self-conscious historical object and the observer cannot be clear cut. Accordingly, both the historicity of understanding and the prejudices of the observer play important roles in the interpretation process. With reference to Gadamer's revision of the ‘reality of history’ and the ‘reality of historical understanding,’ this paper aims to examine the art historical discourse on Islamic architecture by concentrating on a specific article. Oleg Grabar's “Symbols and Signs in Islamic Architecture.”