Kenneth M. George 
Picturing Islam 
Art and Ethics in a Muslim Lifeworld

Picturing Islam: Art and Ethics in a Muslim Lifeworld
explores issues of religion, nationalism, ethnicity, and
globalization through the life and work of the prominent
contemporary Indonesian artist Abdul Djalil Pirous.

* Presents a unique addition to the anthropology of art and
religion

* Demonstrates the impact of Islam, ethnicity, nationalism, and
globalization on the work and life of an internationally recognized
postcolonial artist

* Weaves together visual and narrative materials to tell an
engrossing story of a cosmopolitan Muslim artist

* Looks at contemporary Islamic art and the way it has been
produced in the world’s largest Muslim nation, Indonesia

Table of Content

List of Illustrations viii

Preface xi

Acknowledgments xiii

Note on Qur’anic Verse xvii

Guide to Indonesian Spelling and Pronunciation xviii

Introduction: Picturing Islam 1

1 Becoming a Muslim Citizen and Artist 15

2 Revelations and Compulsions 39

3 Diptych – Making Art Islamic and Making Islamic Art
Indonesian 54

Part 1: Making Art Islamic 54

Part 2: Making Islamic Art Indonesian 66

4 Spiritual Notes in the Social World 80

5 Anguish, Betrayal, Uncertainty, and Faith 107

Conclusion: A Retrospective 132

Afterword: Choosing a Frame 143

References 148

Index 155

About the author

Kenneth M. George is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and an associate of its Center for Southeast Asian Studies. His ethnographic work on contemporary Indonesian art has been supported by many fellowships including awards from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation. George’s first book, Showing Signs of Violence, was awarded the 1998 Harry J. Benda Prize in Southeast Asian Studies by the Association for Asian Studies. He also served as the Editor of the Journal of Asian Studies from 2005 through 2008.