Two art books that can really help:
Islamic art: past, present, future
Based on a series of papers presented at the 7th Biennial Hamad bin Khalifa Symposium on Islamic Art in 2017, the essays in this volume grapple with these questions from a range of viewpoints.
Islamic art: past, present, future by Bloom, Jonathan M. and Blair, Sheila. 2019 - (New Haven: Yale University Press)
Image and meaning in Islamic Art
Image and meaning in Islamic Art by Hillenbrand, Robert. 2005 - (London: Altajir Trust).
