Arabesque
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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| ==Art motifs== | ==Art motifs== | ||
| :''[[Arabesque (Islamic art)]]'' | :''[[Arabesque (Islamic art)]]'' | ||
| + | === Significance in Islam === | ||
| + | The arabesques and geometric patterns of Islamic art are often said to arise from the [[Islam]]ic view of the world. The depiction of animals and people is generally discouraged, which explains the preference for merely geometric patterns. | ||
| - | Arabesques are a fundamental element of Islamic art but they develop what was already a long tradition by the coming of Islam. The past and current usage of the term in respect of European art can only be described as confused and inconsistent. Some Western arabesques derive from Islamic art, but others are closely based on Ancient Roman decorations. In the West they are essentially found in the [[decorative arts]], but because of the generally non-figurative nature of Islamic art arabesque decoration is there often a very prominent element in the most significant works, and plays a large part in the decoration of architecture. | + | There are two modes to arabesque art. The first recalls the principles that govern the order of the world. These principles include the bare basics of what makes objects structurally sound and, by extension, beautiful (i.e. the angle and the fixed/static shapes that it creates—esp. the [[truss]]). In the first mode, each repeating geometric form has a built-in symbolism ascribed to it. For example, the square, with its four [[equilateral]] sides, is symbolic of the equally important elements of nature: [[soil|earth]], [[air]], [[fire]] and [[water]]. Without any one of the four, the physical world, represented by a circle that inscribes the square, would collapse upon itself and cease to exist. The second mode is based upon the flowing nature of [[plant]] forms. This mode recalls the [[female|feminine]] nature of life giving. In addition, upon inspection of the many examples of Arabesque art, some would argue that there is in fact a third mode, the mode of [[Arabic calligraphy]]. |
| ==Art motifs== | ==Art motifs== | ||
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Arabesques are an elaborate design of intertwined floral drawings or complex geometrical patterns. This ornamental design is manly used in Islamic art and architecture
Contents |
Art motifs
Significance in Islam
The arabesques and geometric patterns of Islamic art are often said to arise from the Islamic view of the world. The depiction of animals and people is generally discouraged, which explains the preference for merely geometric patterns.
There are two modes to arabesque art. The first recalls the principles that govern the order of the world. These principles include the bare basics of what makes objects structurally sound and, by extension, beautiful (i.e. the angle and the fixed/static shapes that it creates—esp. the truss). In the first mode, each repeating geometric form has a built-in symbolism ascribed to it. For example, the square, with its four equilateral sides, is symbolic of the equally important elements of nature: earth, air, fire and water. Without any one of the four, the physical world, represented by a circle that inscribes the square, would collapse upon itself and cease to exist. The second mode is based upon the flowing nature of plant forms. This mode recalls the feminine nature of life giving. In addition, upon inspection of the many examples of Arabesque art, some would argue that there is in fact a third mode, the mode of Arabic calligraphy.
Art motifs
Metaphorical usage
Example (meaning: sprawling, complex and convoluted):
- "The Hollywood Hallucination introduces Parker Tyler’s critical arabesques, elaborated in his later books, concerning Mae West, Mickey Mouse, the Good Villain and the Bad Hero"
Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque
There has been some debate over the meaning of Poe's terms "Grotesque" and "Arabesque" in his short story collection Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque. Both terms refer to a type of art used to decorate walls. It has been theorized that the "grotesque" stories are those where the character becomes a caricature or satire, as in "The Man That Was Used Up." The "arabesque" stories focus on a single aspect of a character, often psychological, such as "The Fall of the House of Usher."
From Il Giornale Nuovo
- "Not quite a year ago, further to a post here about the grotesque in art, Marly asked if I might also write something similar about the arabesque. This idea rested on a cold back-burner until a couple of weeks ago, when I acquired a booklet entitled Some Main Streams and Tributaries in European Ornament from 1500 to 1750 by Peter Ward-Jackson, in which are reprinted some articles that had first been published in a 1967 issue of The Victoria and Albert Museum Bulletin. One of these articles was specifically concerned with the arabesque, and is my source for the images (and for most of the information) below." --Il Giornale Nuovol Giornale Nuovo, June 2007]
