ART & PRECISION.
( Islamic geometric patterns painted on watercolor paper )
When Islam emerged in the 7th century, it brought with it a deep appreciation for mathematical precision. Muslims needed accuracy to determine the direction their mosques should face toward Mecca for prayer. They made enormous contributions to mathematics.
They invented algebra to solve practical problems like trade and inheritance. Trigonometry to calculate the Qibla, and applied geometry to architecture and design. It is no surprise, then, that mathematics became the language they used to express themselves through art. This was a perfect marriage of two disciplines that can seem like polar opposites today.
Unlike Buddhists or Christians, Muslims do not represent the physical form of Allah. It is forbidden. Instead, they turn to calligraphy, Arabesque, and geometry to express their faith. The patterns that adorn their mosques are not decorative accidents, they are carefully calculated using geometry, and yet they are breathtaking in their beauty. There is something magical about using precision to create something so ethereal.
There is something else I find deeply moving about these patterns. The artists who created them rarely signed their work. I like to think this is because the designs were never meant to be a showcase of human talent. They were meant to point toward something far greater, the divine.
Get Sylvia Polini’s stories in your inbox
Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.
These patterns were not confined to mosques alone. They spread into architecture and interior design more broadly, appearing in tiles, the carved Swahili doors of the coast, Persian rugs, ceramics, stained glass, and more.
One thing I recently learned about Persian rugs is that they were considered the centerpiece of a room. This makes more sense when you consider climate. In colder European countries, people needed furniture raised off the ground for warmth, and so great care went into crafting chairs, tables, and beds. In the warmer regions of Asia and Africa, the opposite was true, the ground offered relief from the heat, and life was lived closer to it. Rugs and low stools became the primary furnishings, which is precisely why such extraordinary detail and craft went into making them.
Islamic geometric patterns is an art form that has aged beautifully. More than 1,400 years since their birth, people around the world, perhaps even you, still appreciate its beauty in architecture, fashion, interiors, and design. This art form is still being taught and practiced today, a testament to the timelessness in its precision and grace.
These two disciplines ( art & math ) borrowing from each other to make something so beautiful leaves me wondering whether the outcome of anything is ever really determined by the work we put into it entirely. Maybe the work we put in just a small part of bringing anything into existence.
I think that maybe all these outcomes have a life of their own. They will come out to the world when they feel the world is ready for them. Just like these patterns came to us 1,400 years ago and the only medium the art could pass through, at the time, was math. So I believe that when the time is ripe, the thing that is supposed to happen will happen.
