Arabesque
The word, arabesque, has always intrigued me. I first fell in love with it when I heard, then learned to play Debussy's Arabesque No. 1. 
(Please click on the link to hear it.) It's a dance, it's romance, or a curly-cue; it's Tinkerbell waving fairy dust from her magic wand. It's a puzzle, no matter how you look at it.
I'm attracted to scroll work in metal, like fences, emblems, and especially gates. My darling husband and I strolled down St. Paul's Summit Avenue this summer, sometimes peeking through a wrought iron arabesque into a peaceful garden. The open spaces between the design patterns are just as important as the design--it gives us a glimpse into another world.
As I began my brief research into this mysterious form, I discovered the root of 'Arabesque,' is indeed Arab--Islamic beliefs see nature and spirituality inextricably woven together, just as the design suggests. The Islamic arabesque (as seen above) decorates the inside walls and ceilings of mosques.
Here's what Wikipedia has to say:
"The arabesque is an elaborative application of repeating geometric forms that often echo the forms of plants and animals. Arabesque art consists of a series of repeating geometric forms which are occasionally accompanied by calligraphy. Ettinghausen et al. describe the arabesque as a "vegetal design consisting of full...and half palmettes[as] an unending continuous pattern...in which each leaf grows out of the tip of another."
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."
Guess which mode I can relate to? I would add that the feminine nature is to nurture, whether they give birth or not.
Oh yes, and there's another mode:
(Please click on the link to hear it.) It's a dance, it's romance, or a curly-cue; it's Tinkerbell waving fairy dust from her magic wand. It's a puzzle, no matter how you look at it.I'm attracted to scroll work in metal, like fences, emblems, and especially gates. My darling husband and I strolled down St. Paul's Summit Avenue this summer, sometimes peeking through a wrought iron arabesque into a peaceful garden. The open spaces between the design patterns are just as important as the design--it gives us a glimpse into another world.
As I began my brief research into this mysterious form, I discovered the root of 'Arabesque,' is indeed Arab--Islamic beliefs see nature and spirituality inextricably woven together, just as the design suggests. The Islamic arabesque (as seen above) decorates the inside walls and ceilings of mosques.
Here's what Wikipedia has to say:
"The arabesque is an elaborative application of repeating geometric forms that often echo the forms of plants and animals. Arabesque art consists of a series of repeating geometric forms which are occasionally accompanied by calligraphy. Ettinghausen et al. describe the arabesque as a "vegetal design consisting of full...and half palmettes[as] an unending continuous pattern...in which each leaf grows out of the tip of another."
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."
Guess which mode I can relate to? I would add that the feminine nature is to nurture, whether they give birth or not.
Oh yes, and there's another mode:
posted by MsBliss at Thursday, October 09, 2008
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