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| Islamic Design |
An exploration of the construction and meaning of Islamic geometric patterns.
Throughout their long history the craft traditions of the Islamic world evolved a multitude of styles applied to a great variety of media but always with unifying factors that make them instantly recognizable. Harmony is central. There are two key aspects to the visual structure of Islamic designÂ--calligraphy using Arabic script (one of the world's great calligraphic traditions) and abstract ornamentation using a varied but remarkably integrated visual language. Focusing on Islamic geometric patterns, simple and complex, man-made and in nature, this book offers unique insight into Islamic culture.
Throughout their long history the craft traditions of the Islamic world evolved a multitude of styles applied to a great variety of media but always with unifying factors that make them instantly recognizable. Harmony is central. There are two key aspects to the visual structure of Islamic designÂ--calligraphy using Arabic script (one of the world's great calligraphic traditions) and abstract ornamentation using a varied but remarkably integrated visual language. Focusing on Islamic geometric patterns, simple and complex, man-made and in nature, this book offers unique insight into Islamic culture.
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Daud Sutton is director of the Thesaurus Islamicus Foundation's design studio Editio Electrum, specializing in the fine reproduction of carpet pages from ancient manuscripts. He lives in England.
Customer Reviews
Practically Perfect in Every Way
I first encountered the Wooden Books series in a little bookshop in New Orleans' Garden District. Their small size were the perfect juxtaposition to their weighty (sometimes arcane) subjects. I was hooked immediately. Not every Wooden Book lives up to the series' promise, but Islamic Design certainly does -- a worthy addition to any collection.
Interesting book, but...
This book gives an interesting taste of Islamic design, but it is not clear what the author intended to accomplish. The subtitle is "A genius for geometry," and the book does show some designs that are both geometrically cleaver and very beautiful. But the book consists of a series of very short chapters that have little or no continuity, and I would be surprised to find anyone has succeeded in reading the book through from beginning to end. There is little said about the historical development of these designs within Islamic tradition, and nothing at all informing readers that Islamic design developed from earlier Roman (Pagan), and Byzantine (Christian) sources. Readers hoping to learn how to actually draw these, or similar, designs will almost certainly need the help of other books.
An interesting book
I haven't looked at it in too much detail but it has plenty of cool, trippy looking geometrical patterns. It actually shows you how to make all these patterns as well. Nice.
