Pattern ID

pattern - The repetition of any thing — shapes, lines, or colors. We see patterns all around us! Patterns occur both in the man-made and natural world.

What do you associate with these patterns? Do patterns carry meaning?

For thousands of years, artists from all over the world have assigned specific meaning to certain patterns. For example, the Asanti people in Ghana, Africa weave and wear kente cloth. These patterns are not just nice to look at, they also represent specific ideas.

Kente patterns have religious, political and even financial significance. Today there is a pattern to mark the importance of almost any special occasion and colors are chosen to reflect customs and beliefs. Red represents death or bloodshed, and is often worn during political rallies. Green stands for fertility. White means purity or victory. Yellow represents glory and maturity and is worn by chiefs. Blue is for love and is often worn by the queen mother. Black represents aging and maturity.

This pattern, called the Golden Stool, represents the king’s power and authority.

This pattern symbolizes social security, military strategy, survival and continuity.

Native American pottery, rugs, and other textiles are also known for incorporating symbolic patterns. For example, the Pueblo people use this symbol to represent rain.

This Native American pot is decorated with clouds, rain, lightning, mountains and fertility symbols. If the symbols repeat multiple times, we would call it a pattern.

Chinese Patterns Dragons represent an emperor and are commonly found in Chinese art. Landscapes, flowers, birds, and fish are other images traditionally found in Chinese art.

Japanese Patterns

Islamic Patterns In this case, the term “Islamic” refers not only to the religion, but to the rich and varied Islamic culture as well. Islamic art is developed from many sources: Roman, Early Christian, and Byzantine styles were taken over in early Islamic architecture; the influence of pre-Islamic Persia, Central Asian and Chinese had an important effect on Islamic painting, pottery, and textiles.

Indian Patterns Indian art styles reflect various religious, political and cultural developments. Pictures often symbolize forms of spirituality. Elephants are popular in Indian art. According to legend, gods typically road on the backs of elephants. The prophet of peace Gautam Buddha was born after his mother dreamed of a white elephant.

Take a second look at these patterns. Can you think of any other ideas associated with them? What might they represent in our culture?