1. Islamic Art and Architecture
ESSENTIAL QUESTION: What are the features of Islamic art and architecture, and what do they represent?
WHY: to understand how Islamic art and architecture represent the beliefs and values of Islam
1. Islamic Art: Class Notes
2. Tawid: Video Clip
3. A-Salamu alaykum
Turn In: Source Analysis Assignment

2. Islamic Art and Decoration
Islam views the depiction of living beings as a potentially blasphemous attempt to rival the creative powers of God.
Islam views the depiction of living beings, particularly people, as a potentially blasphemous attempt to rival the creative powers of God and such pictures are rigorously excluded from most religious settings. However, there is a continuous tradition of using figures as part of decorative schemes in non-religious contexts, particularly in the illustration of books.
Islamic Art & Decoration consists of three main elements [a] Calligraphy in various forms of Arabic script (Arabic is the language of the Quran and therefore of God, and has a special significance in Islamic culture) [b] Arabesques, scrollwork and other floral or plant- like designs [c] Geometrical designs using a limited number of geometric shapes in many different ways. These three elements are often combined in the decorative scheme on a single object.
The beauty of Islamic patterns can be approached not only in terms of art and mathematics, but also within the contexts of Islamic art and spirituality. Historically, throughout the Islamic world from Spain to Indonesia, patterns appear in architecture and interiors to organize space and to beautify the built environment. All patterns reflect the pure beauty of numbers, considered to be of divine origin in Islamic doctrine. And by their very nature, patterns exhibit multiplicity as expressions of unity, which is an attribute of God. Patterns in Oriental carpets may thus be seen as expressive of a world view in which multiplicity exists in relation to the unity of all existence.

3. Principles in Islamic Art
Patterns symbolize Islamic principles of Tawhid (the unity of all things) and Mizan (order and balance) which represent unity within the diversity of the world.
Geometry can be interpreted as representing universal, harmonious laws that express the unity within the diversity of our world: the same geometry can be found in the shapes of a snowflake, in a wasp’s nest and in the arrangement of the petals in a flower. These patterns may be seen as symbolizing the Islamic principles of Tawhid (the unity of all things) and Mizan (order and balance), which are the laws of creation in Islam. Repetition and variation are important aspects of Islamic design. A series of tiles may consist of only one or two shapes but the patterns on the tiles may all be different. In other designs, a few different shapes may be combined to create a complex interlocking pattern.
Symmetry plays a part in most Islamic patterns. There may be a single line of reflective symmetry, usually from the top to the bottom, or there may be three or four lines of symmetry. Straight (translation) and turning (rotational) movements are also used. Sometimes reflective symmetry and the two kinds of movement are found in the same design. Symmetry and repetition give unity to the more complex designs. In many Islamic patterns, different elements seem to dominate, depending on how you look at the design.
Islamic art therefore must be considered in its entirety because each building and each object embodies to some extent identical principles. Though objects and art differ in quality of execution and style, the same ideas, forms and designs constantly recur.

4. Three main elements Geometry Calligraphy Floral Patterns
Islamic Art
Three main elements Geometry Calligraphy Floral Patterns
Islam views the depiction of living beings, particularly people, as a potentially blasphemous attempt to rival the creative powers of God and such pictures are rigorously excluded from most religious settings. However, there is a continuous tradition of using figures as part of decorative schemes in non-religious contexts, particularly in the illustration of books.
Islamic Art & Decoration consists of three main elements [a] Calligraphy in various forms of Arabic script (Arabic is the language of the Quran and therefore of God, and has a special significance in Islamic culture) [b] Arabesques, scrollwork and other floral or plant- like designs [c] Geometrical designs using a limited number of geometric shapes in many different ways. These three elements are often combined in the decorative scheme on a single object.
The beauty of Islamic patterns can be approached not only in terms of art and mathematics, but also within the contexts of Islamic art and spirituality. Historically, throughout the Islamic world from Spain to Indonesia, patterns appear in architecture and interiors to organize space and to beautify the built environment. All patterns reflect the pure beauty of numbers, considered to be of divine origin in Islamic doctrine. And by their very nature, patterns exhibit multiplicity as expressions of unity, which is an attribute of God. Patterns in Oriental carpets may thus be seen as expressive of a world view in which multiplicity exists in relation to the unity of all existence.

5. Geometry in Islamic Art
Geometrical designs using a limited number of geometric shapes in many different ways
Symmetry and repetition give unity to more complex designs
Patterns reflect the beauty of numbers, considered to be of divine origin

6. Calligraphy in Islamic Art
Arabic is the language of the Quran and Muslims believe the Quran is God’s word.
The revelation described in the Quran as an “elegantly proportioned script” which is “beautiful” and “unsurpassable.”
Calligraphy has a very special place in Islam, because it's strongly bound-up with the Quranic revelation in two ways. Firstly, God's word in the form of the Quran represents unique evidence of divine revelation, which was actually conveyed orally to Muhammad, but was then recorded in writing by his companions and circulated. Secondly, this revelation is described in the Quran as an "elegantly proportioned script," which is preserved with God on "spotless sheets of paper," and which is "beautiful" & "unsurpassable."
Generally it's accepted that the Arabic script descended from the Aramaic through the Nabataean and the neo-Sinaitic alphabets. After the Latin script, Arabic script is the most widely used form of alphabetic writing in the modern world. The Arab conquests of the 7th and 8th centuries AD brought the language and the script to the vast expanse of territory extending from India to the Atlantic Ocean. Nabataean as a dialect was used in northern Arabia and what is now Jordan thousand of years prior to the start of the Islamic era. It seems apparent that Syriac also had some influence on the Arabic script developments. The earliest inscription that has been found that is identifiably Arabic is one in Sinai that dates from about A.D Another Semitic script which was in use at about the same time and which is found on inscriptions in southern Arabia is the origin of the alphabet now used for Amharic, the official language of Ethiopia.
Arabic & Islamic calligraphy exists in all sizes and in all modes of artistic expression, most important are the works written from the 7th century onwards, on paper using a basic quill pen. It was necessary to practice for years to master this art, many masterpieces of calligraphy were collected, protected, high valued and traded at collectors prices. The Arabic alphabet has twenty-eight letters (additional letters have been added to serve the needs of non-Arabic languages that use the Arabic script, such as those of Iran and Pakistan), and each of the letters may have up to four different forms. All of the letters are strictly speaking consonants, and not like the Roman alphabet used for English and most European languages Arabic writing goes from right to left.
The Arabic script has been used much more extensively for decoration and as a means of artistic expression. This is not to say that the Roman alphabet (also like Chinese and Japanese) are not just as decorative and have not been used just as imaginatively. Since the invention of printing from type, however, calligraphy (which means, literally "beautiful writing") has come to be used in English and the other European languages only for special documents and on special occasions and has declined to the status of a relatively minor art. During the 7th century, Kufic developed as a Quranic script; an angular script with exceedingly clear contours which appears monumental also in small format; with its impressive symmetry its expresses the self assurance with which Islam in its classical period disseminated its holy scripture.
The Kufic script spread over the whole Islamic world, from Spain in the  west to beyond Iran in the east, a universal civilization. In established calligraphy studios, copies of the Quran were written on parchment in oblong format, and inscription were designed which were later chiseled into stone for buildings, or woven or embroidered into materials as ornamentation. The script had quickly became an art form that could be used everywhere, especially on buildings, for decorations. Within Kufic appeared new styles such as the slanting "Persian" script or the style used in Spain and northwest Africa, from which emerged the later "Maghrabi" script. The Introduction of paper, which came into the Islamic world from China via Central Asia in the 8th century, was particularly important for the development of calligraphy. To be sure, one continued to write Quran on parchment, since it kept better and was more prestigious - likewise also holding true on documents.

7. Floral Patterns in Islamic Art
Arabesques: intertwined flowing lines
Scrollwork: designs featuring spirals
Use of metalwork (brass and bronze objects inlaid with designs in gold, silver and copper)
Muslim artisans crafted elaborate boxes, basins, bowls, jugs and incense burners decorated with arabesques, inscriptions, and other highly stylized plant forms, specializing also in brass and bronze, luxuriously inlaid with gold, silver and copper.
The 9th century witnessed the development of metalwork in a distinctive and powerful style under the Umayyad in Egypt. Skilled craftsmanship can be seen in rock-crystal carving, a continuation of Sassanid art, using floral motifs that became increasingly abstract. Whether destined for a sultan's palace or provincial household, a vast array of functional and often luxurious metal vessels and utensils have been produced throughout the Islamic world. Although not primarily religious objects, their designs and surface decoration reflect the strong cultural influence of Islam, extending from Spain and North Africa in the west to Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent in the east. Craftsmen traditionally lavished as much skill and imagination on beautiful domestic objects as on those commissioned for mosques and shrines. 
In the late tenth century, metalworkers in eastern Iran began to manufacture brass and bronze objects inlaid with designs in gold, silver, and copper. This technique allowed metalworkers "to paint"
their vessels with scenes of hunting and feasting associated with courtly life astrological signs, and bold calligraphic dedications to rulers. Although the art of inlay was already known in West Asia since at least the sixth century, it reached new levels of artistic and technical sophistication after the arrival of Islam. These vessels are among some of the most powerful expressions of the social, political, and cultural life and aspiration of the individuals and societies for which they were created.
During the Seljuks period metalwork was particularly widespread with extremely high levels of workmanship. Bronze was by far the most widely used metal during the 11th and 12th centuries (brass being a later addition). Artifacts were cast, engraved, sometimes inlaid with silver or copper or executed in openwork, and in some cases even graced with enamel decorations. In the 12th century the techniques of repose and engraving was added to that of inlaying bronze or brass with gold, silver, and copper.
Seljuk metalwork styles can be divided into four categories: latticed metal; carved metal; metal inlays; and embossed designs and motifs. A wide range of objects were produced at the time such as; incense burners usually in the shape of animals, mirrors, candlesticks, bowls, trays etc., and it seems likely that some of the best craftsmen traveled widely to execute commissions with fine pieces shipped over long distances. The Seljuk period was undoubtedly one of the most intensively creative periods in the history of the Islamic world. It displayed splendid achievements in every artistic field, with subtle differences from one region to the next.
The Mamluks were originally Central Asiatic tribesmen who were slaves and bodyguards to the Ayyubids (a Kurdish dynasty ruling Egypt and the eastern Mediterranean in the 12th and 13th centuries). After the fall of that state in 1250, the Mamluks established a powerful empire which included Egypt, Syria, Palestine, southeast Anatolia, and South Arabia, controlling the region for over two hundred and fifty years. They halted the Mongol advance and expelled the last crusaders from the Near East. Their piety was reflected in the great religious complexes and beautiful works of art they commissioned - this religious passion made them generous patrons of architecture and art.

8. Mosque Architecture
Allah is everywhere so mosques are prayer halls, not a building enshrining a deity (no benches, no altar)
Mosques contain no statues or pictures
There is no path in the prayer hall. Muslims are encouraged to linger and contemplate this open, undivided space
Minarets developed as special towers for prayer callers

9. Sultan Ahmed Mosque (The Blue Mosque): Istanbul

10. Dome of the Rock: Jerusalem

11. The Kaylan Mosque: Uzbekistan

12. Alhambra: Spain

13. What values do you see in Islam
What values do you see in Islam? How are these values emphasized in Islamic art and architecture?

14. A-Salamu alaykum NEATLY write A-Salamu alaykum in pencil.
RIGHT to LEFT, centered, filling the box, horizontal and accurate.
CHECK WITH ME BEFORE MOVING TO THE NEXT STEP.
NEATLY Trace over the pencil in BLACK ink (ideally with a Sharpie).
In the background and/or in the border, create geometric patterns, shapes, designs etc. inspired by Islamic art we looked at in class.
Your entire box must be colored.
Your finished product should be intricate and reflective of Islamic art. You will be graded on neatness and detail. These will be the cover for your AMW Composition Books.