Islamic world, which melted and synthesized the intellectual and aesthetic heritage of humankind within its structure, brought forth strong architectural structures, advanced geometric patterns, refined art interpretations, and has influenced the world with its holistic understanding of beauty.
THE GOLDEN RATIO
In Mathematics and Arts, the golden ratio refers to a numerical value which describes the proportion between the whole and its parts, resulting in the most aesthetic ratio in terms of harmony. Fibonacci was an Italian mathematician, who during his travels in the North Africa with his merchant father learned about the Hindu-Arabic numeral system and popularized this numeral system in the Western World with his book “Liber Abaci” (The Book of Calculation). It is represented by the Greek letter Phi (Ø). Structures or art works that have close approximation to the golden ratio have been regarded as aesthetically pleasing.
DOME, VENUS AND MATHEMATICS
The model exhibited here is inspired by the Northern Dome of Isfahan Mosque, which was mathematically modelled by Omar Khayyam. The pattern inside the dome indicates the trajectory of Venus from the geocentric perspective. The octagonal cycle of Venus occurs every 8 solar years when Venus completes her long travel around the sun and returns to the same point in the sky where the cycle began. That Phenomenon aroused much curiosity in ancient civilizations. It is known as the Dance of Venus today.
GEOMETRY IN ISLAMIC TRADITION
A sub-discipline of mathematics, Geometry frequently appears in architectural designs and patterns along with other fields of application. Geometric Art is often comprised of various patterns and complex tessellations. In architectural design, we experience geometry in three dimensions. This video is an introduction to two main research disciplines with regard to the application of geometry in the Islamic art tradition. The first one informs about the use of geometry in two-dimensional artistic expressions, and the second is on the application of three-dimensional geometry in architecture.
