Zillij
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Zillij is the famous Islamic Art of tile making. The process is most closely associated with artists and art work produced in Morocco. -(5) The Zillij style has influenced other mosaic work throughout the sphere of Islamic influence, including Moorish Spain. -(1)
Patrons of the art used Zillij historically to decorate their homes as a statement of luxury and the sophistication of the inhabitants. Zillij is typically comprised of a series of patterns utilizing colorful geometric shapes. This framework of expression arose from the need of Islamic artists to create spacial decorations that avoided depictions of living things, consistent with the teachings of Islamic law. -(2)
The patterns evinced in the mosaics is currently of interest in academic research in mathematics. Considerable research into modelling of these patterns has taken place. -(3) These studies require expertise not only in the fields of mathematics, art and art history, but also of computer science, computer modeling and engineering as well. -(4)
[edit] Sources
–Moroccan Ceramics and the Geography of Invented Traditions Journal article by James E. Housefield; The Geographical Review, Vol. 86, 1997
-The Elements of Unity in Islamic Art As Examined Through the Work of Jamal Badran By Fayeq S Oweis
-From Form to Content: Using Shape Grammars for Image Visualization Source IV archive Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference on Information Visualisation (IV'05) - Volume 00 IEEE Computer Society Washington, DC, USA
-Engineering and fine arts research collaborations sprout from seed grants By Scott McRae, Concordia's Thursday Report, Vol. 29, No.1, September 9, 2004
-Technical Glossary, Islamic Art Network, Thesarus Islamicus Foundation, Islamic Art Network 21 Misr Helwan al-Ziraa‘i St.,9th Floor,Al-Ma'adi, Cairo, Egypt
