Today, we're talking about Islamic art and Dutch artist MC
Escher, who was not Muslim, but found
Islamic art super inspiring.
By the way, did you know he was left-handed as well?
More on him in a minute.
HOST: Support provided by the Glick Fund, a CICF fund focused
on inspiring philanthropy.
Additional support provided by the Christel DeHaan Family
Foundation, in honor of the children and families
of Christel House.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Islamic art dates back to the 7th century,
and continues today.
It's used both in holy places in the Middle East,
such as a mosque, but has influenced
designs used all over the world in architecture, fashion,
and probably even in your kitchen.
When used in religious spaces, Islamic art
does not represent figures, as this is seen as idolatry,
but instead uses shapes and calligraphy repeated
in patterns over and over again.
Did you know this form of writing
is the third most widely used in the world?
It's also written from right to left, something
we are definitely not used to.
Many Islamic designs are arranged
in beautiful mathematic patterns called
tessellations, which are hand-carved
in this amazing window.
And check out these graceful, interlacing curved lines
that look like vines, which are actually called arabesque.
One of the most beautiful surviving
examples of this art form is the Alhambra in Granada, Spain.
This huge complex was built in the 13th and 14th centuries
and was used as a palace when the region was
ruled by an Islamic, or Moorish, kingdom.
Artists spent years carving these intricate designs out
of wood, stone, and plaster.
Everything is done by hand, something
I always respect about Islamic art and architecture.
Many of these designs were once brightly whitewashed.
But over the centuries, most of the paint has worn away.
When MC Escher first visited in 1922,
he was amazed by all of the tesselated patterns.
In the Alhambra, all 17 possible plane symmetry patterns
are represented, demonstrating how advanced the Moorish
kingdom was at this time.
An inspired MC Escher returned in 1936,
making sketches of the tiles, and continued
to use the idea of tessellation and repeating patterns
throughout his work.
He said about tessellation, it remains an extremely absorbing
activity, a real mania to which I have become addicted,
and from which I sometimes find it hard to tear myself away.
Guess it's a good thing his high school art teacher
convinced him to be a graphic artist rather
than an architect.
Worlds away from his native Netherlands,
Escher found inspiration in a foreign and beautiful art
form, something Escher and I have in common-- a love
for other cultures.
Now, let's take our own trip around the world
without leaving the Midwest.
We're going to check in with the Cincinnati Art Museum
to see a room that has traveled hundreds of years and thousands
of miles from Damascus, Syria.
Let's check it out.
We're here in Ohio at the beautiful Cincinnati Art
Museum, where we're gonna get a behind the scenes look
at some of the museum's most prized pieces
from around the world.
Let's get inside and take a look.
Follow me.
We are here in a very dark room with one of the curators,
Cynthia Amneus, who is going to tell us a little bit more
about the room.
Thank you so much for joining us, by the way.
Absolutely.
And I have to ask, of course, as I just mentioned.
Why is it very dimly lit in here?
Well, first of all, this is how you
would have seen the room if you lived in the house
where this room was originally.
It would have been dim.
But also, the materials and the paints in this room
are light sensitive.
So as a museum, we need to care for our objects
so that they're preserved for future generations.
And we need to keep the light low.
HOST: Where is this from?
And then how in the world did it get in here
in the museum in its whole here?
CYNTHIA AMNEUS: Right.
So this room is from Damascus.
We call it the Damascus Room.
And it was purchased by Andrew Jurgens
in the 1930s on his travels to the Middle East.
And he brought it back and installed it in his home
in a Cincinnati neighborhood, and then it
was donated to the museum years later.
HOST: So what originally was the purpose of this room?
CYNTHIA AMNEUS: This was originally
a kind of a parlor room in a wealthy person's
home in Damascus.
So it's very ornate, as you can see-- the painting
on the walls and the gilding.
The designs are typical of Islamic style in the period,
in the 18th century.
They combine floral and geometric motifs.
But there's also a European influence, kind of a Baroque
European influence.
So you see lots of arabesques Basks
and scrolling types of motifs.
Is this something typical, that they
would cover everything or every piece of art
with that much detail?
You see that in ceramics and textiles, absolutely, this kind
of convergence of lots of geometry
and lots of floral and vegetal motifs.
The ceiling here is-- each design is called a coffer.
And it is designed with a specific repeat in mind.
So you'll see repeated designs across the surface
of the ceiling.
HOST: What makes this so unique to the museum?
CYNTHIA AMNEUS: Well, it's one of very few rooms like this
from this period anywhere in the world that still exists.
There is another piece similar to it
in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
But this is a very rare room to have
intact with all of this decoration.
Well, thank you so much, Cynthia,
for showing us this room, which is fantastic to get in
to stand in the space and learn a little bit more from you.
So glad you were here.
The calligraphy in the Damascus room has left me inspired.
I have an idea for a project that I want to show you.
Follow me.
For this project, I want to use both repeated
floral-inspired patterns and calligraphy, two hallmarks
of the Islamic art we saw in the Damascus room.
Let's check out the supplies.
First thing we need is a canvas.
Next, we need some paint.
I'm using simple watercolor paint,
but you can use whatever you like.
We also need some brushes, water, and a towel.
I also have paint and permanent markers.
Most importantly, we need an idea.
I printed off this pattern to work from,
and this Islamic calligraphy text, which means creativity.
I also love this design I found online-- pretty cool, right?
Let's get started.
Remember, symmetry in Islamic art is incredibly important.
The more often you can use a ruler to help
keep that symmetry, the better.
Quick tip-- this type of watercolor paint
only requires a tiny bit of paint
and an incredible amount of water.
I'm really experimenting with the application
of watercolor paint here.
Sometimes, I use a lot of water and less paint,
and then I switch it up.
After the paint dried, I'm going back
over my design with my pencil so I can better
apply the marker and paint.
I definitely do not have a black belt in making a straight line.
Hence, why you see me use a ruler.
Next up, I'm sketching out the calligraphy text I printed off.
Having a couple different brush sizes would be awesome.
Also, remember to use the tip of your brush
when you're doing those fine lines.
I'm going to stop there for now, but I
hope this left you with some ideas of what
you could do with Islamic calligraphy and designs.
I was really excited to do this.
I'm gonna keep working, but you get started.
Until later, stay art-rageous.
We're here in Indy to meet an incredibly multi-talented
artist name Dan Thompson.
Dan is known across the US not just
for his amazing skill as a graffiti artist,
but also for his mural work and illustration.
I can't wait for you to meet him.
Let's get inside.
DAN THOMPSON: The spray can is available to everyone--
probably in your house.
I think the thing about spray paint
is it's the easiest-- in a way, it's the easiest thing to do.
It's the closest thing to drawing.
If you want to do it, you just do it.