19/09/2017 Document sans titre

depend on the research of the last decade concerning quasicrystals. A short computer-generated movie will be
shown, which presents a summary of the morphogenesis of zellij motifs and a fractal development inspired by a
mosaic in the Alhambra in Granada.

The art of drawing geometric arabesques

This section is presented in more detail in two publications by the author of this paper (). They concern the
geometric art of the entire Islamic world, and especially that of Morocco and Andalusia. Some basic principles :
All proportions used to make the drawing are determined by geometric necessities. Lines are continuous (never
broken). Periodicity : the arbitrary framework of the motif is like a a window that opens onto an abstract
landscape, that reproduces the same shape ad infinitum, by symmetrical duplication. In practice, the monotony
of repetition is avoided by the vibrations that are introduced naturally when forms are created manually. The
interlace principle : above and bellow alternate. Colors : there is symmetrical development, and alternation
between the background and the motif. Colors can enrich the motif by breaking down some symmetries while
respecting others. Finaly (but is it a principle ?) each of these rules can be broken in certain situations.

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