Treasure of geometric patterns in Islamic arts under the microscope

Organized by the Istanbul Design Center and the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB), the third International Workshop on Geometric Patterns in Islamic Art has kicked off at the Bahariye Mawlavi House.

Workshop coordinator and Polish national Miroslaw Majewski spoke to Anadolu Agency (AA) saying that there are not many artists who specialize in Islamic geometric patterns. "It is technically not easy to find people who imitate Islamic geometric patterns today. A few people can do it in Turkey but they are very low in number." Stating that there are only five people in Turkey who have received their master's degree in the Islamic art of geometric patterns, Majewski said, "People in the U.S. and the U.K. ask us to decorate their homes with Islamic geometric patterns all the time but it is not always possible because there are not many people left who specialize in this particular field. There are five people in Turkey but there are none in Iran, for example. Due to a lack of interest in the subject, we aim to keep this art form alive and further revive interest, improving the art form's presence."

Hüsrev Şeref, the manager of the Istanbul Design Center, said that the third edition of the workshop has received as much attention as the first two editions of the workshop: "Although Turkey is rich in terms of Islamic geometric patterns, people do not put much emphasis in this field of art. Thanks to the workshop, we can come together with people specialized in this field and bear witness to the exchange of these historic works,"

Şeref said, adding that the Istanbul Design Center has published a book on the analysis of the geometric patterns featured on the Mimar Sinan Mosque for the first time in Turkey. He said that the publications by the Center on Islamic geometric art will continue in the future.

Vice Chairman of Ensar Foundation's Board of Trustees Abdurrahman Kayapınar claimed that the importance Islamic civilization placed on math and geometry is evident in Islamic art. Stating that Islamic geometric patterns have been brought forward once again, Kayapınar said: "We are currently holding an interdisciplinary workshop to discuss Islamic geometric patterns that blend the sciences of math and geography with experts in Turkey as well as those qualified in the field from around the world, hoping to open the door for new projects." Kayapınar also said they are hosting an exhibition titled, "Hendesen," which will allow art lovers to observe Islamic geometric patterns in practice at the Istanbul Design Center.

About the third International Workshop on Geometric Patterns in Islamic Art

The workshop brings together experts on Islamic geometric patterns; namely, Jean Marc from France, Hacali Necefoğlu and Asiye Kafalıer from Turkey, Imamaddin Amisaslanov from Azerbaijan, Mohammad S. Ahmed from the U.S., Boris Aldridge and Ameet Hindocha from the U.K., Akio Hizume from Japan, Seyed Masoud and Hamidreza Kazempour from Iran and Julian Molina from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) who will also offer training as a part of the workshop. The third International Workshop on Geometric Patterns in Islamic Art welcomes undergraduate and graduate students in architecture, math, physics, social sciences and art and those who are interested in this field can attend the workshops and training free of charge. The workshop will continue until Oct. 2. For further details on the workshop, you can visit istanbultasarimmerkezi.org.