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Patterns in Middle Eastern Art & Culture
Workshop by Pooran Lashini
Saturday, September 22nd & Sunday, September 23rd, 2018 9:30 am – 4:00 pm
Sponsored by the Irving Art Association. Location: Jaycee Park Center for the Arts, 1975 Puritan, Irving TX 75061
Cost: $60 for two days – handouts included. Both days include geometric forms design – day 1 is drawing; day 2 is coloring.
Supply list: available upon registration or you may pay the instructor for the cost of art materials used at the workshop on the first day of the workshop. (approx. $14)
Geometric patterns are a prevailing motif in and Middle Eastern pattern culture. They are found in Middle Eastern miniatures paintings, architecture, Metal, glass, woodcarving, and calligraphy work. Geometric ornamentation in Middle Eastern Art includes two-dimensional patterns on flat and curved surfaces, and three-dimensional so-called muqarnas-structures, mostly in the interior of domes. Most of the famous patterns are based on squares, octagons, equilateral triangles and hexagons. In the Eastern Middle Eastern world, especially in Iran, one often finds more complicated patterns based on pentagons, decagons, and even heptagons and nonagons. There is still a living tradition in Middle Eastern geometric design that inspires modern artists.
Workshop Description:
The aim of the proposed workshop is to bring together students of different backgrounds in order to discover the satisfaction that comes with the creation of designs through the use of two simple tools (a compass and a straightedge). By creating patterns themselves students will gain on understanding of geometry principles of the understanding grids and methods used by traditional Middle Eastern artists.
I hope to open the eyes of the speakers and participants to the many different branches of Middle Eastern art and material culture where geometric design plays a dominant role, and to gain insight into the traditions in which these patterns are created.
During the workshop, attention can also be paid to the design of new artistic patterns of the same types as the Traditional Medieval ones. The workshop will include discussions on the symbolic meanings of geometric Forms in Middle Eastern art and Middle East culture, but only on the basis of concrete and authentic Medieval textual documents.
List of materials/recommended reading will be provided by the Instructor.
Workshop Materials/ Textbook: Handouts of Geometric Patterns will be provided for your use onsite. $14 Material fees will be collected by the instructor at the first class for the use of paint, paper etc. Purchase of textbooks extra.
About the Instructor:
Iranian born, Pooran Lashini has been an active painter for more than twenty years. Growing up in Tehran, she was immersed in the rich culture of traditional Persian art, and classic Geometric forms. She has extensive background in painting and calligraphy with the particular methods of Middle Eastern Geometric art. With homage to her native heritage, she creates artwork that is truly unique in nature, as she marries tradition with a taste of the abstract, giving an alluring and captivating appeal to a classic Geometric art form. She has exhibited her works in many solos and group shows and has taught Geometric patterns workshop throughout the nation and internationally.
Currently, she is pursuing her PhD in “Aesthetic Studies and Philosophy of Ideas”. In addition to her artistic practice, she has written three books, and she is teaching Philosophy and History of art in colleges.
