Claudia Michael 2008 Fulbright Hays Summer Seminar Abroad Morocco
An Interdisciplinary Study of
Symmetry in Islamic Geometric Design and
Symmetry in Moroccan author, Laila Lalami’s novel Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits
This interdisciplinary study was developed as a result of my interest in Islamic design, and my participation in the 2008 Fulbright Hays Summer Seminar Abroad to Morocco. It is intended for High School students in World Literature and Art classes. Prior to traveling to Morocco, I read Laila Lalami’s novel, Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits. While in Morocco, I often thought about Lalami’s characters and themes. I also became very interested in Moroccan Islamic pattern design. The stuccowork found on Moroccan ceilings and walls manifests the Islamic preoccupation with symmetrical order. The interior of many edifices we visited were adorned with spectacular zillij or carved ornamentation. I started to think about the similarities between the geometric designs I witnessed and the symmetrical structure of Lalami’s novel. By using scholarly references on Islamic Art and geometric design, I will show how Laila Lalami’s novel, Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits can be used to teach symmetry. Deconstructing the stories through this graphic lens, I will propose a direct relationship to symmetrical design as seen in Islamic patterns. After reading the novel and deconstructing the text, themes and characters, students will create a design using reflection symmetry. They will take their design and explore the symmetrical properties further, by creating a kaleidoscope that will reflect the design to infinity.
Glossary from the Oxford American Dictionary Arabesque
• an ornamental design consisting of intertwined flowing lines, originally found in Arabic of Moorish decoration Archetype • a recurrent symbol or motif in literature, art or mythology Baraka • sanctity or blessing, obtained through saints or marabouts Bilateral Symmetry • symmetrical arrangement of an organism or part of an organism along a central axis, dividing it in half Calligraphy • the art of producing decorative handwriting or lettering with a pen or brush Dogma • a principle or set of principles laid down by an authority as incontrovertibly true Dromedary • an Arabian camel, esp. one of a light and swift breed trained for riding or racing Frieze • a broad horizontal band of sculpted or painted decoration, esp on a wall near the ceiling Hijab • a head covering worn in public by some Muslim women Idolatry • worship of idols Inshallah • from the Arabic – if Allah wills it Islam • the religion of the Muslims, a monotheistic faith regarded as revealed through Muhammad as the Prophet of Allah Islamic Art • Islamic art encompasses the arts produced from the 7th century onwards by people (not necessarily Muslim) who lived within the territory that was inhabited by culturally Islamic populations Islamic Pattern • geometric repeating patterns symbolizing the unchanging laws of God Islamist • a term used to define a Muslim fundamentalist Kilometer • a metric unit of measurement equal to 1,000 meters (approximately 0.62 miles) Monochromatic • containing or using only one color, lacking in variety Motif • a repeated unit in a decorative design or pattern Muslim • a follower of the religion of Islam Prophet Mohammad • is the central human figure of the religion of Islam and is regarded by Muslims as the last greatest messenger and prophet of Allah Qur’an • the Islamic sacred book, believed to be the word of God as dictated to Muhammad by the archangel Gabriel and written down in Arabic Radial Symmetry • a symmetry around a central axis Reflective Symmetry • the operation that flips a motif changing both its position and its handednesss Zillij • terra cotta tilework covered with enamel in the form of chips set into plaster, geometric mosaics used as ornament
Introduction The Islamic Decorative Canon Since the early years of Islam, the Prophet Muhammad’s teachings against idolatry were interpreted to mean that the depiction of humans and animals in art was prohibited. (“Pattern in Islamic Art”. http://www.patterninislamicart.com) Adherence to this strict religious interpretation led to a highly evolved Islamic design aesthetic. Images derived from plant life (arabesque), geometric patterns and stylized calligraphy became the canon of what we know as Islamic decorative art. (“Pattern in Islamic Art”. http://www.patterninislamicart.com) “Much of the art of Islam, whether in architecture, ceramics, textiles or books, is the art of decoration-which is to say, of transformation. The aim however, is never merely to ornament, but rather to transfigure. Essentially, this is a reflection of the Islamic preoccupation with the transitory nature of being.” Taken from “The Evolution of Style/Pattern in Islamic Art”. http://www.patterninislamicart.com
Unity According to the Qur’an, unity is an underlying principal of Islam, both a doctrine of faith, spirituality and a blueprint for conducting one’s life. As described by Keith Critchlow in Islamic Patterns, An Analytical and Cosmological Approach, page 6, “Islamic Art….is a means of relating multiplicity to Unity by means of mathematical forms which are seen, not as mental abstractions, but as reflections of the celestial archetypes within both the cosmos and the minds and souls of men.” According to Seyyed Hossein Nasr, in the book, Islamic Art and Spirituality, art is the manifestation of unity upon the plane of multiplicity. The ubiquitous chanting of the Muslim call to prayer, “There is no god but God” helps construct the unifying mode of
thought for the faithful. The devout Muslim tiles a mosaic of belief in an infinite repeated pattern of speech, thought and action. Titus Burckhardt writes in the book, Sacred Art in East and West, that the complexity of unity is best described through the geometry of the circle. Mathematicians believe that the circle is the most beautiful and elegant geometric form, because it is the expression of justice, through symmetry and balance. It is the symbol of eternity. (Critchlow, page 9) The circle is the starting point for many patterns in Islamic design. In it’s simplicity, the circle is the archetype for the processes of the Universe. (Critchlow, page 7) It is a complete form, yet has no beginning and no end. Its shape symbolizes the perfect unity of filled and unfilled space. It is complete and multifaceted. It has many parts within a whole yet contains a center point that anchors all other dissections of its core. The circle exhibits several types of symmetry. It has lateral, radiating and reflective symmetrical properties. The repeated division of space within the circle, can be seen in many Islamic designs used to decorate mosques, utilitarian objects and in the construction of shaped calligraphy.
Secondary Curricula for
World Literature and Art
SYMMETRY Symmetry in Laila Lalami’s novel, Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits World Literature Competencies (based on the New Hampshire Curriculum Frameworks) 1. Students will understand that reading literatures from around the world with understanding and appreciation of commonality and differences is essential for them to succeed as learners, both in school and throughout their lives, and to become contributing members of society. 2. Students will understand that interpreting and critically analyzing classic and contemporary literature leads to knowledge of the genre. The study of World Literature develops an appreciation of the human experience. 3. Students will understand that in the study of World Literature it is necessary to use critical thinking skills of analyzing, comparing, categorizing, and classifying, identifying cause and effect, problem solving, persuading, empathizing, synthesizing, interpreting, evaluating communicating, and applying.
Using Reflection to Create a Symmetrical Design New Hampshire Visual Arts Curriculum Standards Curriculum Standard 2 : Identify and apply the elements of visual art and principles of design. Curriculum Standard 3 : Select and apply a range of subject matter, symbols and ideas. Curriculum Standard 4 : Analyze the visual arts in relation to history and culture. Curriculum Standard 6 : Students will make connections among the visual arts, other disciplines, and daily life. Objectives Students will: • make and support analytical judgments about the text • analyze and interpret characters and themes • find similarities between the novel and Islamic decorative design • recognize symmetry in the physical world and the world of ideas • create symmetrical designs using an equilateral triangle • use reflection symmetry within the equilateral triangle to tessellate a plane • make a kaleidoscope that will reflect the triangle design to infinity
An Overview and Analysis of Symmetry in Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits These ideas can be used to generate discussion about the novel, life in Morocco and illegal immigration. In the novel, Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits, Laila Lalami uses a symmetrical structure to tell the story of four individuals whose lives intersect much like motifs in an arabesque. Lalami creates symmetrical reflections of characters that attempt to seek freedom, redemption and faith in the absolute. The novel moves like a circular frieze without beginning or end. The psychological world of the main characters is fragmented and messy reflecting the nature of the profane. The physical world remains a constant repetition of pattern in a sacred cosmological order. Indifferent and sometimes cruel, the order of the Universe is never belied.
A Comparison of Islamic Patterning and Laila Lalami’s novel, Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits The novel is set in modern Morocco. The main characters are introduced in the first chapter called The Trip. The seemingly unrelated cast is woven together through the act of illegal immigration. All parties have dearly paid for unlawful and dangerous passage to southern Spain via the treacherous fourteen-kilometer pass at the Strait of Gibraltar. The introduction sets up the obvious symmetrical structure of Lalami’s first novel. Several patterns are established from the onset. The novel is organized into two parts. The first set of stories introduces us to the characters’ lives prior to their fateful journey. In the following chapters we find the characters living out the consequences of their decisions or are they just motifs in a sacred pattern subject to “inshallah” or the will of God? The symmetrical structure could be seen as bilateral. Not quite a mirror image, the similarities are reflected in the thoughts and words of the characters. The novel begins and ends through the eyes of Murad. The character completes the circle of hope and gives the reader assurance that there is order in the universe despite the obvious appearance of randomness.
The Trip, foreshadows the dichotomous psychology of the characters as they confront two countries, two universes, the infinite, the finite, the sacred and the secular.
Part 1: Before The Fanatic Larbi, is the father of Noura, a university student aspiring to study at NYU. He is an official in the Moroccan Ministry of Education. His wife is a lawyer with progressive views about women. Noura befriends Faten, a conservative Islamist student who influences Noura to question the bourgeois life created by wealth and profane values. Symmetrical and circular devices in Lalami’s storytelling allow the viewer to see universal themes in the details of the Maghrebi tale. Larbi is annoyed that he is asked for a professional favor. At the end of the story, it is Larbi who manipulates events and solicits his own brand of extortion to serve a purpose. Faten presents herself as righteously pious. She is not above corruption when survival is at stake. Corruption emerges as a theme contrasted with integrity, seen as a convenient luxury of the rich and powerful. It is certainly not baraka, (a blessing from God) but maybe karma that finds Larbi contemplating his daughter’s extremism while struggling to acknowledge his own corruption. The Mizan, the Islamic scales of balance are used to measure the cosmic symmetry in Lalami’s work. (“Pattern in Islamic Art”. http://www.patterninislamicart.com)
Lalami’s characters are Moroccan yet universal themes are revealed through their duplicitous actions. If we pay attention, we will hear Faten’s sentiments repeated in Part II. Page 43, “No one is offering me anything. No one gives anything for free.” Lalami creates a pattern of character motifs. They reappear physically and also in thought and action. They are not regular motifs, like the shapes repeated in zillij tiling but a progressive motif. They are transfigured paralleling the transitory nature of being. (“The Evolution of Style/Pattern in Islamic Art”. http://www.patterninislamicart.com)
Bus Ride Halima is married to Maati an alcoholic. They have three children. Through the use of visual metaphor, Lalami paints an Islamic design of light and shadow cast on a Moroccan landscape. Page 30, “The windows were open and the sun was making tree spots on the floor” Page 52, “Stripes of sunlight came through the closed shutters, making a hazy grid on the bare floor.” It is almost as though Lalami’s description of light attempts to levitate Halima’s tragic life to a spiritual realm. Through the interplay of light and shadow on the intricate stalactite carvings in mosques, the structure is made to appear transcendent. (Nasr) In the Bus Ride, Halima does not transcend her circumstances, but Lalami shows us that this mother’s spirit is not confined to what is acceptable. Reflective symmetry is seen in Halima’s comparison of her life to that of her employer, Hanan on page 70. “I could have been her, had my luck been different, had I gone to a real school, had I married someone else.” Even though Halima cannot transcend her fate, she can visualize a transfiguration.
Acceptance Aziz has made the decision to leave his wife and his country to make a better life in Spain. Aziz confronts the void in the infinite pattern of his life. He aligns himself with a nomadic psychology, being acutely aware of the fragility of existence. (Burckhardt) He creates a pattern of rhythmic thought that designs his future. We see later that the new reality he creates limits his pattern making to isolated designs. He is not able to interweave the old and the new
Better Luck Tomorrow We become acquainted with Murad again. Like the point from which emanates the circle, Murad finds himself in the center of his family. He is the man of the household comprised of a mother, sister and twin brothers away at medical school. He has a degree, but no steady income. He must reconcile his inability to provide for his family, with his status as protector of the household. Lalami creates a kaleidoscope reflection of infinity for Murad. On page 100, “He let his eyes rest on the TV, where a dark, handsome man was courting a plump girl with too much eye makeup, promising her that he would talk to her parents as soon as he had found a job and saved enough money for the dowry.” Murad knows the downward circular spiral that he is on. His sister has crafted her own geometry through her job and marriage proposal. She will become a motif in someone else’s pattern. Murad seeks to regain his dignity risking his life and going into debt, to illegally immigrate to Spain.
Part II: After The last four stories find the main characters having either returned to their lives after the failed attempt to reach Spain or we meet them in their new lives, in a new country, in a new universe. The Saint Halima didn’t make it to Spain. Her son, Farrid saved her when all the passengers were forced out of the inflatable boat. In the Bus Ride, the previous story about Halima, metaphor is expressed through the visual imagery of light. We see this again in The Saint. Page 126, “She did not notice the fading afternoon light that lengthened the shadows behind her, framing her body like the arches of a shrine.” In Islam, light symbolizes the infinite and represents the word of God that illuminates the world of men. (Nasr) Lalami creates a saintly image of Halima whose selfless life is dedicated to her children. The confines of her culture and status force her into submission before a drunken husband, demanding mother and superstitious neighbor. I compare the character of
Halima to a passage from Islamic Art and Spirituality by Seyyed Hossein Nasr, “The stalactites serve the practical function of supporting the roof and also symbolize the descent of light into the world of material forms.” Halima is so charged.
The Odalesque Faten is unrecognizable as a young prostitute in Madrid. Lalami helps us to see her instincts for survival as she creates order out of chaos. We are reminded of her former life in Morocco, as a friend of Noura’s at Larbi’s dinner table. The following passage is foreshadowed in the dinner conversation from The Fanatic. Page 133, “She began to wonder about the price of all this-----after all, she had long ago learned that nothing is free.” On page 138, Faten reflects on her former friend, “Noura was probably still wearing it. She was rich; she had the luxury of having faith. But then Faten thought, Noura also had the luxury of having no faith; she’d probably found the hijab too constraining and ended up taking it off to show off her designer clothes. That was the thing with money. It gave you choices.” Faten’s thoughts follow a circular pattern of logic and the sentiment exhibits reflection symmetry as viewed against her former life in Morocco. In the end Faten is grateful for the truth. I am reminded of what Larbi says in The Fanatic when thinking about Noura’s newfound religious fervor, on page 35, “What if he lost her to this…this blindness that she thought was sight?” When we know the truth are we able to see more clearly? The lens through which Faten sees the world is not the same as it was when she was a student in Morocco. The dogmatic principals of her former life have given way to the void, not so easily explained or defended. The arabesque nature of Faten’s existence can be compared to the thoughts of Seyyed Hossein Nasr in Islamic Art and Spirituality. “Through the use of the arabesque in its many forms the void enters into the different facets of Islamic art lifting from the material objects their suffocating heaviness and enabling the spirit to breathe and expand.” Faten seems to be able to lift her psyche away from the reality of her physical burdens. Nasr goes on to write, “The arabesque through its extension and repetition of forms interlaced with the void, removes from the eye the possibility of fixing itself in one place and from the mind the possibility of becoming imprisoned in an particular solidification and crystallization of matter. Emptiness in Art becomes synonymous with the manifestation of the sacred.” Faten transcends her reality even though she knows her daily fate. She does not succumb to the illusion that someone else knows better or that she will be taken care of. She navigates the void by ordering the small elements of her life and finding unity through self-knowledge. Although physically burdened she is not spiritually imprisoned. Allusion to her self-knowledge is heard in this passage from page 140, “There was a program on TV about dromedaries, and she watched, eyes half-closed, as the Spanish voice-over described the mammal’s common habitat, his resistance to harsh living conditions, his nomadic patterns, and his many uses, as a beast of burden, for his meat
and milk, and even for his dung, which could be burned for fuel.” Faten recognizes herself in this description.
Homecoming Aziz has made a life for himself in Spain. Although not the life he envisioned, he can no longer imagine a life in Casablanca. Memories are often one-dimensional and take on the design of our choosing. Dreams of his homecoming provide Aziz with a design he eagerly awaits to color. The truth tells a sober story of a displaced immigrant who doesn’t feel at home in either reality. The colors fade and are replaced with a monochromatic future for the couple. Aziz finds that he cannot expect his wife, Zohra to adapt to life in Spain and he can no longer live his former life. The couple once was two halves of a whole, now they are merely the weak reflection of each other’s dreams. When Aziz takes his suitcase to return to Spain, each is left a little lighter by the awareness of the truth.
The Storyteller The circular tale returns the focus to Murad. His immigration attempt was unsuccessful and he finds himself in Tangier. He works in a bookstore, a fitting place for someone with a Batchelor’s Degree in English. He has lived the better part of his life dreaming of the future. “He wondered if one always had to sacrifice the past for the future, or if it was something he had done, something peculiar to him, an inability to fill himself with too much, so that for every new bit of imagined future, he had to forsake a tangible past.” (Page 178). At this moment the notion that his imagination is fixed and not expandable, is contrary to his final epiphany. He comes to realize that he has his own stories. He understands his legacy will be to continue the transmission of culture through storytelling. Titus Burckhardt writes in Sacred Art in East and West, “The sense of rhythm, innate in nomadic peoples and the genius for geometry: these are the two poles which transposed into the spiritual order, determine all Islamic Art. Nomadic rhythmicality found its most direct expression in Arab prosody….” Murad realizes his calling to continue the tradition of Arab prosody. The structure of Lalami’s novel comes full circle with Murad. He is the character we encounter first and last. He finds unity by looking inward. Keith Critchlow writes in Islamic Patterns, “Islam’s concentration on geometric patterns draws attention away from the representational world to one of pure form, posed tensions and dynamic equilibrium, giving structural insight into the workings of the inner self and their reflection in the universe. Curiously, modern atomic physics has confirmed the essential mathematical and geometric patterns occurring in Nature; not, however, in the philosophical sense of displaying the intelligence within and throughout all creation – the
starting point of Islamic art – but in the purity of essential relationships which lie beneath the visual surface of our world. The significance from the Islamic standpoint is that, in the effort to trace origins in creation, the direction is not backwards but inwards.�
Lesson 1 REFLECTION SYMMETRY
Students will create an equilateral triangle motif that will have three lines of reflection symmetry and will tessellate the plane. Geometric shapes or arabesque forms can be used as design elements. Through reflecting the image on the line of symmetry, unity of design is achieved. Materials: • several small sheets of tracing paper • equilateral triangle pattern page • pencil, eraser • drawing paper Procedure:
Using an equilateral pattern page, trace a triangle on a piece of tracing paper.
Draw a floral or geometric design inside the triangle. Imagine each line of the triangle is the line of symmetry dividing a complete image in half. Link designs with connecting forms to unify the interior of the triangular drawing space. Pay attention to the positive and negative space created by the drawn forms.
Use a second sheet of tracing paper to trace the original triangle. The triangle is the motif that will be repeated and reflected in the completed design. Flip the second tracing over and align it to the original design. We can now see the mirror image of one side of the triangle. The pattern matches up along the line of mirror symmetry. Trace both images onto a third piece of tracing paper.
Continue the process of flipping the design along the line of symmetry, and tracing the mirror images. The completed hexagonal form will be comprised of 6 equilateral triangles with mirror symmetry.
Continue the process of tracing and flipping along the lines of symmetry, going beyond the original hexagon, to fill a rectangular piece of paper. The final pattern will tessellate the plane with the potential to continue to infinity.
Lesson 2
KALEIDOSCOPE A kaleidoscope is an optical toy consisting of a cylinder with mirrors that allows the viewer to see a variety of symmetrical images, depending how many mirrors are used, and what is being reflected. Students will be constructing a kaleidoscope using 3 mirrors and common household objects. The equilateral triangle motif, designed in the Reflective Symmetry lesson, will be used in the kaleidoscope and reflected to infinity inside the mirror system chamber. Materials: • 1 tall Pringles can • 2 plastic covers from a tall Pringles can • 3 pieces of mirror about 2 inches wide by 8.75 inches long • masking tape • white paper • pencil, eraser • scissors • colored pencils • foam peanuts • small drill or penknife to make a hole in one plastic cover
Procedure: 1. Remove the metal base from the Pringles can. Wipe out the inside of the can so it is clean. 2. Drill or cut a small hole in the center of one of the plastic cover. 3. Tape the mirrors together using masking tape, reflective side in as illustrated below.
4. Trace the equilateral triangle formed by the mirrors on a sheet of white paper. Draw a floral or geometric design inside the triangle. Imagine each line of the triangle is the line of symmetry dividing a complete image in half. Link designs with connecting forms to unify the interior of the triangular drawing space. Pay attention to the positive and negative space created by the drawn forms.
5. Place the tapped mirrors inside the Pringles can. Center them using packing peanuts to secure the mirrors inside the cylinder. 6. Attach the plastic cover with the hole onto one end of the Pringles can. 7. Cut the designed triangle shape and glue it to the center of the inside of the second plastic cap. Place it on the tube. 8. Look through the eyehole and see your design reflect to infinity inside the scope. 9. Decorate the outside of the cylinder as desired.
Bibliography and Webography Boles, Martha. The Surface Plane, The Golden Relationship: Art, Math and Nature. Bradford, MA: Pythagorean P, 1992. Britton, Jill. Teaching Tessellating Art. Palo Alto, CA: Dale Seymour Publications, 1992. Broug, Eric. "Broug Ateliers for Islamic Art and Architecture." 10 Oct. 2008 <http://www.broug.com>. Burckhardt, Titus. Sacred Art in East and West. Perennial Books, 1967. Chebel, Malek. Symbols of Islam. Barnes and Nobles Inc., 2000. Critchlow, Keith. Islamic Patterns, AN Analytical and Cosmological Approach. Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions, 1976. Escher, M. C. Exploring the Infinite. New York, NY: Harry Abrams Inc., 1986. Islamic Designs. Amsterdam: The Pepin P, 2001. "Islamic Patterns and Geometry." Salaam. 7 Oct. 2008 <http://www.salaam.co.uk>. Jereb, James F. Arts and Crafts of Morocco. London, UK: Thames and Hudson, 1995. Lalami, Laila. Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits. Orlando, FL: Harcourt Books Inc, 2005. Nasr, Seyyed H. Islamic Art and Spirituality. Oxford UP, 1990. Newlin, Gary. Simple Kaleidoscopes. New York, NY: Sterling Co. Inc., 1995. Newman, Rochelle. Space, Structure and Form, Interweaving Art, Math and Nature in Three Dimensions. Bradford, MA: Pythagorean P, 1996. "Pattern in Islamic Art." 10 Oct. 2008 <http://www.patterninislamicart.com>. Seymour, Dale. Introduction to Tessellations. Palo Alto, CA: Dale Seymour Publications, 1989. Seymour, Dale. Tessellations Teaching Masters. Palo Alto, CA: Dale Seymour Publications, 1989.