Arabesque and First Council of Constantinople: Difference between pages

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The First Council of Constantinople (second ecumenical council) was called by Theodosius I in 381 to confirm the Nicene creed and deal with other matters of the Arian controversy .

Meletius of Antioch, Gregory Nazianzen, and Nectarius successively presided. Gregory Nazianzen was made patriarch, but soon resigned, and Nectarius was then put in his place.

Seven canons, four doctrinal and three disciplinary, are attributed to the council and accepted by the Greek Church, but the Roman Church accepts only the first four.

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+The '''First Council of Constantinople''' (second [[ecumenical council]]) was called by
-To the westerner, '''Arabesque''' or Islamic art, looks like a series of repeating geometric forms which are occasionally accompanied by calligraphy. To the adherents of [[Islam]], the Arabesque are symbolic of their united faith and the way in which traditional Islamic cultures view the world.
+[[Theodosius I]] in 381 to confirm the [[Nicene creed]]
+and deal with other matters of
+[[Arianism|the Arian controversy ]].
+[[Meletius of Antioch]], [[Gregory Nazianzen]],
-=== Description ===
+and [[Nectarius]] successively presided. Gregory
-Each repeating geometric form has a built in symbolism ascribed to it. For example, the square with its four equilateral sides, is symbolic of the equally important elements of nature; earth, air, fire and water. Without any one of the four, the physical world, represented by a circle that inscribes the square, would collapse upon itself and cease to exist. Furthermore, the choice of which geometric forms to use and how they are formatted are based upon the Islamic view of the world.
+Nazianzen was made patriarch, but soon resigned,
+and Nectarius was then put in his place.
+Seven canons, four doctrinal and three disciplinary, are
-There are two modes to Arabesque art. The first recalls the principles that govern the order of the world. These principles include the bare basics of what makes objects structurally sound and by extension beautiful (i.e. the angle and the fixed/static shapes that it creates -- esp. the truss). The second mode is based upon the flowing nature of plant forms. This mode recalls the feminine nature of life giving. Upon inspection of the many examples of Arabesque art, some would argue that there should be is a third mode; The mode of [[Calligraphy]].
+attributed to the council and accepted by the
+Greek Church, but the Roman Church accepts only
+the first four.
-=== Calligraphy ===
-Instead of recalling something related to the True Reality (the reality of the spiritual world), Calligraphy is a visible expression of the highest art of all; the
-art of the spoken word (e.g. the transmittal of thoughts and of history). The most important document to be transmitted orally is, of course, the [[Al-Qur'an]].
-Proverbs and complete passages from the Al-Qur'an can be seen today in Arabesque art (in fact, the entire
-Al-Qur'an was first written in Calligraphy). The coming together of these three forms creates the Arabesque and this is a reflection of unity arising from diversity (a basic tenet of Islam).
-=== Form ===
-Islamic art, more properly called The Arabesque, is an elaborate application of repeating [[geometry|geometric]] forms. These forms, taken together, constitute an infinite pattern that extends beyond the visible material world. To the Muslim, they in fact symbolize the infinite and therefore, uncentralized nature of the One God's creation. Furthermore, the Islamic Arabesque artist conveys a definite spirituality without the iconography of [[Christian art]] (Wade, page 7).
-== Role ===
-The Arabesque can also be equally thought of as both art and science. The artwork is at the same time, mathematically precise, aesthetically pleasing, and symbolic. So due to this duality of creation, the artistic part of this equation can be further subdivided into both secular & religious artwork. However, for the Muslim there is no distinction; all forms of art, the natural world, mathematics and science are all creations of God and therefore are reflections of the same thing (God's will expressed through His Creation). In other words, man can discover the geometric forms that constitute The Arabesque, but they had always existed before as God's creation (Wade, page 7).
-=== Background ===
-"There is no god but God and [[Mohammed]] is His messenger" Creed of the [[Umma]] (Islamic Community)
-The prevalence of calligraphy and geometric forms in Islamic art is also due in part to an edict forbidding iconography uttered by the Prophet Mohammed (known as rasul Allah, the messenger of God -- Amer, lectures).  Specifically, he states that during the Day of Last Judgment, God will ask such artists (iconographers) to breath life into their artwork. When they fail to do so, they will be condemned to hell.
-The reason for this edict was to illustrate that only the One True God is capable of creating the material world. In fact the Arabic word for to-create, to-form and to-fashion are all the same. God, or Allah in the Arabic, is therefore both a divine Creator and a Musawwir, which means painter or artist (Wade, page 9). It is therefore absolute Hubris for an artist to even attempt to emulate any part of the material world in any sort of realistic way.
-=== Order and Unity ===
-Furthermore, the best artwork that can be created by man is artwork that displays the underlying order and unity of nature. However, the order and unity of the material world is a mere ghostly approximation of the Spiritual World (which for many Muslims is the place where the only True reality exists).  Discovered geometric forms, therefore, exemplify this perfect reality (since God's creation has been obscured by the sins of man).
-In fact, [[Sufi]] Muslims believe that there is no distinction between the spiritual and material worlds. And that the reason we cannot experience the Spiritual world,
-is that there are 'veils of concealment' that shield us from the perfection of the Spiritual world (they therefore work to lift these veils, in order to become one with God while they are still on Earth -- Amer, lectures).
-Another aspect of Islam is the Unity that binds it together. Unlike the divisiveness that characterizes
-Christianity, the Muslim world is remarkably cohesive. This of course, can be seen in the utter similarity
-between Arabesque artwork from very different geographic regions. In fact, the similarities are so pronounced, that it is sometimes difficult for experts to tell where a given style of Arabesque comes from (Petsopoulos, page 12). The reason for this is that the science & mathematics that are used to construct Arabesque artwork are universal. So this, along with Islamic Divine Law or [[Sharia]], come together to form the glue that binds the [[Umma]] or Islamic Community together into a coherent whole (Wade, page 9).
-=== History ===
-However, geometric artwork in the form of the Arabesque was not widely used in the Islamic world until an [[Arabic renaissance]] came into full bloom. During this time, ancient texts were translated from their original Greek and Latin into Arabic. Like the following [[renaissance]] in Europe, Math, Science, Literature and History were infused into the Islamic world with great repercussions.
-The works of [[Plato]] and especially of [[Euclid]] became popular among the literate. In fact, it was Euclid's geometry along with the foundations of trigonometry codified by [[Pythagoras]]' that became the impetus of the art form that was to become the Arabesque.
-Plato's ideas about the existence of a separate reality that was perfect in form and function and crystalline in character also would contribute to the development of the Arabesque (Wade, page 10).
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-Bibliography
-Amer, M. Lectures: ''Cultures of the Islamic World''
-(Sacramento: CSUS, Spring 2000)
-Bourgoin, J. ''Arabic Geometrical Pattern and Design''
-(New York: Dover Publications, 1973)
-Humbert, C. Islamic Ornamental Design
-(New York: Hastings House, 1980)
-Petsopoulos, Y. Arabesques and Turbans: "Decorative Arts from the Ottoman Empire" (New York: Abbevile Press, 1982)
-Wade, D. Pattern in Islamic Art
-(Lonon: Studio Vista, 1976)