Top: Islamic decoration - Badra Azerbaijan Bottom: Alhambra Palace - Granada, Spain

When compared with ancient Greek or later Western representational art, the intricate mosaics and tessellations of Islamic art seem like an ancient form of mathematical art: computer art before there were computers. We can picture their teleported ancient creators manipulating fractals and modern tiling patterns to continue a tradition that vetoed the representation of living things. Their patterns are extremely revealing of their religious views. God alone was infinite. God alone was perfect. But by creating finite parts of patterns that were evidently infinite it was possible to capture a little piece of the Divine in a humble yet inspiring manner. The partial character of the design served to reinforce the frailty and finiteness of humanity in contrast to God’s infinity.

Islamic art directed the mind towards the infinite by creating regular patterns that could be infinitely repeated. These designs have become familiar to us through the work of the Dutch artist Maurits Escher and the mathematical designers he inspired. ……

In Islamic art we see how the Moslems celebrated infinity where the Greeks feared it. They made it the hidden engine of their artistic creations. While not quite on central stage, it was never far away in the wings. The treatment of zero and Nothingness is just as confident. Rather than sweep Nothing away under the carpet as philosophical embarrassment, the Islamic artist simply saw the void as a challenging emptiness to be filled. No blank space could be left alone. They filled friezes and surfaces with intricate patterns. This urge seems to be shared by human cultures the world over. Wherever anthropologists look they find elaborate decorations. Excerpt: Pages 65 to 67 (The Book of Nothings by John D Barrow)