15.Oct.2006 ATypI and Arabesque in Lisbon

Lisbon still shows some Arab influence as can be seen in the Alfama area which dates back to Moorish times. From Wikipedia:

“Lisbon’s name itself, pronounced “Lizhboa” in Portuguese, is more directly derived from the Arabic name of the city, al-Ushbuna, than the Latin Olissipo”.

It’s a pity that the ATypI conference did not reflect this heritage. Still, it was great to see friends and colleagues. Lisbon is a great city and it was wonderful to be there.

Now, back to Arabesque: the simplest form is created by 2 steps: 1. create a square module and them 2. rotate a copy of the module in 3 consecutive steps and tile the results. There’s many ways to distribute to get more complex results but the most important is the basic module.

Many buildings had tiles on the outside. I’ve seen Arabesque tiles on the insides of buildings in Lebanon, in the mosques in Turkey, but never on the outside of a building. It’s sort of like Inside-Out sushi. Quite a curious but very charming effect.

and from the same building…

and not related to Arabic, but some very interesting surface treatment…

This is the most impressive church that I’ve ever visited. Wow.

And finally: early forms of cubism.