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RESEARCH PRODUCT

E pluribus unum. Il ruolo del pattern geometrico nella storia dell'arte siciliana

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The harmony of forms seems to be regulated by its own laws compatible with the cognitive processes that regulate their perception. From the mimesis of nature, artistic forms investigate the geometric relationships between the parts and define systems of representation that exploit the optical phenomenon of the tessellation to obtain complex configurations from simple polygonal modules were born. The simplest tessellation finds its first application in the mosaic whose origin as a practice is very ancient, evolving up to the Greco-Roman world enriching and differentiating itself in two essential styles, one pictorial and one abstract, both beautifully represented within the Villa Romana del Casale in Piazza Armerina, where medallions and decorative orders representing deities and ordinary people complements abstract and geometric compositions. From a process of simplifying the complex practice of mosaic, the concept of tiling was born in the Arab and Hispanic world, where it turned into the use of "polished and enamelled stones" to cover entire surfaces with ornamental motifs. The Arab-Spanish dominations in Sicily imported the art of majolica that here finds fertile ground for the definition of a complex paradigm displayed in the Casa Museo delle Maioliche of the association Stanze al Genio of Palermo. The intent to conquer the surface through graphic patterns belongs now to contemporary street artists who widen even more the canvas of reference and cover, this time, the city with shapes and colours.