Mosaics and Tiling

Abstract

The feature binding mosaics and tiling is the use of small elements to produce configurations in which they are essentially lost. That is, the whole pattern has a visual organisation that seems quite different from the elements that make it up. This is seen most clearly in mosaics, which are constructed from tesserae – small cubes of marble, terracotta, or glass. Tiling or tessellation uses larger elements which can take different shapes, but a small range of shapes is used repetitively. Making large patterns from smaller elements must have been a human preoccupation for millennia. Initially stones or pebbles would have been used as the elements and later specially manufactured materials could be employed. This led to greater control of the graphical constructions. Tesserae used in mosaics are small and about the same size; their individual surface shapes are not as important as their colours. Tiles used for tessellations require to have defined and constant shapes so that they can conform to the regular geometry of the repetitive patterns. When elements of different shapes are employed then the complexity of the patterns and the perceptions they induce also increase, as will be seen in some of the examples shown in the chapter. Tessellations place great demands on symmetry and repetition and fine examples can be found in mosques. They also pose challenges for artists and mathematicians resulting in the beauties of Escher woodcuts and Penrose tiling patterns. The hallmark of contemporary artworks in this genre has been ingenuity in the selection of elements ranging from dominoes, to match heads, to pictures themselves.