This PREP workshop was made possible by the NSF grant DUE: 0341481

From Prep08Wiki

This is a two-part project. The first part could be done in class, or as a homework assignment. The second part is a fairly substantial creative project which may require a week or two outside of class.

Part 1: Analysis

Consider the collection of Roman mosaics shown below.

1. Identify which mosaics contain rosette patterns, which contain frieze patterns, and which contain wallpaper patterns.
2. Choose 3 of the Roman Mosaics pictured below. Print them out (or use an image-marking program) in order to:
   
   1. mark all the centers of symmetry in the tessellated designs without a consideration of polychromy (i.e. as if in B&W)
      
   2. mark all the centers of symmetry in the tessellated designs with a consideration of polychromy
      
   3. identify the type of symmetry (rosette, frieze, or wallpaper) and subgroup.
      
3. Look in particular at mosaic 11
   1. Frequently, we need to ignore parts of an artwork to properly see the intended symmetries. What elements of this mosaic should be ignored when we analyze the symmetries? What happens if we don't do this?
   2. Since this mosaic is finite, it could be viewed as a rosette pattern; but it could also be viewed as a piece of frieze pattern or a wallpaper pattern. Describe the symmetries of the picture when viewed as a rosette pattern, a frieze pattern, and a wallpaper pattern.
   3. Classify the pattern as a rosette patter, a frieze pattern, and a wallpaper pattern.
4. Several of the mosaics contain multiple patterns. Consider mosaic 8.
   1. Describe the different patterns in this mosaic. Sketch each of them on a separate page.
   2. Describe the symmetries of each pattern and classify them.
5. Among the collection of mosaics, which symmetry types are most common?
6. What are common motifs and elements?

Part 2: Create a design

Create a design similar to the Roman mosaics, and write a paper describing the process. Your paper should discuss the symmetries of your design, how you created it, and the mosaics which particularly inspired you. Then create the mosaic using ???.

Uploaded Photos

Roman Mosaics

1.	2. Baths of Caracalla	3. Bignor Villa-Medusa	4. Mosaic at the Getty Villa in LA
5. London	6. From Roman colony of Clunia, near Burgos, Spain	7. From Piazza Armerina in Sicily	8. From Risan (Montenegro)
9. From Piazza Armerina in Sicily	10. Empuries	11. Antioch	12. Antioch
13. Antioch	14.	15.	16. Domus dell'Ortaglia, Brescia, Italy
17. Domus dell'Ortaglia, Brescia, Italy	18. Via Flaminia, Rome, Italy	19. Villa Hadriana, Tivoli, Italy	20. Villa Hadriana, Tivoli, Italy
21. Villa Hadriana, Tivoli, Italy	22. Zaragoza, Spain	23. Zaragoza, Spain	24. Zaragoza, Spain
25. Pompeii, Italy	26. Villa on the Via Cadolini, Cremona, Italy	27. typical Roman mosaic labyrinths	28. Venice, Italy (circa 1425, but way cool!)