Posted by Nikos Salingaros on January 25, 1999 at 11:14:15:
In Reply to: Re: Checklist criteria posted by R. John Howe on January 24, 1999 at 16:43:37:
It seems that I am called for an opinion. The main
point has already been made by Mr. Howe; this is
not a complete list of criteria, and is meant only
to demonstrate proof of principle that such a list
is at least partially successful. Nevertheless,
small-scale elements do link in terms of some
functional need such as contrast. Similar elements
in all sciences do not link strongly but only
weakly. Compare the nuclear force to the
gravitational one -- one is very strong and
very short range, whereas the other is weak and
has infinite range.
As far as carpets are concerned, let me repeat what
I wrote in my ICOC talk:
"Mameluke carpets use contrast in color hue to great effect, without much contrast in color value. At the other
extreme, Turkoman rugs use contrast in color value with very narrow changes in color hue. Both work. While
the simplest method for bringing a color to life is to use its opposite (i.e., red next to green), this is by no
means the only way. More sophisticated results depend on a three-way separation of gray - that is, the balanced
use of three colors that would together mix as a gray. This produces the vibration seen in many good carpets."
Nikos Salingaros