Building the Moroccan Court
Why Hacker News recommends it
Shared as a satisfying look at craftsmen taking pride in traditional handmade tile mosaics.
What it is
A short film following Moroccan artisans from Fez as they build a traditional 15th-century-style Moroccan court inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It shows zellij tilework and other traditional techniques.
Recommended by 2 HN commenters across 2 different months, 2015 to 2021.
What Hacker News said
Strong rec jazzyjackson · 2021-12 · on “Antikythera Mechanism: An ancient 'computer' that 'shouldn't exist' [video]”
from one angle, the church spends money for monumental purposes. But I’m not of the opinion that you can just spend your way to those cathedrals: the workmen (freemasons in the original sense) have to believe they are giving glory to god. Here’s a great video [0][17min] documenting the Met Museum’s commissioning of moroccan mosaics, by the end you can see the craftsmen taking great pride in their work, above and beyond what they’re paid to do, carving “allah” over and over out of religious dedication. (just want to push back on the notion that religion is all about manipulating people with your power, the crimes of the vatican notwishstanding) [0] [this video]
Recommends jacobolus · 2016-03 · on “Islamic art inspires stretchy, switchable materials”
Wow. Now imagine tiling the floor, walls, ceiling, and outside façade of a mosque using such handmade tiles. Insane amounts of human labor involved. Your video sucked me into watching videos about tilemaking. :-) This one is kind of neat: [this video]
Cites donedonedone · 2015-08 · on “Zellige”
The Moroccan government is actively investing in preserving and promoting Moroccan crafts all over the world[1]. They helped design Walt Disney World Resort's Morocco Pavillon in Florida. [1] [this video] [2] [LINK]