What is "motif"

Motif \Mo"tif\, n. [F.] Motive. [archaic]

2. In literature and the fine arts, a salient feature or element of a composition or work; esp., the theme, or central or dominant feature; specif. (Music), a motive[3]. See also leitmotif.

This motif, of old things lost, is a favorite one for the serious ballade.
--R. M. Alden.

The design . . . is . . . based on the peacock -- a motif favored by decorative artists of all ages.
--R. D. Benn.

3. (Dressmaking) A decorative appliqu['e] design or figure, as of lace or velvet, used in trimming; also, a repeated design.

"theme, predominant feature," 1848, from French motif "dominant idea, theme" (see motive).

n. 1 A recurring or dominant element; a theme. 2 (context music English) A short melodic passage that is repeated in several parts of a work. 3 A decorative figure that is repeated in a design or pattern. 4 (cx dressmaking English) A decorative appliqué design or figure, as of lace or velvet, used in trimming. 5 (context crystallography English) The physical object or objects repeated at each point of a lattice. Usually atoms or molecules. 6 (cx chess English) A basic element of a move in terms of why the piece moves and how it supports the fulfilment of a stipulation. 7 (context biochemistry English) In a nucleotide or amino-acid sequence, pattern that is widespread and has, or is conjectured to have, a biological significance.

1. n. a design that consists of recurring shapes or colors

2. a theme that is elaborated on in a piece of music [syn: motive]

3. a unifying idea that is a recurrent element in a literary or artistic work; "it was the usual `boy gets girl' theme" [syn: theme]

In computing, Motif refers to both a graphical user interface (GUI) specification and the widget toolkit for building applications that follow that specification under the X Window System on Unix and Unix-like operating systems.

Motif is the toolkit for the Common Desktop Environment and was thus the standard widget toolkit for Unix. Closely related to Motif is the Motif Window Manager (MWM).

After many years as proprietary software, Motif was released in 2012 as free software under the GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL).

Motif may refer to:

In art and iconography, a motif is an element of an image. A motif may be repeated in a pattern or design, often many times, or may just occur once in a work.

In music, a motif or motive is a short musical idea, a salient recurring figure, musical fragment or succession of notes that has some special importance in or is characteristic of a composition: "The motive is the smallest structural unit possessing thematic identity".

The Encyclopédie de la Pléiade regards it as a " melodic, rhythmic, or harmonic cell", whereas the 1958 Encyclopédie Fasquelle maintains that it may contain one or more cells, though it remains the smallest analyzable element or phrase within a subject. It is commonly regarded as the shortest subdivision of a theme or phrase that still maintains its identity as a musical idea. "The smallest structural unit possessing thematic identity". Grove and Larousse also agree that the motif may have harmonic, melodic and/or rhythmic aspects, Grove adding that it "is most often thought of in melodic terms, and it is this aspect of the motif that is connoted by the term 'figure'."

A harmonic motif is a series of chords defined in the abstract, that is, without reference to melody or rhythm. A melodic motif is a melodic formula, established without reference to intervals. A rhythmic motif is the term designating a characteristic rhythmic formula, an abstraction drawn from the rhythmic values of a melody.

A motif thematically associated with a person, place, or idea is called a leitmotif. Occasionally such a motif is a musical cryptogram of the name involved. A head-motif (German: Kopfmotiv) is a musical idea at the opening of a set of movements which serves to unite those movements.

Scruton, however, suggests that a motif is distinguished from a figure in that a motif is foreground while a figure is background: "A figure resembles a moulding in architecture: it is 'open at both ends', so as to be endlessly repeatable. In hearing a phrase as a figure, rather than a motif, we are at the same time placing it in the background, even if it is...strong and melodious".

Any motif may be used to construct complete melodies, themes and pieces. Musical development uses a distinct musical figure that is subsequently altered, repeated, or sequenced throughout a piece or section of a piece of music, guaranteeing its unity. Such motivic development has its roots in the keyboard sonatas of Domenico Scarlatti and the sonata form of Haydn and Mozart's age. Arguably Beethoven achieved the highest elaboration of this technique; the famous "fate motif" —the pattern of three short notes followed by one long one—that opens his Fifth Symphony and reappears throughout the work in surprising and refreshing permutations is a classic example.

Motivic saturation is the "immersion of a musical motive in a composition", i.e., keeping motifs and themes below the surface or playing with their identity, and has been used by composers including Miriam Gideon, as in "Night is my Sister" (1952) and "Fantasy on a Javanese Motif" (1958), and Donald Erb. The use of motives is discussed in Adolph Weiss' "The Lyceum of Schönberg".

Hugo Riemann defines a motif as, "the concrete content of a rhythmically basic time-unit."

Anton Webern defines a motif as, "the smallest independent particle in a musical idea", which are recognizable through their repetition.

Arnold Schoenberg defines a motif as, "a unit which contains one or more features of interval and rhythm [whose] presence is maintained in constant use throughout a piece".

In chess composition, a motif is basic element of a move in the consideration why the piece moves and how it supports the fulfillment of a stipulation. Any move may and often does contain multiple motifs. Some composition schools put specific emphasis on motivation in chess problems, especially strategical school and Slovak school.

A composition where a maximum number of a certain motif occurrences is shown is called a task, even if the term task is more general.

Motif (also known as Motif Volume 1) is a 2008 album by guitarist Steve Howe. The album features re-recordings of songs from Howe's career, including pieces from his solo albums as well as Yes albums.

In narrative, a motif is any recurring element that has symbolic significance in a story. Through its repetition, a motif can help produce other narrative (or literary) aspects such as theme or mood.

A narrative motif can be created through the use of imagery, structural components, language, and other narrative elements. The flute in Arthur Miller's play Death of a Salesman is a recurrent sound motif that conveys rural and idyllic notions. Another example from modern American literature is the green light found in the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Narratives may include multiple motifs of varying types. In Shakespeare's play Macbeth, he uses a variety of narrative elements to create many different motifs. Imagistic references to blood and water are continually repeated. The phrase "fair is foul, and foul is fair" is echoed at many points in the play, a combination that mixes the concepts of good and evil. The play also features the central motif of the washing of hands, one that combines both verbal images and the movement of the actors.

In a narrative, a motif establishes a pattern of ideas that may serve different conceptual purposes in different works. Kurt Vonnegut, for example, in his non-linear narratives such as Slaughterhouse-Five and Cat's Cradle makes frequent use of motif to connect different moments that might seem otherwise separated by time and space. In the American science fiction cult classic Blade Runner, director Ridley Scott uses motifs to not only establish a dark and shadowy film noir atmosphere, but also to weave together the thematic complexities of the plot. Throughout the film, the recurring motif of "eyes" is connected to a constantly changing flow of images, and sometimes violent manipulations, in order to call into question our ability, and the narrator's own, to accurately perceive and understand reality.

In the textile arts, a motif (also called a block or square) is a smaller element in a much larger work. In knitting and crochet, motifs are made one at a time and joined together to create larger works such as afghan blankets or shawls. A good example of a motif is the granny square. Motifs may be varied or rotated for contrast and variety, or to create new shapes, as with quilt blocks in quilts and quilting. Contrast with motif-less crazy quilting.

Motifs can be any size, but usually all the motifs in any given work are the same size. The patterns and stitches used in a motif may vary greatly, but there is almost always some unifying element, such as texture, stitch pattern, or colour, which gives the finished piece more aesthetic appeal. Motifs may commemorate events or convey information or political slogans. For example, the individual blocks of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, the possible Quilts of the Underground Railroad, and the " 54-40 or Fight" quilt block.

Example of Pattern Design Artist in 2016 : https://www.behance.net/clairelaurent

Motif is a word used by folklorists who analyze, interpret, and describe the traditional elements found in the lore of particular folk groups and compare the folklore of various regions and cultures of the world based on these motif patterns. Ultimately, folklorists identify motifs in folklore to interpret where, how, and why these motifs are used, so they can understand the values, customs, and ways of life of unique cultures.

In cultural anthropology and folkloristics, the meaning of motif encompasses the meanings of motif used in the areas of music, literary criticism, visual arts, and textile arts because folklorists study motifs (i.e., recurring elements) in each of these areas, motifs that create recognizable patterns in folklore and folk-art traditions.

Motif (established 1999 in Trondheim, Norway) is an experimental jazz band, still polishing the personal sound they have been meticulously shaping since the beginning, with a Frank Zappa influence all around it (also present in the humouristic side of this proposal), a sound labeled as "a remarkable combination of powerful writing, simpatico free play, and stylistic cross-pollination" (John Kelman, Allaboutjazz). The musicians unite from bands such as Bugge Wesseltoft’s New Conceptions of Jazz, Atomic, Free Fall, Christian Wallumrød Ensemble, Motorpsycho, Generator X, Maria Kannegaard Trio and Trondheim Jazz Orchestra, and are known from appearances with jazz artists such as Joshua Redman, John Scofield, Lee Konitz, Chick Corea, Jan Garbarek, Joe Lovano and Kenny Wheeler, and are all key players at the young European improvising scene.

Motif has also appeared at a variety of festivals all over the world like the Copenhagen Jazz Festival, Bremen Jazz Ahead, Hanoi European Jazz Festival, Kongsberg Jazz Festival, Toronto Downtown Jazz Festival, Vancouver Jazz Festival, Moldejazz and clubs all over Europe. They have also toured in Asia, visiting China, Japan (where they've played the "Pit Inn Club" in Tokyo) and Vietnam.