Slide 1
Arabic calligraphy shapes the appearance as well as the words
Arabic calligraphy gives written language a carefully shaped visual form. The appearance of the letters matters alongside the words they carry.
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In Islamic art, calligraphy appears on buildings, textiles and vessels as well as paper. Its practice extends far beyond a page written with pen and ink.
Slide 2
Script styles offer different proportions and rhythms
Different script styles organise letters in different ways. Their proportions and rhythms offer artists distinct visual resources.
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An inscription may be adapted to fit a band, panel or object. The shape of the available surface therefore participates in the design of the written passage.
Slide 3
Accurate Qur’anic words have religious importance
The Qur'an holds a central place in Islamic calligraphic traditions. Presenting its words accurately carries religious importance for Muslims.
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Calligraphy also serves non-scriptural purposes. Poetry and other texts can become visual art, so a beautifully written Arabic-script inscription is not automatically a Qur'anic quotation.
Slide 4
Interwoven ornament can make pattern visible before words
Calligraphers can interweave letters and ornament into complex designs. A viewer may recognise a powerful pattern before reading every word.
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The Met's Decorated Word exhibition explored tensions between decoration and verbal clarity. Readability is therefore one of the artistic questions a composition can negotiate.
Slide 5
Arabic script does not always mean Arabic language
Arabic script has been adapted for languages other than Arabic. The visual family of letters does not by itself identify the language of an inscription.
More to Read
Understanding a work can require both reading its text and studying its design. Translation supplies verbal content, while analysis of layout explains how that content occupies the object.
Sources
- Calligraphy in Islamic art
Victoria and Albert Museum
- The Decorated Word
Metropolitan Museum of Art