Calligraphy as Art.
Calligraphy is a form of visual art and is often called the art of fancy lettering. Islamic calligraphy, also known as Arabic calligraphy, is the artistic practice of handwriting, or calligraphy and be extension of bookmaking. The art is also based on the Arabic script, which for a long time was used by all Muslims in their respective languages. Islamic calligraphy has also been considered in high regards as they used it as way to represent God, as they felt it was wrong to use images. The north Arabic script was established in north-eastern Arabia and flourished in the 5th century among the Arabian tribes who inhabited Hirah and Anbar. Even though early Arabic sources mention several calligraphic styles in references to the cities in which they were used, the generally fit into two broad categories, dry style and moist style.
The Kufic Styles.
Kufic is the oldest calligraphic for of Arabic scripts. It was used at various parts of the Arabic Peninsula when Islam was emerging. Kufic was prevalent in manuscript from the 8th- 10th centuries. It is a from of script consisting of straight lines and angles, often with elongated verticals and horizontals. At the beginning, the letters did not have consonant pointing distinguishing. However it has gone though a number of alterations over the years.
Kufic scripts from an early Quran manuscript, 7th century.
Manuscript of the Chapter Mary of the Quran; Kufic script on Gazelle skin, 9th century.
Western Imitations
During the middle-ages or the renaissance, imitations of the Kufic script was made in a non-Arabic context . These were called Pseudo-Kufic. It appears very often in Renaissance art in depictions of people from the Holy Land. This is an example of Islamic influences on Christian art.
At the top, detail of the virgin’s mantle hem in Antonio Vivarini’s Saint Louis de Toulouse, 1450. At the bottom, detail of virgin’s mantel hem in Jacopo Bellini’s Virgin of Humility, 1440.
Some of the early imitations go back to the 8th century when the English king produced gold coins imitation Islamic dinars.
A mancus or gold dinar of the English king Offa [as shown on the left] , a copy of the dinars of the Abbasid Caliphate[ as shown on the right].
Most of pseudo-kufic are known from European art from around the 10th to the 15th century. They were used as decorative bands in the architecture of Byzantine Greece from the mid 11th century. They were also used as writing or decorative elements in textiles, religious halos and frames.
Pseudo-arabic scriot in the Virgin Mary’s halo, detail of Adoration of the Magi [1423] by Gentile da Fabriano. The script is further divided by rosettes.
Pseudo-kufic mantle hem, in Paolo Veneziano’s Virgin Mary and Child [1358].
Modern types of Calligraphy as Art.
Calligraphy as an art has spread around the world giving us many different types of calligraphy. It has spread to countries like Japan and Korea. For example, Japanese calligraphy did not only follow the set of CJK strokes but they also included hiragana and katakana, which are the local alphabets. The most common type of calligraphy these days are graffiti and typography. Many might argue that these are not forms of calligraphy. Calligraphy uses fancy lettering and these forms of art include fancy lettering. Therefore, graffiti and typography can be considered as an art.
Graffiti as an Art
The reason why graffiti are considered as art is due to the aesthetic criteria. Graffiti has been found on ancient Egyptian monuments and it was also preserved on the walls of Pompeii. One of the simplest types is the individual marking such as slogans or political statements.
The above is an example of graffiti as an art. The letters they used are fancy and is considered as calligraphy.
Although the above is considered as art, I would not considered it as calligraphy as there are no forms of lettering whatsoever.
Typography as Art.
Typography is the art and technique of arranging text and modifying it. Typography started in 1850 and 1600 BC. The first modern typeface is attributed to Frenchman Firmin Didot and first graced the printed page in 1784. Typography is sometimes seen as encompassing many separate fields from the type designer who creates letterforms to the graphic designer who selects typeface and arranges them on the page. Typeface designers have to make sure that the fonts are legible and readable. Traditional typography follows four principles, repetition, contrast, proximity and alignment.
This is a very simple type of typography. The use of different text makes it more interesting and the audience would be easily attracted to it.
This is a little more complex type of typography as they used the text to form the world map. Arranging the text would not be an easy task and they would also have to think about the font to use.
This is a different type of typography. It is called Kinetic Typography. It is the mixture of motion and text. It appeared in 1899 in George Melies advertising work. Kinetic Typography is very common with film and graphic animators.
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