RATNADEEP BANERJI says calligraphy is drifting into an abstract art
In modern times, calligraphy has got aggrandized into a flamboyant art. There has been melding of art and traditional calligraphy in all the major forms of calligraphy today. After all, calligraphy invokes an aesthetic and creative depiction of clichéd alphabets. And quite so, Greek words, ‘killi’ meaning beautiful and ‘graphos’ meaning writing, have borne calligraphy.
Francoise Rio, a calligrapher based in France quips in, ‘I was fascinated by the way the monks in the early Middle-Ages drew the letters filling the space with bright colours The Book of Kells in Dublin seems so modern in its artistic approach. French poets like Mallarme, Apollinaire, the surrealist movement, cubist painters used letters, words, sentences to create figures, collages.’ Is present calligraphy all about ornate writing? ‘Simplicity is the most difficult to cultivate. Personally I’m interested in both simplicity and embellishments as both complete the two ends of the spectrum.’ says Ms Dagar, a practitioner of Arabic calligraphy.
Art in Calligraphy – justified?
Arain Calligraphy By Caenwyr |
Mohammed El Baz, born in Morocco and trained in Paris says, ‘ When traditional Arabic calligraphy collided with abstract art in modern times, it began to evolve, and calligraphers and artists turned it into a real form of non-figurative art that uses colours, shapes, structure and movement, downstrokes and upstrokes to express a concept. They worked hard to give calligraphy a platform as a form of visual expression, and to expose Western audiences to it.
This has led to the emergence of an interesting dual approach to calligraphy, for while the non-Arabic viewer’s eye is drawn first to the shapes and movement of the painting before moving on to the meaning of the words, readers of the Arabic language would, naturally start by decomposing it into letters and words before focusing on their aesthetic dimension. These two different points of view makes it considered a real art form.
Michele Archambault was born and educated in Paris. She has been practicing calligraphy for over 40 years. ‘Calligraphy can be appreciated in much the same way as abstract art. A single character, a simple stroke, even a single dot can reflect a calligrapher’s talent and learning.’ says Michele.
The dimension of calligraphy should preferably change. For instance, by the end of the 9th century, Ibn-i-Muqla, a genius calligrapher from Baghdad, added new dimensions to the Arabic script by simplifying strokes and adding more cursive characters to it. His mastery over science of geometry enabled him to frame specific rules and ratio among the alphabet. Thus came into existence cursive styles of calligraphy such as Naskh, Thulth, Riqa, Taliq etc.
About the changing paradigm in calligraphy, Qamar Dagar says, ‘From one stroke to many, a natural process of evolution happens where the creator, the artist and the created expressions are evolving alike. As a calligrapher you strive to express harmony and emotion through the form of letters.’ says Ms Dagar.
Anis Siddiqui with his work during exhibition of ‘Divinity in Syllables’ |
Indian Front
Irshad Hussain Farooqi practices calligraphy upon wood. Perhaps in India, he is the only Islamic calligrapher practicing on wood. Irshad Farooqi practices Arabic styles of calligraphy like thuluth, kufi and diwani. He has made unique calligraphic designs of several surrahs of The Holy Quran. Looking back on his career, he points out at how he braved teething problems and meager budget. He is a national award winner.
Qamar Dagar is an exponent of Arabic calligraphy. In 2012, she conducted an international workshop in New Delhi showcasing calligraphy forms being practiced in many languages. She likes to conduct both Urdu and Hindi scripts. Ms Dagar hails from a venerated family of Dhrupad singers, whose lineage goes over thousand years.
J.D. Chakrishar is a native of Sikkim. He learnt the ancient art of Tibetan writing, the traditional way. In 2010, he produced the longest calligraphy on scroll in the world. It took six months to write the scroll, which contains 65000 Tibetan characters, written in different calligraphy styles, including Tsugring, Tsugthung, Tsugma Kyug forms of Umed.
Votaries of calligraphy like Anis Siddiqui and Qamar Dagar have been running institutes for teaching calligraphy besides holding umpteenth workshops. Urdu calligraphy at Ghalib Academy has churned out illustrious artists. Of late, Jamia Millia Islamia too runs a rigorous course.
Anis Siddiqui is a doyen of Urdu calligraphy. He has made immense contribution in preserving, popularizing and teaching the skills and techniques of calligraphy in different languages of India. Anis Siddiqui received the tutelage of astute masters like Khaleeque Tonki at Ghalib Academy in New Delhi. He learned khat-e-Thuluth from the Syrian master calligrapher, Mohammed Alqaaz who was himself a student of the celebrated exponent, Hashim Mohammed Al-Baghdadi. Anis Siddiqui has also learnt Tibetan calligraphy.
