a discussion, which resulted from our post about “asemic” art, sent me into my stacks when the subject of islamic calligraphy in particular came up. it reminded me of the book i happen to have on the subject called the splendor of islamic calligraphy by abdelkebit khatibi and mohammed sijelmassi, put out in 1994 by thames and hudson. it’s a nice book with beautiful examples of the many styles of islamic calligraphy. i thought i’d offer a small cross section of the work here for your viewing pleasure. keep in mind, to me, these are abstract works in that i can’t read word one of their actual semantic content…

first a bit from the books intro:

calligraphy means here - in the strict definition of the word - an art which is conscious, founded upon upon a code of geometric and decorative rules: an art which, in patterns which it creates, implies a theory of language and of writing. this art starts off as part of a linguistic structure and institutes an alternative set of rules, derived from language but dramatizing and duplicating it by transposing it into visual terms.

the essence of calligraphy lies in its relation to language. although the aims of the art of the calligrapher and that of the painter who incorporates words or letters into his work may sometimes be the same, the two part company in the way that the written character is given meaning and life.

the calligrapher is an artist who copies and the text which he has to copy already exists. at the point where meaning unfolds, an image appears which enchants language, in the original sense of incantation, that is, it transforms it into a divine (or magical) formula. (this formula’s) potency and range induced one calligrapher to declare - in the excitement of creation - that the tip of the pen is what marks the difference between cultures.

calligraphy is of course the art of writing, but the practice is by no means universal. many peoples have not developed it in detail, whereas for others it is regarded as a supreme art. the japanese describe a person as ‘having beautiful handwriting’ when they mean he is graceful and handsome. the arab calligraphers consider that their art was the geometry of the soul expressed through the body - a metaphor which can be taken literally and concretely with the literal design of its inspiring spirit. this metaphor refers back to an established language as, so to speak, its reflection, its language of love. among people without calligraphic tradition beautiful handwriting can of course be found anywhere - in a private letter letter, for instance. but this comes from an expression of feeling not rooted in a general knowledge and technique of calligraphy, it remains an individual impulse within the totality of of a culture. we use the word calligraphy here to denote an all-embracing cultural manifestation which structures the philosophical basis of regular language.

i’m always inspired by these creatively. hope you enjoyed too.
i’ll be glad to offer more info on any of the pieces upon request.