1. The Ancient Art of Lettering
Calligraphy
The Ancient Art of Lettering

2. What is Calligraphy?
Calligraphy is a form of decorative writing that has been classified as an art for thousands of years.

3. Origins of Calligraphy
Origins in Ancient Egypt (that got pictographs from Ancient Sumer)-3500 BC
Hieroglyphics (picture writing) carved into clay tablets, sculptures, and walls.
Calligraphy means ‘beautiful writing.”
This is the Book of the Dead, which was a religious book meant to help guide people in passing into the Afterlife; Egypt's first book!
Origins of Calligraphy

4. HIEROGLYPHIC Examples
Ancient Egypt

5. CHINESE CALLIGRAPHY
Calligraphy has traditionally been considered the highest form of art.
Origins back to 3000 BCE or earlier
Calligraphers have different styles and spend years perfecting the techniques.
Japanese calligraphy developed from Chinese calligraphy, and continues today.
Calligraphers have different styles, ranging from very simply to highly artistic.
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Title: Art and Its Context: Chinese Characters
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Source/Museum: Chinese characters: Ancient, Modern, ideographs

6. Chinese Calligraphy Examples
3000 BCE

7. Knight Shining White, Tang Dynasty, (750 CE)
Scroll paintings were unrolled and “read”. Poems were sometimes included, and viewers wrote comments too.
The Quingbian Mountains, Dong Qi Chang, painter, calligrapher, art scholar of Ming Dynasty (1612 CE)

8. 15th Century- qu’Ranic Manuscript
Arabic Calligraphy
Has been an art form of writing since 610 AD.
In many Islamic cultures, calligraphy is the highest art form.
It is used as surface decoration for both religious buildings and everyday art.
Nabataea script was the recorded earliest form of pre-Arabic script.
15th Century- qu’Ranic Manuscript

9. Detail of dome of Mosque of Kalon in Uzbekistan

10. Calligraphy as a form of art…
Contemporary artist Malikanas design from Islamic Art Magazine.
He uses digital art and ancient calligraphic styles to create lush images.

11. Calligraphy Today Calligraphy has influenced modern art by:
Helping to create computer fonts. (Traditional calligraphy is made more easily accessible via computers)
Where else do you commonly see calligraphy inspired font?
-Street art- grafitti!
-Body art- Tattoos!
Magnum Mysterium #3, Inga Dubay