Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Post 14: Old Kufic Arabic script

   For many years now, I have been interested in calligraphy, fonts, and the amazing varieties of Alphabets and Ideograms man created in different parts of the world over millennia. I have collected many old documents and manuscripts from all parts of the world: Phoenician, Aramaic, Arabic, Persian, Hebrew scripts in the Middle East; Coptic, Egyptian, Adrinka, Tifinagh, Tsibidi and more scripts in Africa, the numerous Bramic scripts of India, Burmese, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and on and on...
  The various Arabic scripts have become an Art Form: 
  
    Of course, I also like Runes and Ancient Symbols, including the Swastikas and backwards Sauwastikas that I saw drawn with cow dung all over Hindu Temples in India.


    I find most of the old Scripts much more beautiful than our Modern Western script, and since I don't know what they mean, letters and words are like Pure Artwork. 
    In this new project, I would like to include some of    these as a reminder of our diversity, our ingenuity, and as a "hidden message". There are words that particularly matter to me, having to do with life, values, good vibes, but I don't like to use our western words in a painting. I find that too obvious. I don't want people to be able to read them, so I want to scatter these words in scripts and symbols very few of us recognize all throughout the paintings, as a kind of "subliminal message" that is also graphic, beautiful, and an integral part of the fabric of the overall painting. 
     For some reason, I started surfing the web yesterday looking at the old Kufic Arabic script, the simplicity of which really appeals to me, and was especially struck at the ressemblance betweeen 21st Century QR codes and 7th Century Square Kufic words:



       I thought it would be interesting to include both in all paintings, the former explaining the latter. I could also of course include more info about the painting, a bio, links to my site and blogs, etc...

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