Abstract
This chapter explores the kinesthetic qualities of Islamic calligraphy in visual time-based media. The chapter explains that Islamic calligraphy in various forms and styles invokes a feeling of dynamism and a kinesthetic sense. The different elements responsible for this dynamic sense in traditional calligraphy and in neo-calligraphy are then studied. It is argued that owing to its qualities, the calligraphic line of Islamic calligraphy is imbued with kinesthetic energy along its trajectory. Visual time-based media and especially animation are, it is argued, ideal media for an exploration of these kinesthetic energies of Islamic calligraphy. Informed by these kinesthetic qualities, this chapter introduces a broad category of temporal events called kinesthetic behaviors and explores different types of temporal behaviors that calligraphic forms may exhibit in this category. The chapter concludes by reviewing how kinesthetic behaviors influence legibility and readability of temporal text.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsNotes
- 1.
Nasta’līq and shikastih are scripts (styles) in Islamic calligraphy, predominantly popular in the Persianate world.
- 2.
Shay (1998, 1999) draws a comparison between Persian calligraphy and Persian solo improvised dance based on the similarities in two factors: proportion and forms. He even points out, in part of his study, the similarities between some calligraphic forms and the forms created by the movement of the dancers’ bodies. His study lacks depth, though, not only because of the limited range of examples and styles that he covers, but also because he bases his argument on a vague definition of Persian calligraphy and overgeneralizes based on that definition. Nevertheless, where he links the two art forms based on their dynamic similarities his argument sounds more reasonable.
- 3.
- 4.
Needless to say, aside from these two, there are other ways in which a sense of dynamism can be suggested in a calligraphic piece, for instance through the arrangement of diacritical signs. Nevertheless, this study will focus mainly on these two, as they are common to many styles and across various calligraphic arts.
- 5.
This type of connection is different from cursive writing, which exists in the writing of many languages. Consider Roman script, for example, which has two forms: one is monumental, or the way it appears in print, in which letters are written separately; the other is cursive, which is seen mostly in handwritten form. In cursive writing, the letters are joined to each other to create words. Yet these two forms of writing do not apply to Arabic script, which does not have the monumental way of writing: the letters must join each other to construct a word. This characteristic of Islamic calligraphy results in a number of problems when it is adapted for print technology. See Bartelt (2006), Blair (2006), Blankenship (2003), and Osborn (2008) for more information.
- 6.
There are some words in which letters do not physically join each other.
- 7.
This need for more than one stroke is present in the case of most scripts, particularly if the calligrapher is writing in a large scale. Nonetheless, in inscribing certain scripts such as shikastih the calligrapher may write a whole word or even more than one word in one single stroke of the pen.
- 8.
For someone who cannot read Arabic, this elongated line might emphasize the movement in the other direction, from left to right.
- 9.
In certain scripts the nib of the reed pen is cut straight and not on a slant.
- 10.
There are specific instances in particular styles or scripts where the calligrapher may slightly rotate the pen to get the intended result.
- 11.
While the pressure applied on the tip of the reed pen does not affect its qualities, calligraphers sometimes tilt the pen so that only part of its tip contacts the surface of the paper.
- 12.
This level of control, as we will see, is not the case in all the scripts.
- 13.
One could argue here that sometimes the trace of movement in Islamic calligraphy appears in the form of a series of graded lines, which, as Roxburgh (2008) describes, is similar to “the contours made in sand by the physical forces of ebbing water” (p. 275). While such graded lines are not an unusual sight, particularly in the long strokes, I would argue that they do not as clearly index movement as do the brushstrokes of East Asian calligraphy.
- 14.
Certainly, this stylistic marker does not appear in all Far Eastern calligraphic practices or styles and applies more to the semi-cursive and cursive styles with their expressive and fluid lines. Nonetheless, most often the physicality of the brush is present in different styles of East Asian calligraphy.
- 15.
This might not be the case for the simplified version of the scripts, especially the Japanese one.
- 16.
I am not considering the unconventional settings in which Islamic calligraphy is executed with a brush, as is the case of calligraphy inscribed on porcelain bowls, for instance.
- 17.
This claim surely does not hold true for all different scripts, styles, and specimens of Islamic calligraphy. In fact, in some examples of calligraphy, especially those written in the scripts executed with fast and gestural pen-strokes (e.g. shikastih ), the kinesthetic expression of the calligraphic line is enhanced with qualities that directly index the materiality of the instrument of writing.
- 18.
The exact number of scripts developed throughout the course of Islamic civilization is unknown. Mansour and Allen (2011, p. 20) explain that Ibn al-Nadim (who died in 995 or 998 CE) enumerated 24 calligraphic scripts in his book Al-Fihrist, while at almost the same time al-Tawhīdī (923–1023 CE) mentions 12 scripts. As Schimmel (1990) asserts, “it is consoling that a writer who is almost contemporary with Ibn an-Nadim [al-Nadim], Ibn Wahb al-Katib, complains that even the scribes are no longer aware of all the different styles of the good old days” (p. 22). Zakariya (1991, p. 10) speculates the number of the scripts to be around fifty. Meanwhile, these scripts underwent significant stages of development, evolution, revision, and refinement, until they were reduced to seven, and then six principal scripts, usually referred to as the “six-scripts” or the “six pens,” that became more popular (Mansour & Allen, 2011). These six are muḥaqqaq, thuluth , rayḥān, naskh, tawāqīʿ, and riqāʿ. Later on, other regional scripts have also been developed. Persian calligraphers, for instance, have developed three well-known scripts, namely taʾlīq, nasta’līq , and shikastih .
- 19.
Some of these scripts developed at various stages of Islamic civilization are not widely practiced today.
- 20.
Shabout (2007) argues that the development of various scripts also reflects “the competition among various cities and dynasties, as well as the contribution of patrons, mainly caliphs and rulers, who encouraged the development of new styles to cater to their individual taste—and not least because it was considered a matter of great prestige” (p. 65). Additionally, different media of writing also required new forms and scripts. Schimmel (1990) explains that “when the script was used on material other than vellum or paper, new forms had to be developed” (p. 8). She elaborates that to inscribe on coins, seals, or to embroider on fabric, calligraphic shapes had to undergo changes.
- 21.
Although much has been written on different scripts and their development, a detailed discussion of various scripts, their structure, and their use is not relevant to my argument. For more information on different scripts see Ghelichkhani (2014), Khatibi and Sijelmassi (1995), Schimmel (1990), Welch (1979), and Zakariya (1979, 1991).
- 22.
It also has much currency in Turkey and the Indian subcontinent.
- 23.
Ghazal is a form of poetry that often deals with love and comprises monorhyming verses.
- 24.
B. Hanafi, personal communication, August 4, 2014.
- 25.
Although Arabic script is written and read from right to left, calligraphic works are not always arranged along a horizontal right to left axis. Calligraphers may design the composition in a variety of different ways depending on the purpose of the work, for instance in a circular composition.
- 26.
A category of calligraphic works in which a fragment of poetry or prose (usually of two or four lines) is inscribed (Safwat, 1996, p. 128).
- 27.
Practice of sīyāh-mashq is not limited to the Persianate world. Similar calligraphic works have been practiced both in the Arab world and Ottoman Turkey, albeit with different names and characteristics: “In Arabic they are called musawwada (A. blackened); while in Turkish they are referred to as karalama, a verbal noun from the Turkish kara (T. black)” (Ekhtiar, 2006, p. 107). However, the way in which they are practiced is different in Iran, Turkey, and in the Arab world; for example, in Iran sīyāh-mashq is mostly done in nasta’liq or shikastih scripts. Moreover, the Iranian examples are usually more spontaneous and are most often the result of pure improvisation (Serikoff, 2007, p. 19).
- 28.
Booth-Clibborn and Pūrjavādī (2001, p. 36) believe that the equal of sīyāh-mashq in Western art would be the word “study,” and compare it to the study sketches of such artists as “Carpaccio, Pisanello, Signorelli, Pollaioulo [sic] and Michelangelo, who developed their paintings by a series of drawings in which their personal vision and artistic power are conspicuous.”
- 29.
This dynamism is particularly evident in those pages of sīyāh-mashq performed in nasta’liq and shikastih script, in which the fluidity of the forms comes to enhance the rhythm induced through the repetition of forms.
- 30.
Musical analogies are quite often used in describing sīyāh-mashq pages. Barakat (2004, p. 31), for example, compares a page of sīyāh-mashq to an orchestra of musicians rehearsing prior to the full symphony.
- 31.
Timing is of course a crucial factor in animation in general. It is what “gives meaning to movement” (Whitaker & Halas, 2004, p. 12); it is what makes movement more than mere movement and makes it appealing. Movement along the calligraphic line can become appealing through proper timing.
- 32.
A video sample of the animated typeface can be found at the following link: https://videohive.net/item/arabica-animated-arabic-typeface/10062361 (Accessed March 18, 2019).
References
Barakat, H. N. (2004). Rhythm and verses: Masterpieces of Persian calligraphy. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia.
Bartelt, D. (2006). Script doctors: Religious mandates from the government, military threats from the United States—It’s all in a day’s work for Iran’s increasingly visible designers, calligraphers, and typographers. Print, 60(1), 78–83.
Blair, S. S. (2006). Islamic calligraphy. Edinburgh, UK: Edinburgh University Press.
Blankenship, S. (2003). Cultural considerations: Arabic calligraphy and Latin typography. Design Issues, 19(2), 60–63.
Booth-Clibborn, E., & Pūrjavādī, N. A. (2001). The splendour of Iran (Vol. 3). London: Booth-Clibborn Editions.
De Sausmarez, M. (1983). Basic design: The dynamics of visual form (Rev. ed.). New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.
During, J., Mirabdolbaghi, Z., & Safvat, D. (1991). The art of Persian music. Washington, DC: Mage.
Ekhtiar, M. (2006). Practice makes perfect: The art of calligraphy exercises (siyāh mashq) in Iran. Muqarnas, 23, 107–130.
Gerdes, E. V. P. (2010). Shen Wei dance arts: Chinese philosophy in body calligraphy. Dance Chronicle, 33(2), 231–250. https://doi.org/10.1080/01472526.2010.485948.
Ghelichkhani, H. (2014). darāmadī bar khushnivīsī Iranī [An introduction to Iranian calligraphy]. Tehran, Iran: Farhang-i Moāsir.
Grabar, O. (1992). The mediation of ornament. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Ingold, T. (2007). Lines: A brief history. Abingdon, UK/New York: Routledge.
Kandinsky, W. (1979). Point and line to plane (H. Dearstyne & H. Rebay, Trans.). New York: Dover Publications.
Kermaninejad, F. (2013). Hunar-i Khushnivīsī dar Iran [The art of calligraphy in Iran]. Tehran, Iran: Aban.
Keshmirshekan, H. (2013). Contemporary Iranian art: New perspectives. London: Saqi.
Keyghobadi, R. (2012). Written spaces: Interpreting contemporary Iranian typography through the works of three Iranian artists. Doctoral dissertation, Columbia University, New York. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global (Order No. 3544268).
Khajavi, M. J. (2017). Calligraphic animation as visual music: A genealogy of Islamic synchronization of sight and sound. Cinema: Journal of Philosophy and the Moving Image, 9, 40–54.
Khatibi, A., & Sijelmassi, M. (1995). The splendour of Islamic calligraphy. London: Thames & Hudson.
Kiani, H., & Kamarei, M. R. (2012). Asār-i Buzurgān-i Khushnivīsī va Naqāshīkhat-i Iran [Masterpieces of great Iranian calligraphers and artists], Tehran, Iran: Mashq-i Hunar.
Mansour, N., & Allen, M. (2011). Sacred script: Muhaqqaq in Islamic calligraphy. London: I.B. Tauris.
Marks, L. U. (2009). Taking a line for a walk, from the Abbasid caliphate to vector graphics. Third Text, 23(3), 229–240. https://doi.org/10.1080/09528820902954861.
Meydani, M. (2008). irtibāt-i khushnivīsī va mūsīqīy-i Irani [The relationship between Persian calligraphy and Iranian traditional music]. Tehran, Iran: Shelak.
Moustafa, A., & Sperl, S. (2014). The cosmic script: Sacred geometry and the science of Arabic penmanship (Vol. 1). London: Thames & Hudson.
Osborn, J. R. (2008). The type of calligraphy: Writing, print, and technologies of the Arabic alphabet. Doctoral dissertation, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global (Order No. 3304007).
Petherbridge, D. (2010). The primacy of drawing: Histories and theories of practice. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Rawson, P. S. (1987). Drawing (2nd ed.). Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
Roxburgh, D. J. (2008). “The eye is favored for seeing the writing’s form”: On the sensual and the sensuous in Islamic calligraphy. Muqarnas, 25(1), 275–298.
Safwat, N. F. (1996). The art of the pen: Calligraphy of the 14th to 20th centuries. London: Nour Foundation in association with Azimuth Editions and Oxford University Press.
Safwat, N. F., Fehèrvàri, G., & Zakariya, M. (1997). The harmony of letters: Islamic calligraphy from the Tareq Rajab Museum. Singapore, Singapore: The National Heritage Board.
Schimmel, A. (1990). Calligraphy and Islamic culture. London: I.B. Tauris.
Serikoff, N. (Ed.). (2007). Islamic calligraphy from the Wellcome Library. Chicago: Serindia.
Shabout, N. M. (2007). Modern Arab art: Formation of Arab aesthetics. Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida.
Shay, A. (1998). In search of traces: Linkages of dance and visual and performative expression in the Iranian world. Visual Anthropology, 10(2–4), 334–360. https://doi.org/10.1080/08949468.1998.9966738.
Shay, A. (1999). Choreophobia: Solo improvised dance in the Iranian world. Costa Mesa, CA: Mazda.
Shīrchī, I. (2000). usūl va mabāniy-i khat-i Iran 1: taʿlim-i khat-i shikastih nastaʿliq [The principles of Iranian calligraphy 1: Shikastih script]. Tehran, Iran: Gūyā.
Ünlüer, A. A., & Özcan, O. (2010). Sound and silence in the line: Re-reading Turkish Islamic calligraphy for interactive media design. Leonardo, 43(5), 450–456.
Welch, A. (1979). Calligraphy in the arts of the Muslim world. Folkestone, UK: Dawson.
Whitaker, H., & Halas, J. (2004). Timing for animation. Oxford, UK: Focal Press.
Yamini-Hamedani, A. (2008). Waves of translation: Goethe, Hafez, Nietzsche, Zoroaster. Doctoral dissertation, University of California, Berkeley, CA. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global (Order No. 3353359).
Zakariya, M. (1979). The calligraphy of Islam: Reflections on the state of the art. Washington, DC: Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, Georgetown University.
Zakariya, M. (1991). Islamic calligraphy: A technical overview. In C. G. Fisher (Ed.), Brocade of the pen: The art of Islamic writing. East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University.
Zeng, Y. (1971). Chinese calligraphy. Boston: David R. Godine in association with Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Khajavi, M.J. (2019). Kinesthetic Behaviors. In: Arabic Script in Motion. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-12649-0_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-12649-0_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-12648-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-12649-0
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media StudiesLiterature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)