Personal Project 2011-12 Arabic Calligraphy

Sophia Endert International School of Zug and Luzern Personal Project 2011-12

Sophia Endert ISZL

Arabic Calligraphy

Personal Project 2011-12 Word Count: 3,205

Table of Contents
Introduction............................................................................................................................................. 1 The Goal................................................................................................................................................... 2 Selection of Sources ................................................................................................................................ 3 Application of Information ...................................................................................................................... 4 Achieving the Goal................................................................................................................................... 5 Reflection on Learning............................................................................................................................. 6 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................... 8 Works Cited ........................................................................................................................................... 10 Appendices ............................................................................................................................................ 11 Appendix 1......................................................................................................................................... 12 Appendix 2............................................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. Appendix 3......................................................................................................................................... 13 Appendix 4......................................................................................................................................... 14 Appendix 5......................................................................................................................................... 15 Appendix 6......................................................................................................................................... 15 Appendix 7............................................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.

Introduction My Personal Project was to learn how to write in Arabic Calligraphy. I learned how to do this in Morocco with a teacher from the Mosque nearby a friends house. I chose a specific style of Arabic Calligraphy to learn and practise in those lessons. I also learned about the connection between the art of writing and Islam over summer. Once I had learned the basics, I made my product, which is a painting of the Mosque Hassan II with 5 lines of calligraphy from the Quran written around it (see image on title page). Through choosing this topic as my project, I was able to understand how Arabic writing works and it looks less alien to me now that I have learned the alphabet as well. Through making my art piece, I also started answering the question of why we create.

Sophia Endert ISZL

Arabic Calligraphy

Personal Project 2011-12 Word Count: 3,205

The Goal My area of interaction for the context of my project is human ingenuity. I chose this area of interaction because making an art piece and the art of calligraphy is creation. Designing a style of writing is part of ingenuity. Conveying messages through art is the power of imagination. The more specific question I was going to try to answer by doing this project is: How is religion linked to Arabic Calligraphy? I used this question to focus on my AoI in more depth instead of just asking myself the question of why do we create?. By using this question, I could make better decisions on what to put on my art piece, and what I wanted to learn exactly from my calligraphy teacher. Since 5th grade, I have always been interested in calligraphy. I started off by learning how to do basic English calligraphy and I really enjoyed it. In Japan, the Japanese kanji calligraphy really impressed me. At every temple I visited, I would pay 600 yen to get the calligraphy of that temple written into my temple book. Calligraphy is art, and I loved doing art as soon as I started. Learning Japanese showed me that languages and writing is also art. This in turn made me want to know more about the Arabic calligraphy. Being half Moroccan, I go to Morocco every summer. I can speak the Moroccan dialect enough to understand and communicate, but the writing was always a complete mystery to me. Seeing it on the streets, it looked more like art to me than writing, and I wanted to understand how it worked. I knew that Arabic was read from right to left, but that was about it. After doing some English and Japanese calligraphy, I thought I could take on Arabic calligraphy as a challenge. It would also make my family proud, and maybe I could eventually learn how to read Arabic. I know that learning to read Arabic is much harder than just the calligraphy, and by focusing on the calligraphy, I could ultimately learn the alphabet in the time I had for personal project. My Grandma just learned to read Arabic not long ago because she never went to school. What puzzled me though, was the fact that she could only read the Quran. Not because she just wanted to read that book, but because she could only read that (Aicha). I wanted to find out more about how the language in writing works. Also, the Arabic calligraphy and Arabic writing is the same in all Arabic speaking countries (Zahzouhi). Although Moroccan Arabic is spoken in Morocco, classic Arabic is used for writing, similar to Swiss German, it is only a

Sophia Endert ISZL

Arabic Calligraphy

Personal Project 2011-12 Word Count: 3,205

dialect but the texts are in German. These factors made me want to find links, and reasons. This helped me focus on religion, language and art. The goal for my personal project was to learn the Arabic alphabet, and Arabic calligraphy to produce an art piece. I wanted to learn how to write Arabic in an artistic way and learn the Arabic alphabet. To make a good product, I set specifications to measure the success of my product at the end. Specifications: The size of my art piece is at least 50 x 60cm There should be at least 5 sentences of calligraphy on the product There should be another aspect of Moroccan culture on the product I should have learned the Arabic alphabet The artwork is made using acrylic paint

Selection of Sources I mainly used family as resources, but I also used calligraphy books, and Islamic websites to create my product. I chose these because they were very focused on my product, and helped directly to make my art piece. The human resources were better than others because they help me understand. This is because they know how much I knew about Arabic calligraphy, writing and the alphabet, so they could help me. I used human resources to plan my calligraphy lessons. I could choose between taking a lesson the traditional way, with bamboo or from a more professional teacher at a university (Mouna). The printed resources I used were mainly calligraphy books and alphabet books, which were given to me by my calligraphy teacher. I used them to practise my calligraphy, to learn the Arabic alphabet and to learn more about other calligraphy styles. In Arabic calligraphy, there are 6 main styles, nasakh, rekah, faris, toulout, diwani, and koufi (Assayed Mahmoud). I chose to learn the nasakh style because the Quran is written in nasakh, which is a connection between calligraphy and religion (Elaasri). All these printed resources were valuable because they were all about Arabic calligraphy and how to write in different styles. They were all books for beginners, so everything was broken down into easy steps for me. Although they were hard to use because they are all written in Arabic . I can not read Arabic,

Sophia Endert ISZL

Arabic Calligraphy

Personal Project 2011-12 Word Count: 3,205

so I had my calligraphy teacher explain to me what to do, which was mostly copying out sentences and ways of measuring out letters. I used an Islamic website to find the lines from the Quran I wanted to use on my art piece (IslamiCity: Quran Search). I found them on the internet, so it was very easy to access. It was a valuable website because there was English translations and pronunciation for the Arabic. I searched the words I wanted to find in English, and my outcomes were always in Arabic, English and with pronunciation. The human resources were the main resources I used. I chose these resources because they have the most experience, and can give their view of the links between calligraphy and religion from a realistic point of view. Finding my calligraphy teacher was very easy because a friend of my familys knew him very well because he makes art for the mosque nearby (Mohamed). I could talk to family members very easily, especially my mum and my grandmother. These were my most reliable sources because they have practised Islam, and have heard or read a lot from many different sources.

Application of Information To complete my project, the most important step was to learn how to write in Arabic calligraphy, which I did over summer (see appendix 2). My teacher taught me a lot about the traditional way of writing using bamboo. Based on the relationship between the calligraphy style and religion, I was able to choose lines from the Muslim Holy Book, through the website I mentioned (see appendix 3). Most of my problems I solved by talking to my mother, since most of my problems were based on understanding the Arabic, and recognising the Arabic letters. I also talked to Mrs. Driscoll for more information about how to make my art piece. Acrylic paint was the best option, and layers of paint work on canvases (Driscoll). To practise my calligraphy and alphabet, I made a little art piece, where I wrote out part of an Arabic poem in the shape of a heart. The poem is called "A Tear And A Smile by Khalil Gibran (see appendix 4). Making this extra painting was very helpful to me because I learned that I needed to paint more than one layer if I wanted the painting to look good, and the colours to be as strong as they could be without seeing the white of the canvas. It also showed me that I needed to perhaps practise the lines I am going to write once or twice

Sophia Endert ISZL

Arabic Calligraphy

Personal Project 2011-12 Word Count: 3,205

before writing them on the final product, and to write it in pencil before using a marker on my product. The information I learned about the style of calligraphy I chose to learn helped me choose what kind of sentences I wanted on my art piece, and what aspect of Moroccan culture I wanted to paint on my product. Since the style of calligraphy I chose was used for writing the Quran, I knew the lines I was going to have would be coming from the Quran. This was also very good because the Quran is the Islamic Holy Book, which tied in perfectly with religion. The sentences I chose all had to do with pens and writing. Through finding these lines in the Quran, I learned how valuable writing is to Muslims because it was to write down the words of God. My project was based on developing a technique, which is the art of Arabic Calligraphy. I went from never writing a word of Arabic, to being able to rewrite sentences in an artistic way. Arabic family members told me they were very impressed, which to me is a huge achievement, seeing as most of them have written in Arabic their whole life. My investigation made me more aware of how Arabic writing works and I can now recognise letters.

Achieving the Goal I did not adjust or alter my original goal as my project developed because it was a straight forward goal. At first I was unsure of how I would find out when I had learned to write Arabic calligraphy but by the end of my lessons, I felt I could, and so did my family. I think that I can now successfully write using Arabic calligraphy, copying a dull Arabic sentence using calligraphy to make it artistic, although I am not completely comfortable with the Arabic alphabet. Arabic calligraphy is used for advertisement, art, and framing Quran verses (Elaasri) My first specification was that the size of my art piece is at least 50 X 60 cm. I managed to paint on a canvas which was 50 x 70cm, which I bought in Paris. I think that I could have made an even bigger painting. My next specification was to have at least 5 sentences of calligraphy on the product. I picked 5 lines from the Quran to have on my painting, some of

Sophia Endert ISZL

Arabic Calligraphy

Personal Project 2011-12 Word Count: 3,205

which were longer than others. I had to cut the last one short so that it fit on the painting, but in total I had over 5 sentences on my art piece (see appendix 5 for pictures of the process). The aspect of Moroccan culture I chose to paint was the Mosque Hassan II, which is situated in Casablanca. I took a picture of this in summer, and I really thought it fit my religion and art topic. It is also coincidentally very near to where I took calligraphy lessons. Through taking these lessons, and writing in Arabic calligraphy, I have practically reached my fourth specification, which is to learn the Arabic alphabet. I still hesitate for what some letters are, but I have learned most of the Alphabet. My last specification was to make the art work using acrylic paint. Everything underneath the calligraphy (the floor, the sky and the mosque) I painted using acrylic paint. I only bought one tube of each prime colour, black and white, so I mixed and made all of my own colours, which was quite challenging. My specifications were not too easy and not too difficult to achieve, and I will be working on perfecting my Arabic alphabet. I think that my specifications were effective because they were very specific and not too hard to reach. The most challenging specification was learning the Arabic alphabet. If I had to remake my specifications, I would make them harder. The art piece would have to be on a canvas 1 meter by 1 meter so I could add more calligraphy lines, and to challenge my painting skills. To make the whole project more challenging, I could have tried to learn how to fully read in Arabic, although it is quite complicated.

Reflection on Learning Throughout this project, I learned not only how to write in Arabic calligraphy, and connections between religion and writing, but also about myself and my family. By doing this, I could understand how schools might work, and how hard it is for my younger family members to learn to read and write. The aspect that taught me the most was actually making the product. This helped me to have a better understanding of my topic by understanding the AoI, human ingenuity. I learned that we create to convey messages, and to express opinions. We also create to show what we like, and to find out what other people like. Making this product, I realised how much I depend on other peoples opinions and that I personally create to please others. Making this art piece made me realise how everything can turn into art, and that writing is an art. By having an AoI, I was more aware of looking

Sophia Endert ISZL

Arabic Calligraphy

Personal Project 2011-12 Word Count: 3,205

outside of the box, and that I was not learning Arabic calligraphy just to be able to do it, but to understand why we create. By doing this project, I realised differences between Arabic calligraphy and alphabet and our Latin alphabet. What interested me most was the fact that vowels are omitted in newspapers, but not in the Quran, so that everybody can read it (Aicha). Letters look different depending on where they are in the sentence, similarly to cursive Latin writing. I think that Arabic calligraphy is much more free, and up to the creator, they can stretch letters as far as they would like, whereas this would look slightly odd in English. Random motifs can also be added to decorate the calligraphy in Arabic to make it the creators (Elaasri). The reason why calligraphy is used so much in Islamic art is because it is bad to paint and draw faces of people, because God is the only one who can create. In churches, there are paintings of Jesus and angels, whereas in mosques, there are mainly patterns and shapes (Zahzouhi). I feel I did well in talking to people and getting into the subject hands on. My time planning was very good, but I might have had too little things to do in the time I gave myself (see appendix 1 for GANTT chart). I did well with getting lines from the Quran to link to my AoI specific question of religion and calligraphy, and find lines that have to do with writing and religion or pens. The lines say that Gods wise words should always be put in writing (IslamiCity: Quran Search). If I were to do a similar project, I would do some more factual research to help me understand more connections between Islamic religion and Arabic calligraphy. I would also keep up with reflections and make sure my process journal includes all the steps of my process. I needed to develop organisational skills to complete this project. This was to plan calligraphy lessons, and to make sure they will be enough to learn how to write in calligraphy. I needed to develop inquiry skills to get into more depth and to find out more about my topic. I did this by focusing on a more specific question for my AoI. I used a physical journal in the form of an art book. Since my AoI was human ingenuity, I decided to use my journal to not only keep a writing record of what is happening, but an artistic record by practising calligraphy and art in my journal. I also used it to stick in pictures

Sophia Endert ISZL

Arabic Calligraphy

Personal Project 2011-12 Word Count: 3,205

of inspiration so that everything I needed to make my final piece would all be in my journal. The paper was very good for writing and painting on, although marker did go through the paper. I started by being a risk taker, by taking on a challenge I had never done before, and finding out about something that was unknown to me. I had to become an inquirer to find ways to find out more about calligraphy, and by finding the answers I became much more knowledgeable on the subject of Arabic language and religion. When taking lessons I was open minded and caring to the religion by following the same rules of respect for the Quran. I communicated my ideas through an art piece, which I had to plan and think thoroughly about before starting. I ended up being reflective on my process and reflecting on choice I had made throughout the project. I have definitely improved in all these qualities.

Conclusion The personal project was very eye opening for me. I was very motivated to learn more about calligraphy and Arabic writing because it was a topic that had puzzled me for a long time before. I am now much clearer on how the language works in writing, and reading it will be much easier for me from here. Since I have learned the basics, I am very inspired to continue learning how to read and write in Arabic. This would then lead me to learning how to speak classical Arabic, and I would start understanding almost everything I see and hear in any Arabic speaking country. We create to convey messages in a way that makes people think. Instead of simply saying things, we create art pieces for example to express opinions, hoping that it will leave an impression on the person looking at the art. I hope that people will understand without me having to explain, that Islamic art is very much based around calligraphy, and that painting faces is not done. The fact that most of my painting is the calligraphy should draw their attention to the writing and realise how artistic writing can be. I would say I succeeded in writing in the art of calligraphy, and I will need to keep practising my alphabet to keep it up. I can also now go on with learning different styles, and understanding the origins. I will be giving my art piece to either my aunt or the friend who recommended this calligraphy teacher in summer. One of my lines I wrote in the ink my

Sophia Endert ISZL

Arabic Calligraphy

Personal Project 2011-12 Word Count: 3,205

teacher gave me using the bamboo stick he made to try out the traditional way of writing; this is also something I would like to practise more. The personal project pushed me to focus on my organisational skills and going through the year with something in the back of my mind. This will be very helpful for my future as I now know how important it is to keep a record of the process.

Sophia Endert ISZL

Arabic Calligraphy

Personal Project 2011-12 Word Count: 3,205

Works Cited Interviews ELaasri Mohamed, 2011. Learning Arabic Calligraphy. Interviewed by Sophia Endert [lesson/conversation] Casablanca July/August 2011. Personal Communication Acha, K., 2011. Newspaper vs. Koran in Arabic: the difference in writing. [conversation](Personal communication, July 2011)

Fatima-Zahra, Z., 2011. Human Ingenuity: the connection between calligraphy and Islam (Personal communication, December 2011)

Mohamed, K., 2011. Getting lessons: talking about coarse from artisans [conversation] (Personal communication, June 2011)

Mouna, S., 2011. Getting lessons: talking about course in artcom school [phone call] (Personal communication, June 2011) Websites Gibran, Khalil. "A Tear And A Smile by Khalil Gibran Classic Famous Poet - All Poetry." All Poetry - Poets Publish in a Free Online Community, Fun Supportive Cash Contests at Allpoetry. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. IslamiCity: Quran Search. IslamiCity.com Islam & The Global Muslim Ecommunity. Web. 10 Oct. 2011 Books
Translated: Assayed Mahmoud, M. Teach yourself Arabic Calligraphy. Ryad: Maktabet Ibnu Sina.

Sophia Endert ISZL

Arabic Calligraphy

Personal Project 2011-12 Word Count: 3,205

Appendices
Appendix 1- Evidence of Time Planning
My GANTT chart showing my original time planning:

1 hour 1 2 Learn Arabic Alphabet Arabic Calligraphy lessons Take Photos Get Lines from Koran Background Mosque Line 1 Line 2 Line 3 Line 4 Line 5 Translations 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Sophia Endert ISZL

Arabic Calligraphy

Personal Project 2011-12 Word Count: 3,205

Appendix 2- Evidence of Arabic Calligraphy Lessons

This is a picture of my first lesson with my calligraphy teacher, Elaasri Mohamed. It started at 4pm and ended at 6pm.

23.7.2011 The traditional way of writing Arabic calligraphy is done using a piece of bamboo. There are different sizes depending on how big you want to write. Elaasri crafted a kasabah (bamboo writing utensil) simply using a piece of bamboo stick and a craft knife. The angle of the kasabah is in comparison to the angle between the right side of the top of your index finger and the right side of the top of your middle finger. (Elaasri)

Sophia Endert ISZL

Arabic Calligraphy

Personal Project 2011-12 Word Count: 3,205

Appendix 3- Evidence of Research

The translations for the lines on my art piece: 68:1 consider the pen, and all that they write [therewith]! 2:282 O you who have attained to faith! Whenever you give or take credit for a stated term, set it down in writing. And let a scribe write it down equitably between you; and no scribe shall refuse to write as God has taught him 96:4 He who taught (the use of) the pen 31:27 And if all the tress on earth were pens, and the sea [were] ink, with seven [more] seas yet added to it, the words of God would not be exhausted: for verily, God is almighty, wise. 12:2 behold, We have bestowed it from on high as a discourse in the Arabic tongue, so that you might encompass it with your reason. (IslamiCity: Quran Search)

Sophia Endert ISZL

Arabic Calligraphy

Personal Project 2011-12 Word Count: 3,205

Appendix 4- Evidence of Practise

A picture of my little art piece, 30.11.11 :

Translation of the Arabic poem:

A Tear and A Smile by Gibran Khalil Gibran I would not exchange the sorrows of my heart For the joys of the multitude. And I would not have the tears that sadness makes To flow from my every part turn into laughter.

(Gibran, Khalil)

Sophia Endert ISZL

Arabic Calligraphy

Personal Project 2011-12 Word Count: 3,205

Appendix 5- Evidence of Painting Art Piece (Progress)

A picture of the mosque I took of Hassan II over the summer. I based my painting on this picture. 28.7.2011