Using Arabic Calligraphy to Learn Arabic Typography

436 Pages·2015·19.85 MB·English

INTERRELATED HISTORIES, PRACTICES, AND FORMS OF COMMUNICATION:
USING ARABIC CALLIGRAPHY TO LEARN ARABIC TYPOGRAPHY
Banan Ahmed Al-Ansari, BA, MFA

Dissertation Prepared for the Degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS
August 2015

APPROVED:

Nadine Kalin, Co-Major Professor
Nada Shabout, Co-Major Professor
Adetty Pérez de Miles, Committee Member
Denise Baxter, Chair of the Department of
Art Education and Art History
Greg Watts, Dean of the College of Visual
Arts and Design
Costas Tsatsoulis, Dean of the Toulouse
Graduate School
Al-Ansari, Banan Ahmed. Interrelated Histories, Practices, and Forms of
Communication: Using Arabic Calligraphy to Learn Arabic Typography.
 Doctor of Philosophy
(Art Education), August 2015, 419 pp., 95 figures, 33 tables, references, 217 titles.
In this self-study inquiry, I studied my graphic design practice in a professional setting,
focusing on my Arabic typographic skills and knowledge. My roles as researcher and design
educator indivisibly intertwined throughout this research. I worked to understand the value of
calligraphy in art and design education, highlighting its power as an art form while also
emphasizing its pedagogical potentials. I utilized two theoretical approaches suited to
investigating and understanding the Arabic letters as text and image, Ibn Arabi’s science of
letters, or 'ilm al-hurûf, and semiotics. I applied my theoretical framework to three distinctive
artworks to investigate their uses of the Arabic letters, contemplating their roles in modern and
contemporary Arab art.
Essential to my research was learning Arabic calligraphy through two approaches: 1) I
attended a calligraphy workshop, and 2) I conducted three self-study experimentations.
I analyzed my experience through visual representations, commentary, and narrative inquiry to
assess Arabic calligraphy’s significance for graphic design education. As such, my
experimentations confirmed Arabic calligraphy’s aesthetic and educational value. I employed
my findings to create a contemporary Arabic typography curriculum suitable for university-level
students. This curriculum is built on learning theories such as visual culture analysis, semiotics,
constructivist theory, play principles, and critical thinking, aiming to situate Arabic calligraphy
as a modern learning model significant for typography education. Finally, I constructed a basic
course for Arabic typography to support students’ development of Arabic typography fluency.
Copyright 2015
by
Banan Ahmed Al-Ansari
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to express my gratitude to Dr. Nadine Kalin. Thank you for giving me the
trust and space that I needed and for your continuous academic, intellectual, and emotional
support throughout the process. Dr. Nada Shabout, thank you for your tremendous feedback and
insights that enhanced the quality of this research. Dr. Adetty Pérez de Miles, thank you for your
guidance and for helping me to become a better scholar. Dr. Terry Barrett, thank you for
teaching me how to describe and interpret my art and design works. Thank you all for a
memorable journey.
I would like to acknowledge Jassim Mi’raj, who taught me the art of Arabic calligraphy
and how to understand the nature of the Arabic alphabet. Pascal Zoghbi, for generously sharing
your experience with Arabic typography, thank you. Additionally, I am greatly thankful to
Kuwait University, for granting me a generous scholarship that supported me financially
throughout my PhD work. I am looking forward to joining Kuwait University in my aspiration
to enhance typography and graphic design education to the best it can be.
Last but not least, I would not be here without the endless encouragement of my family,
which I thank God daily for having. I am very blessed to have them around me, drawing support
from their patience, understanding, and never-failing faith. It is with enormous pride and
affection that I dedicate this dissertation to my mother, Maymouna, for her ongoing love and
support, and to the memory my father, Ahmed Al-Ansari, who was a firm supporter through the
seemingly endless years of studying in the United States. I offer a special thank you to my
husband, Mohamed, for his cheerful involvement and his continued loving, intellectual support.
I will always be indebted to you. And to my daughters, Janna and Lujain, who inspire me to be
the best version of myself, my life would not be the same without your grace and love.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.............................................................................................................iii

LIST OF FIGURES.........................................................................................................................x

LIST OF TABLES.........................................................................................................................xv

CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................1

Prologue.................................................................................................................................1

Chapter Overview.......................................................................................................................2

Introduction.................................................................................................................................3

Purpose of the Study...................................................................................................................4

Justification of the Study............................................................................................................5

Significance of the Study............................................................................................................9

Researcher’s Position in This Self-Study.................................................................................11

Brief Overview of the Study.....................................................................................................12

Theoretical Framework of the Study........................................................................................13

Research Methodology.............................................................................................................15

Translating the Outcomes of Self-Study Research..............................................................17

Background of the Study..........................................................................................................18

Arabic Calligraphy in Art Education...................................................................................19

Connections between Calligraphy and Typography............................................................20

Typography Education.........................................................................................................22

Carrying Out this Self-Study Research.....................................................................................24

CHAPTER 2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY...........................................................................28

Research Problem.....................................................................................................................28

Research Questions...................................................................................................................29

Discussion of Methodology......................................................................................................29

Research Participants................................................................................................................33

Data Collection Instruments.....................................................................................................34

Calligraphy Workshop.........................................................................................................34

Experimental Calligraphic and/or Typographic Art Projects..............................................35

Commentary on Experimental Calligraphic and/or Typographic Projects..........................37

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Interviews.............................................................................................................................38

Data Analysis Methods.............................................................................................................39

Visual Representations.........................................................................................................40

Narrative Inquiry..................................................................................................................40

Conceptual Framework.............................................................................................................42

Contexts of my Conceptual Framework..............................................................................43

Conclusion................................................................................................................................44

CHAPTER 3. THEORETICAL LENS FOR EXAMINING THE ARABIC ALPHABET..........45

'Ilm Al-Hurûf............................................................................................................................45

Arabic Writing in Islamic Culture.......................................................................................46

Sufism..................................................................................................................................46

Sufi Understandings of the Arabic Letters...........................................................................47

Ibn Arabi..............................................................................................................................50

'Ilm Al-Hurûf: Science of Letters........................................................................................51

Nation of Letters..................................................................................................................53

Composing Letters into Word Mechanisms.........................................................................62

Acknowledgement of 'Ilm Al-Hurûf....................................................................................64

Semiotics...................................................................................................................................68

Employing Semiotics...........................................................................................................70

Text as a Sign.......................................................................................................................72

The Science of Letters and Semiotics.......................................................................................74

Employment of 'Ilm Al-Hurûrf and Semiotics in Visual Analysis...........................................75

Case Study: The Aljazzera Network Media Logo....................................................................81

Understanding the Aljazeera Logo......................................................................................83

Perceptions of the Aljazeera Logo.......................................................................................84

Conclusion................................................................................................................................86

CHAPTER 4. ARABIC ALPHABET ANALYSIS......................................................................88

The Selected Artworks..............................................................................................................90

Process of Analyzing................................................................................................................95

Modern Arab Artist, Madiha Umar: Hanging Gardens............................................................97

Analyzing the Letter Ayn...................................................................................................100

The Letter Ayn in Umar’s Brush.......................................................................................102

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Modern Arab Artist, Dia Azzawi: Red Sky with Birds..........................................................104

Analyzing the Text Plaque.................................................................................................107

The Text Plaque Vivacity..................................................................................................109

Contemporary Arab Artist Munir Fatmi: Modern Times, A History of the Machine............111

Analyzing the Industrialized Letters..................................................................................115

The Industrialized Letters Dynamics.................................................................................118

Discussion of Arabic Letterforms’ Implementation...............................................................121

Discussion of Modern Artworks........................................................................................122

Discussion of Contemporary Artwork...............................................................................123

The Relation between Modern and Contemporary Art......................................................124

Conclusion..............................................................................................................................127

CHAPTER 5. SELF-STUDY EXPERIMENTS.........................................................................132

Self-Study through Calligraphic and Typographic Experiments............................................133

Part One: Calligraphy Workshop............................................................................................134

Mi’raj Metier......................................................................................................................135

Calligraphy Workshop Frontier.........................................................................................136

Requisite Instruments.........................................................................................................136

Calligraphy Workshop Operative Strategies......................................................................145

Commentary.......................................................................................................................148

Deciphering My Calligraphic Experience..........................................................................149

Visual Analysis..................................................................................................................150

Story 1; Arabic Calligraphy, a Tradition of Ink, Breath, and Contemplation........................153

Persistence to Embellish....................................................................................................155

Striving to Write.................................................................................................................155

Calligraphic Breaths...........................................................................................................156

Devotion to Proportion.......................................................................................................158

Letters Presence.................................................................................................................159

Emergence of Calligraphic Consciousness........................................................................160

Conclusion..............................................................................................................................161

Part Two: Self-Study Experimental Calligraphy and Typography.........................................162

Experiment One: Letter Proportions.......................................................................................164

The Letter Measurement Theory........................................................................................165

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Compulsory Instruments....................................................................................................167

Formulas for Exploring Alphabet Proportions...................................................................168

Commentary.......................................................................................................................170

Elucidating My Experience with Letter Proportions.........................................................172

Visual Examination............................................................................................................172

Story 2; Divine Proportions....................................................................................................173

Thoroughness of a Dot.......................................................................................................174

Dimensional Meditation.....................................................................................................176

Metaphysical Proportionality.............................................................................................177

Visual Mensuration............................................................................................................178

Conclusion..............................................................................................................................180

Experiment Two: Social Alphabet..........................................................................................181

Requisite Apparatus...........................................................................................................182

Modus Operandi.................................................................................................................182

Commentary.......................................................................................................................185

Pondering the Alphabet’s Sociability................................................................................187

Visual Dissection...............................................................................................................187

Story 3; Tale of Tenderness....................................................................................................192

Letters’ Connections..........................................................................................................193

Pragmatics of Letters’ Sociability......................................................................................194

The Arabic Alphabet’s Visuality.......................................................................................195

Soulful Alphabet................................................................................................................196

Conclusion..............................................................................................................................197

Experiment Three: Calligraphic Inventory.............................................................................198

Requisite Instruments.........................................................................................................199

Modus Strategy..................................................................................................................199

Commentary.......................................................................................................................202

A Look into Calligraphy Inventory....................................................................................203

Visual Analysis..................................................................................................................204

Story 4; The Calligraphic Store of Expressions......................................................................205

Forthcoming Goods............................................................................................................206

Expression Perusal.............................................................................................................207

Typography Learns from Calligraphy’s Store of Vivacity................................................211

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Conclusion..............................................................................................................................212

Finalization.............................................................................................................................213

Challenges in Performing Calligraphic Experimentations.................................................214

Aesthetical Empowerment.................................................................................................216

CHAPTER 6. ARABIC TYPOGRAPHY CULTURE................................................................219

The Exigency of Typography Culture....................................................................................220

Technology in Design Education.......................................................................................222

Innovative Typography Educators.....................................................................................223

The Arabic Alphabet from Script to Type..............................................................................226

Natural Outgrowth.............................................................................................................227

Influence of Major Inventions............................................................................................228

Power of Politics, Religion, and Conflict..........................................................................230

Nature of Cursive Arabic...................................................................................................231

Edification from Arabic Calligraphy......................................................................................236

Alphabet Particularities......................................................................................................236

Handling of Artistic Compositions....................................................................................238

Experimenting with the Arabic Alphabet...............................................................................239

Arabic Typography Design Education...................................................................................242

Moving Forward Back to Basics........................................................................................243

Approaching Arabic Typographic Education....................................................................245

Arabic Typography Design Curriculum.................................................................................247

Blueprint of Arabic Typography Curriculum....................................................................248

Borrowed from Art Education...........................................................................................250

Visual Culture an Educational Enrichment........................................................................250

Constructivism a Learning Process....................................................................................254

The Activity of Play Principle...........................................................................................256

Semiotics as a Learning Communication Process.............................................................258

Critical Reflection within the Making and Thinking Process............................................261

Arabic Typography Curriculum Aspirations..........................................................................270

Mission and Goals of Teaching the Arabic Writing System.............................................271

Arabic Typography Curriculum Missions and Goals........................................................274

Three-Stage Curriculum.........................................................................................................275

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The Nature of Learning Experience in Graphic Design Education...................................276

Performance of Graphic Design Teachers.........................................................................278

Tri-stage Interactive Curriculum........................................................................................279

Basic Arabic Typography Course...........................................................................................283

Course Description.............................................................................................................284

Course Objectives..............................................................................................................286

Course Outcomes...............................................................................................................286

Course Content...................................................................................................................287

Projects Assessment...........................................................................................................295

Final Words.............................................................................................................................297

CHAPTER 7. EPILOGUE..........................................................................................................300

Stages of this Study.................................................................................................................300

Arabic Calligraphy a Valuable Art.........................................................................................306

Challenges of the Study..........................................................................................................308

Future Research......................................................................................................................310

The Beginning.........................................................................................................................312

APPENDIX A. ARABIC ALPHABET RELATED TERMINOLOGIES..................................314

APPENDIX B. IBN ARABI’S DESCRIPTIONS AND INTERPRETATIONS OF THE
ARABIC ALPHABET................................................................................................................331

APPENDIX C. SELF-STUDY EXPERIMENTS (CHAPTER 5) LARGER VISUAL
REPRESENTATIONS................................................................................................................357

APPENDIX D. CRITS POSTCARD..........................................................................................394

APPENDIX E. MAP AND TIMELINE OF THE TYPOGRAPHIC AND CALLIGRAPHIC
EVOLUTION OF THE ARABIC WRITING SYSTEM............................................................397

APPENDIX F. INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR CALLIGRAPHER JASSIM MI’RAJ.........400

APPENDIX G. INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER PASCAL ZOGHBI
.....................................................................................................................................................403

References...................................................................................................................................405

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