Ottoman Calligraphy: Music for the eyes

Graphis, Nov/Dec 2001 by Shulman, Ken

Letters in Gold is hardly the Riverdance of calligraphy. There has been no "Lord of the Pen." Nor has Ottoman calligraphy become as popular as line dancing. Yet the Sabanci exhibition was a major element in a small but significant revival of the Ottoman art form. After its U.S. tour, Letters in Gold was shown at the Louvre in Paris. This February, with a new title-The Sultan's Signature-a selection from the Sabanci collection opened at the Deutsche Bank Guggenheim in Berlin and received 2,000 visitors per day. Other European museums, including the British Museum in London and the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Russia, have expressed interest. The show has also helped spark a calligraphic revival in Istanbul, where more than 30 artisans now practice the traditional craft.

Zakariyah, who has been struggling as a U.S. based calligrapher since the 1960s, has seen a sharp increase in both commissions, lecture invitations and teaching opportunities. He recently designed a stamp in commemoration of Ramadan for the U.S. Postal Service. Few people, including those in Turkey, can actually read the text or inscriptions in Ottoman calligraphy. Yet this does not keep them from enjoying them. "It has to be approached today as abstract design," says Komaroff. "As a pure art form. Much of what was reproduced were well known phrases, almost on the level with 'God Bless This Home.' What makes this art remarkable is the skill involved, and the harmony and beauty of the compositions. You don't have to be able to read it to appreciate it."

Ken Shulman a reborn Bostonian after 15 years in Italy, has written about art, cinema, literature, politics and sports for Newsweek, The New York Times, The International Herald Tribune, and Metropolis. He is a regular contributor to "Only A Game:' the National Public Radio sport show and to WBUR Radio's "Morning