Expressing Penmenship

Zoomorphic Calligraphy established itself only relatively late in Islamic art, when the taboos outlawing religious iconography had lost some of their power. It is an art developed in Ottoman Turkey, India and Qajar Iran. People say, it was known as early as 1458. Most of the below zoomorphic and anthropomorphic optical illusions were done by talented artist, named Hassan Musa from Sudan.

Hassan Musa is a Sudanese artist who works and lives in Domessargues in the south of France…

Here is a brilliant , hard-to-imagine technique, bringing two excellent arenas into a single domain …Call it simply Calligraphy using Photography or anything else you like … Its perfect Ballet of Light, at  the perfect exposure …. I call it “Awesome” .

“Poésie” – Pol’n – Nantes – 2007
calligraphy and photography : Julien Breton

“Vivre libre” – Amphithéâtre de Fourvière – 2008
Calligraphy : Julien Breton – Kaalam
Photography : G.J. Plisson

“Kata” – Atelier de Brusk Lyon – 2008
Calligraphy : Julien Breton – Kaalam
Photography : G.J. Plisson

“Songe” – Palais idéal du facteur Cheval – 2008
Calligraphy : Julien Breton – Kaalam
Photography : G.J. Plisson

“Le savoir” Saint-Méen Les folies Siffay – 2007
Calligraphy : Julien Breton – Kaalam
Photo : G.J. Plisson

P.S. My mouth is still open :O

I saw this picture in the Seattle Times website and kept gawking at it for some time … Even though it is reasonable a simple style , well calligraphed Italics , looks great …

Scribes working on The Saint John’s Bible created their own goose-feather quills. Quills are more supple than metal pens and allow the ink to flow freely, producing fine hairlines at the end of strokes.