There’s a tug of war happening throughout the graphic design world, and it’s little evident to those of us who are not involved incontemporary font design. In one camp, you have those graphicdesigners who are keen on digitizing Arabic letters and makingfonts look modern; whilst in the opposing camp, there are thosethat interpret calligraphy in a modern way, but also work hard todesign the calligraphy in a style that’s aesthetically pleasing bydepicting the word as a piece of art.
Just as paper once revolutionized calligraphy’smove from papyrus,AlMohtaraf hasfurther revolutionizedthe shift of calligraphyfrom classical to moderngraphic interpretation.This shift waspartly fueled by AlMohtaraf’sresponse to theArab World’s demandfor modern Arabictypefaces that speakand reflect their Arabcontemporaries.
is within all of us – if history has any such value, it only has as much as is livingwithin us, -KAMEEL Hawa
Yet, before we accept any persons’ interpretation of our heritage, we have to ask ourselves what is the heritage weshould preserve? And how does one become endowed withthis duty of preservation and interpretation? “Arab heritageis within all of us – if history has any such value, it only has asmuch as is living within us,” reveals Mr. Kameel Hawa, CreativeDirector of AlMohtaraf.
Through a delicate and meticulous process of liberating Arabic characters into the digital arena, whilst keeping the spiritof classical calligraphy, AlMohtaraf has successfully developedcomplete families of Arabic fonts: AlMohtaraf, AlDarah,Modern, Cortas, Mizan, Watad, Basit, Shams, and Metro.
AlMohtaraf skips past whatever Western interpretation has been prescribed to interpret Arabic text and startsthe creative process from the very same point as thevery first calligraphers themselves – at the beginning.As the birthplace of Islamic calligraphy, it’s only fair that we of the Arab world, pave the way for interpretingour heritage and creating something new.
“As much asyou belong to heritage, you also belong to the modernage.
What I do is the fruit of the modern age—a genuinecontribution to modern art.
There’s so much contemporaryart that’s not genuine– they don’t encompass thetrue, genuine characteristics. Galleries play a role inencouraging both good art and bad art to monopolizeand drive prices up.
This can influence art in a negativeway, by exploiting art and its artists.”
Calligraphy is the most ancestral form of Islamicartistic expression inthe Arab world.
Graphicdesigners have been usingcalligraphy art to inspirethem to generate theirmodern creations.
Yet,whereas the majority ofcurrent graphic expressionof classical calligraphystyles lean towards Westerninterpretations of Arabart, AlMohtaraf takesinspiration from within.
Not all fonts, however, are created equal. The modern interpretations of classical Arabic font that domeet success occur when the interpreter facilitatesour travel back to our historical heritage.
Their role as interpreter is to visually share the spirit of whatwe see before us and navigate us back to our ancestralroots. Somewhere, along our journey we findour special sync with tradition and discover its resonanceamong our contemporary times.
“When you design font, you design a piece of cold abstract metal. A hand is driven by the mood you’refeeling,” explains Mr. Kameel Hawa. “As you maystart the process drawing with the hand, you soonfall into the process [of] drawing the letters with youreyes. It’s about how we design [modernity], whileembracing history. Word art, free-hand calligraphy,font design… these artistic forms all stem from thehand stemming from the soul.”
Calligrams , the technique of arranging a font in a way that reflects the meaning of the word that’s been written,is a method AlMohtaraf has successfully used toguide their creative process. These anagram-esque formats became popular with leading calligraphersin the 17th century throughout Turkey, Persia, andIndia; giving AlMohtaraf’s word art that deviant yethistoric quality, which likens itself to the work of Picassoand Matisse.
Laterally expanding the artistic interpretation of calligraphy, AlMohtaraf is bringingtradition to our contemporary times, in thesame way the Crusaders introduced theelaborately weaved Islamic calligraphy inscriptionson patterned silk to Europe.
“Asa human being you have the right to be partof any heritage, when it moves you and becomesa part of you, then you have the rightto own it.
You’re not receiving your heritagein itself superficially, but you’re becomingpart of the heritage that is still within you.It touches something that’s already there –that’s what you truly inherited. When youexperience your heritage, it’s not about recognition,but about absorbing.”