
Khatt
Egypt's Calligraphic Landscape
Saqi Books (Publisher)
Published on 3. September 2018
Book
Hardback
160 pages
978-0-86356-901-2 (ISBN)
Description
Egyptian cities and villages abound with an enormous wealth of khatt, or calligraphic script, ranging from casual scrawls and scribbles to elaborately-painted colourful murals. These historical and contemporary versions of urban lettering, varying in surface, medium and technique, adorn mosques, shop-fronts, houses, trucks, boats, schools, tuk-tuks and walls. They are records of human existence, documenting expressions of hope, fears, dreams and anxieties. Featuring beautiful and unique examples of these written expressions, Khatt is an extensive visual documentation of the found typography and calligraphy in Egypt, a calligraphy hub that possesses a rich tradition of education and production in the field. This timely volume records the traditional craftsmanship of hand-painted calligraphy, which is fast disappearing because of the digitization of the Arabic script. www.khattegypt.com/
Reviews / Votes
`A sumptuous guide to a phenomenon that is simultaneously popular and increasingly under threat.' The National, UAE; - `A treasure of a volume' Egyptian StreetsMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
200 Colour Illustrations; 200 Illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 261 mm
Width: 237 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
1055 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-86356-901-2 (9780863569012)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Basma Hamdy is Associate Professor of Graphic Design at Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar. Hamdy has exhibited and appeared at international art and design festivals and conferences, including Duke University's Arts of the Revolution and Spielart Festival Munich. Her publications include Walls of Freedom: Street Art of the Egyptian Revolution. Noha Zayed is a photographer and creative entrepreneur based in Cairo, Egypt. She co-curates the highly popular Instagram account `Arabic Typography' which has over 90K followers. Zayed has exhibited in festivals and platforms across the Middle East such as Dubai Design Week and the Sharjah Calligraphy Biennial.
Content
Foreword by Huda Abifares
Messages and Meaning by Noha Zayed & Basma Hamdy
Cairene Visual Culture by Ahmad Hammoud
Trucks: A Moving Canvas by Noha Zayed
Semiology of Arabic Letters by Muhammad El Mahdy
Interview: Perception with Elseed
Interview: The Bronze Inventor
Messages and Meaning by Noha Zayed & Basma Hamdy
Cairene Visual Culture by Ahmad Hammoud
Trucks: A Moving Canvas by Noha Zayed
Semiology of Arabic Letters by Muhammad El Mahdy
Interview: Perception with Elseed
Interview: The Bronze Inventor