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  • Wanted: Book On Armenian Calligraphy

    WANTED: BOOK ON ARMENIAN CALLIGRAPHY

    http://www.reporter.am/index.cfm?furl=/go/article/2012-07-09-wanted-book-on-armenian-calligraphy-&pagewanted=all
    Published: Monday July 09, 2012

    Notrgir: Armenian letter construction by Ruben Malayan.

    Yerevan - Artist Ruben Malayan wants to create a book that will
    encompass the most fascinating examples of Armenian calligraphy:
    from following its evolution through time, to placing it on a level
    upon which it can be studied as an independent art form in itself.

    The book will be designed to serve as a source of reference and
    inspiration to anyone interested in this subject, hence illuminating
    the future of this art form by offering inspiring examples of
    contemporary calligraphic work.

    Calligraphy is script in its purest form. Its virtues aspire not
    only preciseness, beauty, distinctness, and simplicity, but also
    originality, proportion, and ultimately, unity, mastership, and
    freedom. Calligraphy can be regarded simultaneously as temporary art,
    as well as spatial art. By following the letter form, we 'reverse'
    time. In other words, by following the traces of the artist's struggle
    with the material, we can experience almost the same state as the
    artist at the time of creation.

    The book's richly illustrated historical research will address script
    systems of the Near East, starting from as early as the late Iron Age
    (4 millennium B.C.), continuing with the invention of the Armenian
    Alphabet (405 A.D), and ending with the present day. The book,
    which will be designed to mirror authentic layouts of classical
    Armenian manuscripts, will offer a blend of academic research on the
    evolution of the tradition of Armenian writing, as well as contemporary
    calligraphic practice.

    In short, this volume will be revealing a most rich yet most forgotten
    legacy of Armenian calligraphy, which can be found in the signatures of
    Armenian Cilician Kings, the letters of Komitas Vartabed, Sayat-Nova,
    and Archile Gorky, as well as in the correspondence of late 19th
    Century Armenian poets beautifully executed in stylized Sla'gir, etc.

    The proposed volume will include essays from M. Stone, D. Kouymjian &
    H. Lehmann's "Album of Armenian Paleography" (Aarhus Press, 2002),
    providing the most recent research on Armenian paleography with
    regard to the letter types and their use over time. An insightful
    analysis of the arithmetical symbolism and mystical reverence of
    the Armenian Alphabet will be offered in an article by James Russell
    from Harvard University. A special chapter will be dedicated to the
    studies of Armenian calligraphy within the framework of classical
    Armenian education prior to the genocide, including (for the first
    time published in English) practical guides to Armenian calligraphy
    from Venice (1834), Vienna (1837) , Nor Nachijevan (1846), Leipzig
    (1873), Tiflis (1884) and Constantinople (1892).

    Particular importance will be placed on the quality of printing,
    layout, design and typography as well as the binding and finishing
    of the book. The intent of this project is to produce a superb volume
    of reference and inspiration.

    >From Ruben Malayan:

    Since the beginning of time man has been plagued by conflicting
    creative and destructive forces, surging within him. Forces which
    have produced much innovation but have also brought about destruction
    and decline. Human kind has spared no effort in destroying what it
    has created.

    The destruction of the great library of Alexandria (642) & the library
    of Baghdad (2008) come to mind- the library of the latter has lost
    approximately 95 percent of its rare books. The world will continue to
    turn, but these precious manuscripts and the knowledge they contained,
    have been lost forever.

    Fortunately, these acts of spontaneous or premeditated destruction
    have often been contrasted by the presence of individuals capable
    of genuinely creative work. Their passion, craftsmanship, skill and
    imaginative thinking, vividly displayed in the form of written art,
    have inspired my wish to further deepen my knowledge of the all but
    forgotten art of calligraphy.

    My work focuses on the original techniques employed to complement the
    early development of the Armenian alphabet (405 A.D.) and the complex
    proportional canons that followed. An insightful graphic analysis
    of the arithmetical symbolism and mystical reverence of the Armenian
    script system is the cornerstone of this Art Project.

    The art of calligraphy demands a considerable amount of inner effort;
    observing the purity of lines and outlines, discovering the forms used
    as accentuated reinforcements with plastic precision and symbolic
    accuracy. One must pay diligent attention to detail, repetition and
    variability in different parts of the composition. Its practice
    therefore cultivates precision, patience and observation within
    the artist. This is the Art of Calligraphy. Perfection is achieved
    through constant training and application. In its highest form, it
    is as pure and error-free as performed art, where error cannot be
    corrected because it has already occurred. Calligraphy is a temporary
    and spatial art at once, because by following the form we are able
    to 'reverse' time. Tracing the author's struggle with his material;
    following the intensity of the stroke, rhythm and movement, adhering
    to the discipline and virtues he embodied, one can connect to the
    experience of the artist at the time of its creation. Thus it is a
    true transmission of energy.

    My conviction is that at the current circumstances we must use all
    available means to revive our calligraphic tradition. With abundance
    of talent but no cultivation or tradition, our children will never
    fully realize their artistic potential. Primitivism and functionalism
    emasculated the culture of communication. They denied the graphic
    writing the opportunity to improve artistically, and a person, to
    improve spiritually, by the simplest means, using paper, ink and a
    fountain pen or a brush only. Art of beautiful writing is the link
    to our past and with the attention it deserves it can help to shape
    our future as the nation of rich artistic heritage.

    About the Author

    Ruben Malayan (born: 1971) is an artist, photographer and art
    director. He holds degrees from Terlemezian Art College (painting)
    & from the State Institute of Fine Arts (graphics) in Yerevan, Armenia.

    Exhibits art locally and abroad.

    For past few years Ruben has been working on a book ("The Art
    of Armenian Calligraphy") which focuses on the evolution of the
    calligraphic tradition and placing it on a stage upon which it can
    be studied as an independent art form. It's designed to serve as
    a source of reference and inspiration to anyone interested in this
    subject and to illuminate its future by offering inspiring examples
    of contemporary calligraphic work.

    Ruben Malayan is a founder of the "Armenian Genocide in Contemporary
    Graphic & Art Posters" project which has received wide coverage and
    acclaim in the international press, with posters published in number
    of books and magazines worldwide.

    Contact details:

    Mr. Ruben Malayan

    Parbetsi 4, app. 3 Yerevan 0002 Armenia

    Mobile: +374 777 26 229

    Email: [email protected]

    Online portfolio: www.15levels.com/art/armeniancalligraphy/

    http://independent.academia.edu/RubenMalayan/Papers

    Format Description

    Title of the proposed book: "The Art of Armenian Calligraphy"

    Projected length (pages in print): 220 / over 140 illustrations

    Page dimensions: width: 25,5 cm x height: 35 cm

    Number of volumes: 1

    Number of copies: 500

    Quality of paper: matte 150 gram | 30% translucent paper

    Binding: Hardcover, silk cloth (red)

    Proposed languages: Armenian & English

    See promotion video at http://vimeo.com/39112066

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