Grammar-School Art - Music Appreciation CCLSC Week 23 Cycle 1

Grammar • calligraphy - decorative handwriting or handwritten lettering, created with a pen or brush. • !!! Materials Black tempera paint and brushes / brush-like implements. Object Create some calligraphy art on rice paper.

We will be looking at calligraphy from the Hebrew, Arabic, Hindi, Chinese, Japanese and Korean traditions. Printout templates for all of these types of calligraphy are provided. We will be using plain paint brushes with watered down black tempura paint. Students will practice on plain paper and complete a final draft on rice paper. Background Calligraphy - from the Greek, kallos, meaning "beauty" and graphein, meaning "write". Kalligraphos: person who writes beautifully. Calligraphy is a visual art related to . It is the design and execution of lettering with a broad-tipped instrument.

Hebrew - Hebrew also known as Ktav Ashuri, uses a square script and block script also known as an impure abjad. It is also written from right to left. Abjad is a type of writing system in which each symbol or glyph stands for a consonant, leaving it to the readers to infer or otherwise supply an appropriate vowel. In Hebrew for example, your different vowel inflections come from your gut.

Arabic - Another Abjad style of writing except unlike the Hebrew block script they use a cursive form of Abjad. Also written from right to left.

The Hebrew and Arabic alphabets have similarities because they both derived from the Aramaic alphabet which in turn derived from the paleo-Hebrew or Phoenician alphabet.

Hindi - There are many styles of calligraphy from India but we will focus on Devanagari, also known as Nagari which is written from left to right. Nagari is based on the Brahmi script, used in the Indian subcontinent. This style was developed in ancient India from the 1st to 4th century BC and was in regular use by the 7th century BC. The Devanagari script is composed of 47 primary characters including 14 vowels and 33 consonants. It is the fourth most widely adopted written system in the world, being used for over 120 languages. The Davanagari script is closely related to the Nandinagari script commonly found in numerous ancient manuscripts of South India and it is distantly related to several Southeast Asian scripts.

Chinese - , or , has strong structure in each character. There are five major styles in Chinese calligraphy; Zuan ( Style), Li(Clerical Style), Tsao(Running Style), Hsin(Walking Style), and Kai(Standard Style). (303-361) was a Chinese calligrapher, writer and politician who lived during the Jin Dynasty (265-420), was best known for his mastery of Chinese calligraphy. Chinese calligraphy is believed to appear alongside Chinese art during the Han Dynasty (206-220 BC), but is probably best known as being invented during the . Chinese character creation is an art form, combining purely visual art and interpretation of the literary meaning. Calligraphy is considered as one of the four most sought-after skills and hobbies of the Ancient Chinese, along with playing stringed musical instruments, the game “Go”, and painting.

Japanese - Shodo or Shuji calligraphy, unlike the strong structure of Chinese calligraphy, is more flexible or decorative. Shodo directly translates to “way of writing”. Japanese calligraphy is rooted in Chinese calligraphy, brought to by Buddhist Monks around the 6th century AD, and is considered more simplistic than Chinese calligraphy. Japanese calligraphy is written vertically from top to bottom in columns that progress from right to left.

Korean - Korea has two types of calligraphy: and . Hanja was the traditional writing system consisting mainly of traditional and pinyin which was incorporated and used since the Gojsoeon period (400 B.C.). Hangul, the Korean alphabet, was created in 1443. Korean calligraphers preferred Chinese characters as they saw them as more prestigious. Hanja continued to be used as the official script until the late 19th century. After the split of North and South Korea, Hangul remained the official style. Modern Korean calligraphy is usually written left to right horizontally.

Traditionally, Chinese, Japanese and Korean are written vertically in columns going from top to bottom and ordered from right to left, with each new column starting to the left of the preceding one. Brief Class Opener Ask students which letter (character) is their favorite to write - "a"? "b"? Cursive "z"?. Which is the most beautiful to each student? Dive right in to introducing beautiful calligraphy from around the world by showing the templates students will use as inspiration, and will try to reproduce. Steps 1. Practice holding your brush like this (see right): 2. Practice making horizontal and vertical strokes according to the techniques demonstrated by tutors 3. Practice making characters, modeling those provided by tutors ◦ Start with Korean and Hebrew characters first, as they are slightly easier

References • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGla-cR8Ygo - brush holding techniques • http://www.art-virtue.com/styles/ - Chinese calligraphy in five major styles • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X80ZkYJgaqc - Japanese - rules of writing • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYlJSuJFO1k - Hebrew calligraphy - letter "alef" • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6H-fKzchk4 - Modern Devanagari script (Hindi Calligraphy) Models Chinese

(https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%E5%A7%9A%E5%AD%9F%E8%B5%B7%E4%B9%9D%E6%88%90%E5%AE %AE.png) Hebrew Alphabet

(https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hebrew_Alphabet.png)

Joshua 1:1 from Allepo Codex, Hebrew Bible

(https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aleppo_Codex_Joshua_1_1.jpg)