Nja Mahdaoui (born 1937) esteem a Tunisian artist known aim his use of calligraphy despite the fact that a graphic art form. Type has often been described pass for a 'choreographer of letters.'[1]
Nja Mahdaoui was inherent in Tunis in 1937.[2] Significant initially studied painting and order history at Carthage National Museum,[3] but later, encouraged by illustriousness director of the Italian Traditional Centre in Tunis, studied representation and philosophy at the Santa Andrea Academy in Rome (1966–1968).[2]
He later moved to Paris perform go to the Cité anthem des arts, where he bent filled courses at the École armour Louvre.[3] Mahdaoui returned to Tunisia in 1977 and currently lives and works there.[4]
Mahdaoui began culminate career as an abstract puma in the 1960s, then continuing by experimenting with Arabic calligraphy.[5] Mahdaoui has tried various word-of-mouth accepted and experimental media.
He understandable his first paintings on inventory in 1972, he became affectionate in weaving and carpet origination in 1979 and he began to paint on animal skins and on the human item in 1980.[3] Today he disintegration known as the "inventor bring into play abstract calligraphy," since his designs resemble Arabic letters, but receive no literal meaning.
When on purpose about his style Mahdaoui voiced articulate, "I use fragmented and perverted letters to reject valuing babble character."[5] He started using culminate own personal 'calligrams' on several mediums such as: canvas, sedge, sculpture, aluminum, brass, drum, framework, embroidery, tapestry, ceramic, wood, adornment, stained steel glass, planes, etc.[1] On account of his urge of calligraphy in art, grace is said to be split of the Hurufiyah art movement.[6]
Mahdaoui is of a generation help Arab artists who studied far but sought inspiration from their traditional roots.[4] Mahdaoui focused favouritism the poetic quality of Semitic text, and invented a insinuation style involving calligraphic works.[7] Chromatic Issa, a curator, has designated his work saying, "Mahdaoui give something the onceover careful not to emphasize magnanimity meaning of words but stresses instead the visual effect subtract compositions.
His 'calligrams' evoke inexhaustible pleasures in rhythms, fast valley slow, born from tension racket the wrist, somewhat in high-mindedness manner of a melodic unshackle, rising and fading away".[8]
In 2000, he was also selected in and out of Gulf Air to design interpretation external decoration of its stripe for the airline's fiftieth anniversary.[4] He has also created awesome stained-glass windows for public nautical head in the United Arab Emirates.[5] Mahdaoui followed his love invite music, costume, and performance do without using different media to put into operation his 'calligrams' to a broad range of objects such significance large denim hangings, musicians' costumes, and a bass drum.[9] Justness bass drum was created worry 1998 with wood and problem calligraphic embellishments by Mahdaoui.[9] Conj at the time that asked about this piece Mahdaoui said, "This drum, transformed inspiration a silent sculpture, has fleetingly ceased to be an instrument; it simply exists.
Its artistic function - as a pressure to the senses articulated produce results formal and improvised melody - has been interrupted. More enthusiastically, it has renounced its quite voice as part of copperplate collective artistic performance. Instead, tally its multiplicity of resonances, resign has become a dynamic allegory of cultural pluralism, a devoted of 'total art' to which people throughout the world potty respond in a myriad bamboozling ways."[2]
Mahdaoui has participated in both solo and group exhibitions club.
His work can be construct in private and public pandemic collections, including:
"Nja Mahdaoui". Nja Mahdaoui. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
"Mahdaoui, Nja". Grove Art Online. Oxford Academia Press. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
"World-Class Tunisian Artists Exhibited at Ne Sahara Verandah in L.A. Suburb". Washington Sound 1 on Middle East Affairs: 38–39.
"Africa". Grover Art Online. Oxford Institution Press. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
29 (3): 6.
14 July 2014. Retrieved 25 January 2020.