| Saed
Meshki: Typographic work for Bouf-e Kour Exhibition, 2002 |
|
What
is Typography
by Saed Meshki (An introduction for “Bouf-e Kour”
catalogue)
Creating
eye-catching compositions with letters and words?
Utilizing letters and words as familiar signs in a shell of pure
form?
Creating an atmosphere suggestive of the essential character of
the subject?
Or all four?
It seems that the concept of typography has not been properly studied
or defined in Iran.
The term typography is often taken to mean a form-oriented arrangement
of letters.
Whereas we can call typography a method for creating graphical works
of art.
The most important, and at the same time, the most challenging function
of typography is to create by letters and words an ambiance capable
of conveying to the viewer something of the essential character
of the subject, and also something of the graphic designerís
feelings about the subject and his or her grasp of it.
Letters and characters are a set of signs that by virtue of their
familiarity impart to the viewer something more than just an exercise
in pure form even if they are not legible in a typographic composition.
Because of their characteristic shapes, Persian letters and words
are imbued with an energy of their own. It is by the correct exploitation
of this latent energy of Persian letters and by discovering the
aesthetic criterions that apply to them that Persian typography
is distinguished from Western typography.
On the other hand, there is the treasure-house of Persian calligraphy
which includes such works as siyah mashq (overwritten calligraphic
exercises that sometimes reach the aesthetic heights of a serious
painting) and the way their creators treated these forms. It is
by studying these that one may hope to get a better understanding
of typography.
In recent years, typography has been able to attain a special status
in the domain of graphic arts in the world.
A large number of books devoted to typography are published every
year and this attests to the effective presence of typography in
the contemporary graphic arts scene.
In Iran, we have been witnessing a quantitative growth of typography
over the past few years, but these works have not yet been subjected
to a rigorous test to assay their quality.
The Blind Owl is a pretext to deal with Persian typography.
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