JO Magazine

Ibrahim Abu Touq is a calligrapher who uses tradition to defy mediocrity and the status quo—but always with reverence to his heritage.

Words by Mohamed Madi.

Ibrahim Abu Touq is a man of paradoxes. Restless and often outspoken, he’s an Islamic calligrapher whose work is as inspired by the music of Beethoven and the architecture of Zaha Hadid as by the late Abbasid founders of his art form.

From this interplay between traditions emerges a surprisingly fertile and refreshing artistic experiment—albeit one which has irked some of the art’s more conservative practitioners.

Images

HOW DID YOU GET YOUR START IN CALLIGRAPHY?

My teachers used to ask me to write for them on the blackboard, since from a young age I always had the ability to write smoothly and neatly. I first started learning traditional calligraphy 35 years ago at the hands of Ibrahim Thabit, a shop owner in the Balad. He was the first who taught me the precise science of proportion, and how to control the tools of writing.

WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THE CURRENT STATE OF ISLAMIC CALLIGRAPHY IN JORDAN AND THE WIDER WORLD?

Even though there are still many calligraphers out there, I think we suffer collectively from an aversion to creativity and innovation. For the last 100 years there’s been no progress. Sadly, we’ve become stagnant, with only a few exceptions. No other type of artist would consider themselves successful if all they did was trade in the achievements of their predecessors. That same logic must also apply to calligraphers.

WHY DO YOU THINK CREATIVITY HAS BEEN STIFLED IN THIS WAY?

For many reasons. Calligraphy used to be much more functional; texts needed to be copied by hand, and from that process the art form started. Now, calligraphy has lost that functional purpose; we can instantly create and recreate text using computers, and create shapes and patterns with graphics software. This has led to a decrease in the number of people trained as calligraphers, and those that are trained are simply keeping the tradition alive.

DO YOU FEEL YOU'VE MOVED BEYOND TRADITION, THAT YOU'VE LEFT IT BEHIND?

Definitely not. I still spend a lot of time practicing and working on traditional pieces. Since 1999 I’ve had about 30 traditional pieces published every year in the annual Hashemite Jordanian Calendar, alongside other Jordanian calligraphers. The trouble comes when you think that recreating the style of others is the pinnacle of achievement. That said, I think there’s still plenty of scope for creativity and beauty within the tradition.

ONLY A FEW PEOPLE ARE ABLE TO APPRECIATE THE INTRICACIES OF CALLIGRAPHY—TO THE UNTRAINED EYE THERE IS LITTLE OR NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MASTERPIECE AND MEDIOCRITY. ISN'T THE PRECISION AND METICULOUSNESS OF ISLAMIC CALLIGRAPHY AN ANACHRONISM NOW?

You’re right about the inability to spot errors, but you’re describing the symptom, not the cause. Look at our banknotes, for example. Take out a one-dinar note and examine the writing: the calligraphy is shoddy. We don’t realize it because we haven’t grown up around precise and careful art and craftsmanship. We’ve begun to settle for second best. In the same way, excellence, and the refusal to accept second best, is an attitude or outlook that transfers to the real world, and that’s why I think it’s important for schoolchildren to be trained in the arts. Art can and must have real social implications, and that’s also why I think artists have a great social responsibility.

DO YOU HAVE A ROLE MODEL THAT YOU ASPIRE TO BE LIKE?

I really admire the work of Zaha Hadid, the British-Iraqi architect. For me, she represents someone who has taken her background and experience and, using them, has risen to the very top of her field. She’s the most famous architect in the world right now.

HOW DO YOU GET INSPIRATION?

I try and keep myself in a state in which I’m open to new ideas and new ways of thinking. For example, one of my best ideas came to me in the middle of a Friday prayer. The imam was reciting a verse from the Chapter of Yusuf, which reads: “When Joseph said to his father: ‘Father, I saw eleven planets …’” I just froze mid-prayer and thought to myself, what eleven planets could these be? For some reason I decided to count the number of dots present in the Arabic text of the verse. Eleven dots. This became the basis for one of my pieces, where I tried to hint at the hidden secrets and different levels of meaning in the text. Inspiration can come at any time, in any place, but you have to be receptive to it.

WHAT INFLUENCES DO YOU DRAW UPON WHEN CREATING A PIECE?

A very wide range, from music to architecture to my own personal experiences. I’ve worked as a graphic designer, interior designer and cartoon artist. Even my 20 years of experience as a printing press manager contributes something to my style. A lot of my inspiration comes from music, especially from classical composers like Beethoven, Mozart and Bach. I try and transfer some of their genius onto paper. When writing with the pen, there are short, sharp strikes and slow, curving arcs, like movements in a concerto. Many of my pieces also resemble musical symbols such as the treble clef.

WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON AT THE MOMENT?

Right now I’m working on the Bismillah project. Bismillah means “In the name of God” and is added as a prefix to each of the 114 chapters of the Qur’an. Traditionally, when printing a copy of the Qur’an, only one would be written out, which would then be replicated before each chapter. What I’m doing—and this is something that has never been done before—is creating a unique Bismillah for each chapter, in a modern style. In each one I’m trying to capture the mood and content in the way the Bismillah is written on the page. The Qur’an is one of my main sources of inspiration, as I think there’s so much that is undiscovered and hidden in it.

SOME MIGHT SAY THAT INTRODUCING FOREIGN ELEMENTS, SUCH AS LATIN SCRIPT, CHEAPENS AND WEAKENS WHAT WAS ONCE A GREAT AND PROUD TRADITION. HOW DO YOU RESPOND TO THEM?

I believe that we cannot reject “the other.” For better or for worse, there’s no longer any difference between “our” world and “theirs,” and art must reflect this. That’s why I have no problems drawing upon a wide variety of traditions. I’ve used Latin, Hebrew and Japanese script as well as Arabic in my works. While it’s true that Islamic art no longer has the prominence it once had on the world scale, by assimilating other traditions I’m making a statement that I, as a Muslim and Arab artist, am capable of taking art from other traditions and reinterpreting it in my own way.

YOUR METHODS OF WORKING ARE STILL TRADITIONAL. HAS MODERN TECHNOLOGY AFFECTED YOUR ART POSITIVELY OR NEGATIVELY?

Technology is a double-edged sword, but on the whole I feel it’s opened up new avenues. For instance, I publish a lot of my work on websites such as Deviantart and Flickr. Through these portals I’ve had the opportunity to meet and share ideas with other artists from around the world, which has had a hugely positive effect on my work. I hope, too, that I’ve contributed something to the understanding of others. 

See more of Ibrahim’s work at ibrahimabutouq.deviantart.com and www.flickr.com/photos/ibrahimabutouq.