Arabic pictorial calligraphy
And this would not be possible without one quintessential graphic element that determines Arabic script’s ability to be coded: the line. By graphically coding the obvious way of reading, it opens up different forms of legibility, a legibility beyond words. It holds that the hindered readability is neither a coincidence nor simply a result of artistic playfulness or pure love of fanciful ornamentation. This philosophical photo essay argues that, even so, the quasi illegibility of writing in Arabic does not shift attention away from what is written, nor does it focus merely on materiality. At least until the dawn of the digital age, writing always happened on something and was done with some- thing.1 Arabic script has a particularly close connection to materiality and things, given its fundamental role in Islamic art and applied writing of various kinds. Materiality is undoubtedly of great importance when thinking about scripts. The latter’s answer would most likely be that with illegibility materiality comes to the fore (Kawakami 2011, 388). What is the point of a writing that can- not be read?, literary scholar Akane Kawakami asks, alluding to a quote from Roland Barthes. Rather, the calligraphy causes problems to the reader, whether learned or lay: It is hard to read. Despite the fact that Arabic script conveys fundamental meaning, instant legibility is not at the centre of Islamic calligraphy. Islamic calligraphy, whether written with a reed, painted with a brush, or laid as a mosaic, is of outstanding importance for Islam and for Muslim religious life and experience.