Product Description

Inspired by this magnificentl and time-honored art form, Amber Lotus is proud to present Breath of Words: The Arabic Calligraphy of Abd el Malik Nounouhi. Each image in this beautiful wall calendar is a work of art made of words. Every calligraphy is accompanied by its translation, offering a stunning introduction to this divine art form. Nounouhi has developed a personal expression in his calligraphy, creating a world of colors where light and shadow are the basic structure. "Calligraphy or El Khatt ('the trace' in Arabic) is a return to the source," says Nounouhi. "It is a look, a breath ... a trace of an internal story carried by words and carried to the surface of the paper by a breath, as if it were a voice. After all, calligraphy is the art of making one's words speak."

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #487977 in Books
• Published on: 2009-07-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Calendar
• 26 pages

About the Author
Nounouhi was born in the highlands of the Moroccan Rif. After studying Mathematics in Paris, he decided to dedicate himself entirely to calligraphy, reinforcing his link to his origins and to the memories of first contact with Arabic script in the Koranic school in his village.

Customer Reviews

Beautiful Calligraphy Every Month of the Year.
The frustrating search for a wall calendar with consistently high quality images led me to Amber Lotus Publishing for the second year in a row. I usually buy photography calendars, but I was so taken with the work of Abd el Malik Nounouhi when I saw it, that I decided that Arabic calligraphy was the way to go. Not an obvious leap, but Nounouhi's calligraphic art is stunning. He is a Moroccan artist who lives and exhibits in France. You can see many beautiful examples of his work on his web site, which I visited in an effort to find out if his calligraphy is religious-themed. It seems that none of his calligraphy is explicitly religious, but he favors universalist, philosophical quotations. Some are from religious figures of various faiths, while others are entirely secular.

Nounouhi uses quotations from all over the world and incorporates a variety of styles of art in his calligraphy. The quotations that have been rendered in Arabic calligraphy in this calendar are from: Ibn Ata Allah al-Iskandari (Sufi sheikh and writer), Spinoza, Saint Teresa of Avila, Ibn Arabi (Sufi mystic), Khalil Gibran, Buddha, and from the artist's own poetry. Nouhouhi's palette includes fiery reds and oranges, blues, browns, and one piece in black and grays. English translations are featured prominently, right next to the calligraphy. I might have preferred that the translation be more discreet, at the bottom of the page, so as not to detract from the artwork. But at least no one will have to hunt for the translation.

The background color for all the artwork and for the calendar itself is off-white, made to look textured like parchment. The calendar's squares have plenty of space to write in, though the date is at the center top of each square, opposed to the usual top corner. It has a lot of holidays labeled: Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, and Buddhist religious holidays, plus major American holidays, bank holidays, and major foreign holidays, especially for Canada and Mexico. The quality of the paper is very good for an inexpensive calendar, as I have found to be typical of Amber Lotus. But that means that the paper is slick and not as easy to write on as lower-quality paper would be. Interior pages are recycled paper, printed with soy-based inks.