The Arabic Alphabet
The Arabic Alphabet is the first joint acquisition undertaken by the Departments of Islamic Art and Modern and Contemporary Art.
The Arabic Alphabet exists in an edition of ninety-nine: a reference to the ninety-nine "names of God." Every edition is composed of thirty circular compositions, each of which replaces one of the twenty-eight letters in the Arabic alphabet, as well as a twenty-ninth letter, included in the Arabic hija’i or orthographic alphabet. The first print in the series bears the Arabic word "Allah" or "God." Every composition consists of a combination of straight and curved lines, which the artist considered the foundational building blocks of all forms. The work both draws on and deviates from well-established conventions of Islamic art. For example, the artist explicitly rejected a description of his work as "calligraphic" and advised that the series "should be read first as drawings of repeated units […] then as letters."[1] The emphasis on repetition recalls Madi’s interest in Sufi practice, as well as abstract works produced by members of the Italian Continuità group (est. 1961).
[1] Hussein Madi's quote is from an email to Katherine E. Kasdorf, Associate Curator, Detroit Institute of Arts, June 10, 2023.
The Arabic Alphabet exists in an edition of ninety-nine: a reference to the ninety-nine "names of God." Every edition is composed of thirty circular compositions, each of which replaces one of the twenty-eight letters in the Arabic alphabet, as well as a twenty-ninth letter, included in the Arabic hija’i or orthographic alphabet. The first print in the series bears the Arabic word "Allah" or "God." Every composition consists of a combination of straight and curved lines, which the artist considered the foundational building blocks of all forms. The work both draws on and deviates from well-established conventions of Islamic art. For example, the artist explicitly rejected a description of his work as "calligraphic" and advised that the series "should be read first as drawings of repeated units […] then as letters."[1] The emphasis on repetition recalls Madi’s interest in Sufi practice, as well as abstract works produced by members of the Italian Continuità group (est. 1961).
[1] Hussein Madi's quote is from an email to Katherine E. Kasdorf, Associate Curator, Detroit Institute of Arts, June 10, 2023.
Artwork Details
- Title: The Arabic Alphabet
- Artist: Hussein Madi (Lebanese, Chebaa, Lebanon 1938–2024, Beirut, Lebanon)
- Date: 1973
- Geography: Made in Italy, Rome
- Medium: Aquatint
- Dimensions: 30 Sheets, Each:
H. 11 13/16 in. (30 cm)
W. 9 5/8 in. (24.4 cm) - Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: Gift of Sami Khalifé M.D., 2024
- Object Number: 2024.451.1a–dd
- Curatorial Department: Islamic Art
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Hussein Madi
1977
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