Calligraphy: Is it Outsider Art?

Christopher Calderhead, a leading calligrapher and editor of Letter Arts Review recently posted a very accessible image-heavy lecture on Calligraphy: Is it Outsider Art?

In it, Calderhead examines how calligraphy is and is not integrated into the larger art community.

Calligraphy: Art or Craft?
One of the frequent discussions I heard in calligraphy circles revolves around this question. Calderhead graphs how he views this, giving calligraphy 3-prongs: fine art, craft, and graphic design. In my mind, I've always combined craft and graphic design, but I can see why he's made them distinct. However, I like how he points out how calligraphy is simultaneously many things, which is how I view it.

While the word, craft, often has some derogatory tones, as in "just a craft", I think of calligraphy in terms of William Morris' Arts and Crafts movement. To me, craft often rises to cultural high points, equally worthy of fine art in both time and money. When I'm addressing envelopes, this is the level I strive for. Ditto for graphic designs I do like logos and book titles.

But to say calligraphy is only a craft leaves out many pieces which hang well on the wall, which are fine art, and can compete with other fine art categories. For instance, the pieces that I've done for the CR Gallery, my illuminations, and some of my card images.

So, I found Christopher's take on the art vs. craft question interesting as well as his general take on engaging the greater art field.

Draft for Angela Rockett -- future altar piece

Draft for Angela Rockett -- future altar piece
Originally uploaded by shellyinseattle

When fellow artist Angela Rockett asked if I could collaborate on an upcoming altar piece, I knew I wanted to push everything else aside to do it.

Firstly, I only had to spend some hours to get a good enough draft, not weeks to get the final result.
Second, I get to be surprised at the end with the final result, seeing what some with Angela's artistic talent will do with my piece makes me very curious to see it. Just like a present!

Here's the draft, which displays some of my working habits, such as using a Westwind calligraphy practice pad for layout and spacing. Also, just trying to play around with tweaks to the same words even in the working draft I sent Angela. Earlier, I had sent her a very rough draft to see how she liked various lettering choices, so this current draft shows a very narrow variation.

The hand I used is a modern variation of Gothic called Fraktur, used more in Germany than in the States. This particular Fraktur is from Friedrich Neugebauer's The Mystic Art of Written Forms. It's a hand I taught myself for another project I did for Angela, the graphics for the ER Gallery show, Out of Darkness, Into Light.

Obsolete tools

I find it amusing that as a calligrapher, I use several of the tools that are part of this Museum of Forgotten Art Supplies

Wedding calligraphy Inner Envelope 2

Wedding calligraphy June 2009 1
Originally uploaded by shellyinseattle

One of the inner envelopes of wedding calligraphy I just finished this week.

It's Italic script done with a pointed pen. Used a combination of walnut ink and zinc white gouache for the color to match the invites.

Wedding calligraphy Inner Envelope 1

Wedding calligraphy June 2009 2
Originally uploaded by shellyinseattle

One of the Portuguese names for the wedding calligraphy I just finished this week.

This was one of the inner envelopes.

The Newberry Library & the Victorian Naughty Book

One of the delights of going to Chicago was a visit to the Newberry Library and their extensive calligraphy/illumination collection. They're a free-use private library with quite a few restrictions designed to protect their books. One restriction is only allowing you three books at a time, with those brought to you directly by the librarians.

My books arrive!
My first three books arrived with a very cheerful look on the librarian's face. Actually, smiles lit both the librarians' faces since the need to carefully cradle the books is so great that two of them brought the books to me. "Enjoy!" the first librarian said as she laid the books down.

"Wow," I think, "they seem to really love their jobs. Or perhaps they just really like calligraphy."

I take a look at what they gave me. Each book comes with its own padded cradle to keep them from opening fully and damaging the spine. I ask if I need gloves on to handle these. Nope, they were printed material and as long as my hands were clean that was good enough. Mind you, some of the printed books I handled were printed in the 1500s. Others, while later, were full of hand painted illustrations over the block prints.

The Victorian Naughty book
The largest book has a beautiful red leather cover on it with no title. I open it up and find many illustrations of Jane Austen-styled women with a twist -- they were showing an ankle. Or even sometimes a calf. I glance through other pages of the book. While several of the headers were indeed written in the calligraphy style of the time (copperplate), it just wasn't that interesting.

Then I think, "Hmmm....was this really the right book?" I look back at my call numbers, look at the call number of the red book. Nope. The numbers are one off. The original book still beckons, so I resubmit for it.

The same head librarian returns. This time she came with a chagrined look while profusely apologizing as she hands over the one I really ordered. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I hope you weren't offended. It's just that so many people order the Victorian Naughty book, that I just assumed that was the one you wanted when I saw the call number." I assure her that I was somewhat amused.

When I told the story to my husband that evening he mused, "Maybe it would be fun for me to check out the Newberry tomorrow. What was that call number again?"

SOLD!

My art in the Gift of Water show has sold! I'm about 99.5% happy and 0.5% disappointed it won't be coming home.

It feels a bit odd knowing that I won't have to go pick it up when the show comes down.