Design a calligraphic plate using Arabic script and images inspired by a meaningful word.
Did you know that for centuries throughout West Asia, people have been decorating household items such as lamps, vases, bowls, and plates with calligraphy? Arabic script developed rapidly after the rise of Islam into not only a writing system but also an art form. Since the revelation from God to the prophet Muhammad—the Qur’an—is in Arabic, its script gives visible form to the divine beauty of God’s words. Eventually, Arabic and Persian calligraphy came to be used not only in religious contexts but also in secular writing such as poetry, aphorisms, and praise for rulers. Many of the West Asian ceramics in the Asian Art Museum’s collection have inscriptions with proverbs that encourage good behavior or offer blessings.
Take a look at the bowl and plate images in the image gallery above and notice the inscriptions: one is in the middle of the dish, another goes around the rim, while yet another is repeated throughout the basin to create a pattern. Read the provided translations; what are the inscriptions about? What might the inscription reveal about the person who owned the dish? After learning about these art objects, scroll down to the next image gallery or download the attached activity pdf to design your own calligraphic plate!
• Paper plate or rounded cardboard to draw on
• Something to draw with: markers, colored pencils, crayons, paint
• A cup to trace a circle with, about 3 or 4 inches in diameter
• Spare paper to practice Arabic script
• Link to website tutorial: Stanford Arabic Alphabet Chart
You can now use your plate to decorate part of your home! Use it as a centerpiece on a table, set it facing out on a shelf, or hang it on a wall. Enjoy telling visitors about your plate!
Activity
If you were to design a bronze vessel for a friend who has done something important for you, what shape would you make it? How would you decorate it? Would you use designs like the ones on the bronze vessels in the museum? What would you inscribe on it?
Activity
How would you answer Chanel Miller’s “I was, I am, I will be” prompt? Would your answers look like Miller’s, or would they look different?
Activity
Visible from Hyde Street outside the Asian Art Museum are Chanel Miller’s I was, I am, I will be, Jas Charanjiva’s Don’t Mess With Me, and Jenifer K Wofford’s Pattern Recognition.
Activity
Create your own layered collage to preserve your memories of a special place in your life.
Activity
In this activity, you will create your own “space sculpture” out of found objects, light, and shadow.
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Personal Space (2001), a layered, dreamlike painting by Kolkata-based artist Jayashree Chakravarty, is an imaginary map built up from painted strips of paper. In this activity, create your own map based on your special place.
Activity
Make your own torn-paper collages inspired by the images created in the teamLab experience.
Teacher Packet
In this packet, you will engage with Wofford’s mural, learn about different Asian cultures and identities, and celebrate Asian American artists from the San Francisco Bay Area. With what you’ve learned and researched, you will then create your own patterns in a digital collage art project.
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In this activity, create your own weaving loom with cardboard and then weave your own textile project. As you construct your loom and learn the labor-intensive process of weaving, you might begin to wonder how Sekimachi was able to create her famous three-dimensional structures.
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