Responding to our World: Calligraphy Show Explores Contemporary Themes at Guilford Art Center

Contemporary calligraphy, its designs reflecting the cultural climate of our time, will be celebrated in the exhibition Responding to Our World: Words, Images, Gestures at the Guilford Art Center, June 29-August 12. This international, juried exhibition presents the work of 40 artists from ten countries and eighteen states who use the traditional art of calligraphy to present various interpretations of the current political and cultural climate. The show highlights traditional and nontraditional lettering, calligraphy, book art and fine art that employ hand lettering or calligraphic marks as a major element.

Contemporary calligraphy has moved well beyond the traditions of manuscript writing. Calligraphic forms are often incorporated into works that approach painting in their expressive intent. Expressive intent and visual appearance of markings may, in fact, be more important that the legibility of letters and words themselves. "In a world that values speed and immediacy as essential criteria in the communication process it is both compelling and exciting to experience the work created through the traditional practices of dipping a brush or pen into paint and ink. "One quickly understands that calligraphy, though an ancient art form, retains its power as an expressive medium," states Guilford Art Center Shop & Gallery Manager Julienne Richardson. The artists included in Responding to our World use the traditional tools of pens and paint often combined with media from other artistic disciplines to create passionate, content-laden works, with themes ranging from war and peace to the meaning of family.

All works selected for Responding to Our World will be published in the journal Letter Arts Review, Volume 22, Issue 1, due out in July 2007. Jurors for the exhibition are the esteemed calligraphers Thomas Ingmire and Maureen Squires.

Three artists share the Top Prize awarded by the jurors: the collaboration between calligrapher, Monica Dengo, photographer, Marco Ambrosi, and contemporary poet, Tsering Wangmo in He Changes Reality, which "beautifully fulfilled the theme" of the exhibition's title with its combination of words, images, gestures according to the jurors; Carl Kurts's Mourning, powerfully expressive as art and graphic, "the word showing its meaning through the execution," in Squires' description; and Tabasco Diarys by Eliza Holliday, which deals with America's war in Iraq. Squires describes it as giving "fresh meaning to social commentary through art," and Ingmire praises the piece for seeming "both personal and monumental in its expression."

Honorable Mentions were awarded to Marina Soria's What Is Essential Is Invisible to the Eye, an interpretation of a quote from St. Exupery; Yuko Wada Hayasaka's calligraphic painting Breath; Marie Marcano's 36500, Yukimi Annand's I Am Meth-Let Me Lead You To Hell, ("extremely beautiful and disturbing," say the jurors); and Elizabeth McKee's accordion fold book, This World Is Off Its Rocker When It Comes To Women from a poem by Stephen Lewis.

Both jurors praised works that connected the meaning of the words and the alphabets used to write them. Ingmire also offered these hints to the decision-making: "Overtly political statements make nice posters, but they seldom rise to the level of being a gallery work. Similarly, short, sentimental statements or even profound proverbs, would seem to stand more happily as greeting cards or kitchen art. Subtlety is a virtue, as is mystery and intrigue. Humor is nice too."

Ingmire and Squires both brought a long experience and a nuanced eye to the selection process. Ingmire lives in San Francisco and is a forerunner of the modern western calligraphy movement, a proponent of calligraphy as fine arts medium. He is well-known for his contributions as a teacher, author, and artist, exhibiting worldwide. He was elected in 1977 to the English Society of Scribes and Illuminators, the first American and first person outside of the United Kingdom to receive this honor. Maureen Squires of Branford, Connecticut, is on the faculty and is a former board member of the Guilford Art Center. She approaches her lettering from a painter's perspective and exhibits her work widely. She has been an Artist in Residence at the Josef and Annie Albers Foundation, has directed three international calligraphy conferences and has taught at conferences, at the college level, and in adult education programs.

The opening reception for Responding to Our World: Words, Images, Gestures is June 29, 5-7pm. Gallery hours are Monday through Saturday 10am-5pm and Sunday 12-4pm. Admission is free. Small group tours of the exhibition, led by an esteemed calligraphy artist, will be offered by appointment. Please call Guilford Art Center at 203-453-5947 to schedule.

In conjunction with the exhibition, Guilford Art Center is sponsoring a week-long Calligraphy Intensive, to be held at the Mercy Center in Madison, Connecticut, July 29-August 3, 2007. The featured instructor is the renowned calligrapher Gottfried Pott, of Wiesbaden, Germany.

For more information on Responding to Our World and the Calligraphy Intensive, contact the Guilford Art Center at 203-453-5947.