Written by LIAM SIBAI

Born in Beirut, in 1945¹, Samir Sayegh is considered a prolific critic, author, poet, and visual artist. Sayegh’s first encounter with calligraphy was when he was 12 years old, when his calligraphy teacher informed him that he had beautiful handwriting². His journey in calligraphy continued with his studies at the Saint Savior Convent in Joun, Lebanon³, an institution with an extensive collection of rare and ancient Arabic books⁴. By granting him access to these texts, the monastery helped Sayegh cultivate a deep appreciation for calligraphy. This appreciation of the visual aspect of language led him to pursue an art history degree from the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris.

Sayegh’s formal education in the visual arts and his vast experience in writing set him up for a career as an art critic. After returning from Paris, he began writing for several renowned newspapers and journals in the Middle East, such as Lissan Al-Hal newspaper and Finoun Arabia, particularly from age 23 till the age of 35. This legitimacy gained through critical publication helped the young writer publish his first book of poems Maqam al-Qaws wa Ahwal Al-Sahm in 1980. In this period of the early 1980s, Sayegh also held his first exhibition of calligraphic works at Galerie Alisar, in Beirut. While consistently holding such exhibitions and writing works of criticism throughout the 1980s, he worked on a book about Islamic aesthetics, titled Islamic Art: A Reading into its Philosophy and Aesthetic, eventually publishing it in 1988.

In 1991, Sayegh became a member of the Sursock Art Museum Jury, a duty which he still serves, establishing him as a robust and important figure in the Lebanese cultural and intellectual spheres. Two years later, this robustness was further reinforced when he became a lecturer at the American University of Beirut's graphic design department.

Graphic design plays a unique role in Sayegh’s oeuvre and general conception of calligraphy. It is emblematic of both his relationship with form and his relationship to history, respectively. Graphic design is a practical medium, attempting to communicate ideas clearly through an aesthetic pleasing visual means⁵. Sayegh, however, does not believe that  calligraphy, an essential component of graphic design⁶, can improve comprehension of language or the clarity of the content that language presents. Sayegh sees calligraphy as a purely aesthetic visual art⁷. More specifically, he views his work as a retinal aestheticization of language, as occurring in the eye, rather than in thought. He explains,

“There is an art which is conceived by the mind, and there is an art which is conceived by the eye. Calligraphy is for the eye”.

This primacy of form over content also explains Sayegh’s use of subject matter. He seems to select simple expressive words. The two works Houwa, 2014 and Hiya, 2014, part of the Ramzi and Saeda Dalloul Art Foundation (DAF), represent two very basic and core words in the Arabic language that mean “he” and “her”, respectively. The pieces are dominated by sweeping, bold black and soft lavender strokes that form fluid, ribbon-like shapes against a stark white background. Sayegh’s strokes applied with a wooden calligraphy pen, vary in thickness and intensity, reflecting the alternating pressure of the artist’s hand. Nonetheless, the focus is on a simple calligraphic word. This is a tendency that exists in his work in other pieces like Hob, 2016, which means love, or Ya2 Alef, 2014, which is named after two similar-looking letters in the Arabic language. Sayegh’s art is more about exhibiting the different manners of calligraphy. The blander the content of the writing, the more focus is placed on the style, and the more the form is able to take center stage, as previously mentioned.

Sayegh’s work occurs in a space of tension between the past and the present, between modernity and tradition⁸. He considers the profession of the modern graphic designer as an evolution of the disappeared profession of the type designer, who would inscribe newspaper fonts by hand. In the same breath, he has referred to his work as the return to a tradition of Arabic calligraphy, and as a modernization of that very tradition. He is just as obsessed with classical ways of producing calligraphy, even those of ancient Japan and China⁹, as he is with breaking their established rules of the practice.

This idea of breaking pre-existing rules of calligraphy in the second half of the 20^th century was a staple of the principles of the Hurufiyya movement¹⁰ – an artistic movement that sought to integrate traditional Islamic calligraphy with contemporary abstract art forms. It emerged among Arab artists such as Ibrahim El-Salahi, Nasser Assar, and to an extent Samir Sayegh¹¹, though he kept his distance from it as well¹². These artists, particularly Sayegh, were just as influenced by Quranic and Kufic script, as they were by modern art.

One can see the influence of modern art by the extent to which Sayegh’s letters are abstracted, almost beyond recognition. Abstraction is one of modern art’s central tendencies, and Sayegh makes full use of it, as articulated by philosopher Nader El-Bizri¹³. This abstraction comes in spite of the fact that Sayegh’s letters are well-defined ¹⁴ and differentiated from their often-monochromatic background. This results from Sayegh’s technical method which involves using giant, felt-wrapped pens, some as large as 35 cm, to draw wide acrylic or ink lines on paper or fabric. The result is a collection of strong, dynamic letters.

Sayegh’s dynamic lettering, simplicity, and unique relationship with modernity mark him as a visionary artist, who both preserved a tradition and pushed it forward. Today, Samir Sayegh resides and works in Beirut, a city that has witnessed his unwavering commitment to reshaping the boundaries of calligraphy and modern Arab art.

Edited by Wafa Roz & Elsie Labban

Notes

¹ “Samir Sayegh,” Atassi Foundation, accessed November 27, 2023,  www.atassifoundation.com 

² Saleh Barakat, Encountering Samir Sayegh, other, Http://Muraqqa.Org/Samir-Sayegh.Html, 2009 

³ “Samir Sayegh - Saleh Barakat,” Salehbarakatgallery.com, accessed November 26, 2023,
salehbarakatgallery.com 

⁴ Jim and Jim, “The St. Saviour Monastery (Lebanon) Digitalization Project,” Zwinglius Redivivus, April 25, 2012, zwingliusredivivus

⁵ Gareth David, “Do Graphic Designers Need an Art Background?,” Gareth David Studio Blog, October 5, 2020, garethdavidstudio.co

⁶ “Calligraphy in Graphic Design,” John Stevens Calligraphy, April 8, 2020, johnstevensdesign 

⁷ معرض الخط العربي للفنان سمير صايغ, YouTube (Future TV, 2014),

⁸ The New Epistles with Samir Sayegh, YouTube (Dar El-Nemir, 2021),

⁹ “Jordan National Gallery to Host Lebanese Artist Sayegh’s Solo Exhibition,” Jordan Times, March 6, 2023,

https://jordantimes.com/news/local/jordan-national-gallery-host-lebanese-artist-sayeghs-solo-exhibition#google_vignette/.

¹⁰ “Hurufiyya: Art & Identity,” Barjeel Art Foundation, November 12, 2017, https://www.barjeelartfoundatiom.com 

¹¹ “Hurufiyya Movement,” Academic Accelerator, accessed November 27, 2023, https://academic-accelerator.com

¹² Saleh Barakat, Encountering Samir Sayegh, other, Http://Muraqqa.Org/Samir-Sayegh.Html, 2009.

¹³ Nader El-Bizri, The Art of Arabic Letters Symposium on the Oeuvres of Samir Sayegh (CENTER FOR ARAB &
MIDDLE EASTERN STUDIES, 2014).

¹⁴ Abigail Leali et al., “Samir Sayegh,” MutualArt, November 24, 2023, www.mutualart.com 

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