I am joined by Everitte Barbee, an American artist based in the Middle East to discuss Arabic calligraphy as both an art and science, as well as explore his own pieces of art. The aniconic tradition of Islam required artists to place less of an emphasis on human forms and thus to find creative forms of expression through calligraphy using the Arabic language and geometric patters. Centuries of this artistic practice has yielded a distinct style for the region and had implications for the development of Arabic script.  

Born in Nashville, Tennessee in 1988, Everitte finished his Masters in International Business and Arabic at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. He currently lives in Beirut, Lebanon where he continues to research and develop his skills as a calligrapher and artist, as well as improving his Arabic language skills.  Although he has had a passion for the arts from a young age, he did not begin studying Arabic calligraphy until he travelled to the Middle East. He learned to write the Ruq’a, Diwani, Square Koufik and Diwani Jali script from the master calligrapher Adnan Farid whilst living in Damascus, Syria in 2009.  

Everitte has been featured on Al Jazeera [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJDBgZZtHm4] and BBC Extra Arabic [https://www.bbc.com/arabic/tv-and-radio-59748457] as well as several other prominent publications in the Middle East.  

To explore more or Everitte's work, commission projects, or purchase prints, visit his website: https://everitte.org 

#Art #Arabic #Calligraphy