Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 19. Fatma Alabdullaziz: the meaning of the images on the playing cards (© 2012, F. Alabdul-
laziz. Used with permission)
played with the cards. Playing cards are usually
designed for a specific, sometimes broad group
of people. Many times decks of cards serve some
special occasions, are used as event related promo-
tional materials distributed at conferences, or are
designed with a specific leading theme in mind.
For example, newspapers in the 2000s presented
illustrations showing the most wanted Al-Qaida
terrorists as particular cards in a deck, followed
by announcements in newspapers informing for
example, that a jack was caught). This metaphor
puts the idea of a game, almost on the brink of
hunting, often referred as a sport in relation to
the game animals.
Other times cards are designed with an
educational frame of mind, showing cultural or
historical information, travel attractions, plants,
emphasizing national values, or images and pat-
terns characteristic of particular culture. Cards
designed by some producers such as Piatnik
(Wiener Spielkartenfabrik Ferdinand Piatnik &
Söhne) have traditionally been especially valued.
Below are two designs of the decks of cards
created by my students taking a “Digital Illus-
tration” course. First project (Figure 19a, b, c)
displays rich semiotic content by merging card
design with the QR codes; it shows Islamic cultural
icons presented as playing cards. The author of
this project describes the meaning of the images.
In Figure 19a, calligraphy gives a visible form
to the revealed word of the Qur'an and is therefore
considered the most noble of the arts. It manages
to combine a geometric discipline with a dynamic
rhythm. Interestingly, none of its many styles, cre-
ated in different places at different periods, has
ever completely fallen into disuse. In the Islamic
world it takes the place of iconography, being
widely used in the decorative schemes of buildings.
In Figure 19b, Kufic is the oldest calligraphic
form of the various Arabic scripts and consists
of a modified form of the old Nabataean script.
Its name is derived from the city of Kufa, Iraq,
although it was known in Mesopotamia at least
100 years before the foundation of Kufa. At the
time of the emergence of Islam, this type of script
was already in use in various parts of the Arabian
Peninsula. It was in this script that the first copies
of the Qur'an were written.
Figure 19c shows Islamic calligraphy, also
known as Arabic calligraphy, is the artistic practice
of handwriting, or calligraphy, and by extension,
of bookmaking, in the lands sharing a common
Islamic cultural heritage. This art form is based
on the Arabic script, which for a long time was
used by all Muslims in their respective languages.
They used it to represent God because they de-
nied representing God with images. Calligraphy
is especially revered among Islamic arts since it
was the primary means for the preservation of the
Qur'an. Suspicion of figurative art as idolatrous
led to calligraphy and abstract depictions becom-
ing a major form of artistic expression in Islamic
cultures, especially in religious contexts. The work
of calligraphers was collected and appreciated.
