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Speaker Details

Dr

Bahia   Shehab

PhD Candidate, Leiden University


Egypt


Biography:

Bahia Shehab is Teaching Associate at the American University in Cairo lecturing on Islamic Art & Architecture and Graphic Design. She is a PhD candidate at Leiden University in Holland. Her research is focused on Fatimid Kufic inscriptions on portable items in the Mediterranean basin and beyond. Her MA thesis entitled "Floriated Kufic on the Monuments of Fatimid Cairo" received the Nadia Niazi Thesis Award at AUC in 2009. Bahia is also a Creative Director/Partner at MI7-Cairo working on projects relevant to cultural heritage. Her design work has been on display in UAE, China, Germany, and Italy. She is an advisory board member for the Khatt Foundation in Amsterdam since 2009. Her book "A Thousand Times NO: The Visual History of Lam-Alif" was published in 2010 by Khatt Books in Holland.


Presentation Abstract:

The Story of a Letter: Tracing the History of Lam-alif: In Arabic to confirm refusal, denial and rejection we say “No, and a thousand times No”. This sentence started my quest for a thousand Nos (lam-alifs) from all over the Arab world, ancient and new, from Spain to India, through different periods in history. I looked for calligraphy on minarets, mosques, robes, urns, coins, palaces, holy books, and eating plates. Anything constructed, molded, woven, stitched, scripted, printed or engraved under Arab patronage for the past 1400 years. Bringing these thousand lam-alifs together from different countries and different mediums, by different patrons and calligraphers became a clear testament to the visual richness of the Arabic script and the monumental task we still have ahead of us as Arab designers to rise to the expectations of our predecessors. A lam-alif historically is quite a troublesome letter. Today it reflects the spirit that is rocking the Arab world from the Atlantic ocean to the Arabia sea. The Arab people have finally decided to say NO, millions of times over. Previously, linguists could not agree whether it is two letters or just one. A logical linguist would tell you it is made up of two letters, a lam and an alif. A romantic linguist would tell you when these two letters met they melted into one, like two lovers that cannot be torn apart, they are pronounced “la”, thus they have acquired the right to be called the twenty-ninth letter of the Arabic alphabet. This paper will highlight the development of the shape of the lam-alif in different key moments in history. The aim is to see to what extent did the medium control the message or vice versa. Also, through this one letter, we will hopefully be able to see our shortcomings as a civilization in the development of our script and its adaptation into the printing press and finally into the digital world.


Status: Confirmed