Arabic letters as a formative element in contemporary murals in the Arab world and their role in preserving heritage and identity

Abstract

Arabic calligraphy has always been one of the most important elements of plastic art creativity in the various types of visual arts. The Arabic letters are in themselves a plastic creation, and it has its philosophy, organic rhythms and meanings, and is distinguished by its versatility in formation and the possibility of formulating it in multiple ways, allowing the artist to express movement and mass according to aesthetic systems.This research is concerned with emphasizing the value of Arabic letters as an Arab cultural heritage that should be preserved, developed and employed in the fields of plastic arts design in general and in the art of mural painting in particular. As the art of mural painting is one of the oldest visual arts that record and reflect the features and aspects of the life of human societies throughout history. Mural painting is distinguished in our time as an exit to art outside the boundaries of exhibitions and museums in a way that makes it more related to the recipient audience, which puts on the wall photographer a greater challenge, which is to improve the artistic sense of the recipient and preserving heritage and enhancing identity.This research deals with the study of forming with Arabic letters in contemporary murals in some countries of the Arab world such as Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco. Which were implemented with different techniques of mural painting techniques such as: mosaic - painting on ceramic tiles - modern colors. And which took place with the support of the ministries of culture, Arab universities, and civic cultural and artistic institutions in an effort to preserve heritage and identity.Some of those murals relied on employing letters as an element of the composition of the mural in a legible manner according to the rules of writing, but most contemporary murals in the Arab world that relied on calligraphy were not related to the linguistic content, meaning that they were illegible to emphasize the potential of Arabic letters and their ability to renew and keep pace Global modernity in mural painting.

Keywords

• arabic letters
• mural painting
• heritage and identity
• calligraffiti