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Mahmoud Taha () (born 1942) is a
Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...
ian artist,
potter A potter is someone who makes pottery. Potter may also refer to: Places United States *Potter, originally a section on the Alaska Railroad, currently a neighborhood of Anchorage, Alaska, US *Potter, Arkansas *Potter, Nebraska *Potters, New Jerse ...
and ceramicist noted for integrating calligraphy into his ceramics and is regarded as the leading ceramicist in the Arab world.


Life and career

Mahmoud Taha was born in
Jaffa Jaffa (, ; , ), also called Japho, Joppa or Joppe in English, is an ancient Levantine Sea, Levantine port city which is part of Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, located in its southern part. The city sits atop a naturally elevated outcrop on ...
in 1942. He studied at Baghdad College of Fine Arts where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1968. He then went on to study calligraphy with the renowned calligrapher Mohammad Al-Hafez. He later continued his training in ceramics at Cardiff College of Arts in Wales, graduating in 1976. On his return to Jordan, he established a studio specialising in ceramics, ceramic sculpture and calligraphy. In 1966, his arts professor, Kadhim Haydar, advised the young artist to use Arabic calligraphic elements in some of his works, since the professor had noticed Taha's talent for calligraphy. According to Taha, "this piece of advice opened the door to a new stage in my work, in which I experimented with the Kufic script of different historical periods... nd subsequentlyThuluth script and elements of Islamic ornamentation." He is also credited with improving the writing and
calligraphy Calligraphy () is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instruments. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "the art of giving form to signs in an e ...
skills of many students in Jordanian schools. He has been described as the "leading ceramicist in the Arab world." Taha became one of the first contemporary artists to use calligraphy as a graphic element in his work, and thus pioneered the Hurufiyah art movement which combines traditional art forms in innovative ways. His work has been described in the following terms; "Taha molds the clay of his native soil into full, smooth vessels that not only maintain an ancient tradition but also explores an innovative combination of textures, glazes and forms. In Taha's work, the viewer may trace the natural hues of his ancient heritage."


Work

Taha produces small ceramic discs or plates as well as very large murals. His ceramic work is featured in the permanent collection of the Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts in Amman and in the Majida Mouasher Collection, a collection devoted to contemporary artworks. Selected exhibitions * ''The Right to Write,'' Jordan National Gallery, 1996 * ''Contemporary Arab Artists,'' Darat Al Funun, 1997 * ''Pioneers of Jordan,'' Darat Al Funun, 1999 * ''Between Legend and Reality: Modern Art from the Arab World,'' Jordan National Art Gallery, 2002 * ''Memory,'' Gallery of Cairo Amman Bank, 2008 * ''The Tenth Maqama: Paper, Clay & Memory IV,'' Nabad Art Gallery, 2012 (solo exhibition) * ''Mahmoud Taha: Ceramicist,'' Cairo Amman Bank, 2013 (solo exhibition) * ''A Salute to Valantions,'' Orfali Gallery, Amman, 2013 Selected artworks * ''Nostalgia for Jerusalem,'' glazed ceramic, 60 X 84 cm, 1987 Ali, W., ''Modern Islamic Art: Development and Continuity,'' University of Florida Press, 1997, p. 100 * ''The Matyr,'' ceramic plate, date unknown * ''The Dome of the Rock,'' date unknown * ''Untitled Mural,'' 1999


See also

*
Islamic art Islamic art is a part of Islamic culture and encompasses the visual arts produced since the 7th century CE by people who lived within territories inhabited or ruled by Muslims, Muslim populations. Referring to characteristic traditions across ...
*
Islamic calligraphy Islamic calligraphy is the artistic practice of penmanship and calligraphy, in the languages which use Arabic alphabet or the Arabic script#Additional letters used in other languages, alphabets derived from it. It is a highly stylized and struc ...
*
Jordanian art Jordanian art has a very Ancient history, ancient history. Some of the earliest figurines, found at Aïn Ghazal, near Amman, have been dated to the Neolithic period. A distinct Jordanian aesthetic in art and architecture emerged as part of a bro ...
*
List of Jordanians The following is a list of notable people from Jordan: Academics * Ali H. Nayfeh * Rana Dajani * Ibrahim al-Kufahi * Lubna Tahtamouni * Eid Dahiyat * Zouhair Amarin Artists * Muhanna Al-Dura * George Aleef * Wijdan Ali * Mahmoud Taha * ...


References


Further reading

* Jonathan M. Bloom and Sheila S. Blair (eds), ''The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture,'' Volume 3, p. 363 * Sheila S. Blair, ''Islamic Calligraphy,'' Edinburgh University Press, 2006


External links


"Memory" exhibition in Jordan alert to the risks of Judaizing Jerusalem - aljazeera in arabic



Darat al Funun - News & Press Clips
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taha, Mahmoud 1942 births 20th-century Palestinian male artists 20th-century Palestinian artists Living people Muslim artists Jordanian artists Jordanian people of Palestinian descent 21st-century Palestinian male artists 21st-century Palestinian artists Palestinian Muslims