page_title: Hurufiyya movement
section_title: Evolution of hurufiyya
hierarchical_section_title: Hurufiyya movement / Brief history and philosophy / Evolution of hurufiyya
caption_attribution_description: العربية: نصب اشعار بغداد، ساحة الشيخ احمد الوائلي، العطيفية، بغداد، العراق
context_page_description: The Hurufiyya movement is an aesthetic movement that emerged in the second half of the twentieth century amongst Middle Eastern and North African artists, who used their understanding of traditional Islamic calligraphy within the precepts of modern art. By combining tradition and modernity, these artists worked towards developing a culture specific visual language, which instilled a sense of national identity in their respective nation states, at a time when many of these states where shaking off colonial rule and asserting their independence. They adopted the same name as the Hurufi, an approach of Sufism which emerged in the late 14th–early 15th century. Art historian Sandra Dagher has described Hurufiyya as the most important movement to emerge in Arabic art in the 20th century.
context_section_description: Art historians have identified three generations of hurufiyya artists:
  First generation: The pioneers, who inspired by the independence of their nations, searched for a new aesthetic language that would allow them to express their nationalism. These artists rejected European techniques and media, turning to indigenous media and introducing Arabic calligraphy into their art. For this group of artists, Arabic letters are a central feature of the artwork. First generation artists include: the Jordanian artist, Princess Wijdan Ali, the Sudanese artist, Ibrahim el-Salahi; the Iraqi artists, Shakkir Hassan Al Sa'id, Jamil Hamoudi and Jawad Saleem; the Lebanese painter and poet, Etel Adnan and the Egyptian artist, Ramzi Moustafa (b. 1926).
  Second generation: Artists, most of whom live in exile, but reference their traditions, culture and language in their artworks. The artist, Dia Azzawi is typical of this generation.
  Third generation:  Contemporary artists who have absorbed international aesthetics, and who employ Arabic and Persian script occasionally. They deconstruct the letters, and use them in a purely abstract and decorative manner. The work of Golnaz Fathi and Lalla Essaydi is representative of the third generation.
caption: Ashaar Baghdad (Baghdad's poetry) by Mohammed Ghani Hikmat. In this fountain, Arabic words taken from a poem by Mustafa Jamal El Din have been squeezed together to form the oval shape in an example of abstract calligraphy.
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