Denis Brown
here with my calligraphy news for December 2011. I'm afraid this is also my only chance to send a Christmas message this year due to total commitment to the exciting news below, so let me first wish you best Season's Greetings!
Just published:
The key module explaining "Polyrhythmic Calligraphy" is now online at Calligraphy.TV and available to all who have pre-ordered my forthcoming multi DVD set "Italic Rhythm to Polyrhythm: Expanding Writing Dynamics"
Over 100 minutes of new educational video, the making of which I'm proud to say has advanced my own game as an educator, just as I'm sure it may significantly advance your understanding of calligraphy. I hope it may ultimately deepen understanding of rhythm in the field of calligraphy. Scroll down for images and more information.
Screen shot of me presenting, practically inside enlarged flying pen-strokes!
Advance, one step at a time.
Earlier modules of the program laid the groundwork for the new module. (Those are also available online right now to those who pre-order the DVD set). They offer detailed coaching on advanced pen techniques that are further developed and applied in the new module. There's lots of advanced skills demonstrated which will require time to practice, but in this new module there is an overall philosophy independent of high skills and even a movie called "A Way with Less Skill: An Antidote to your Fears!" In that, I make a work with automatic pens and use basic skills, avoiding fast pen manipulations. There is a continual emphasis that you do not need to write with my dynamics, but by seeing them may be inspired to increase your own, one step at a time and as you are able.
Link 1: Watch the Calligraphy.TV sample movies.
If either of the two versions of the trailer movie play well on your system, then so should all the content. These trailers are presented exactly as the full program is, both online and as it will be on DVD.
Link 2: Subscription and pre-ordering info.
The program as a whole is outlined at www.calligraphy.tv, below are notes on the new module.
Still from live video: mixing 24 carat shell gold for application to the work illustrated below.
When will DVDs be shipping?
I originally suggested that the whole program would be complete by now, but there is more to be done. (Even though I have completed more hours of content than originally planned for the whole program, 6.5 hours already!) It is likely to be Spring at least before I can deliver DVD sets. The program has become bigger and deeper than I anticipated and is a huge investment of my time and money, being self-funded apart from pre-orders and subscriptions.
One of several new works made live in the program, the large writing here was brush-written.
New works made live, from start to finish.
The new module includes several calligraphy works which were filmed from start to finish. Every pen-stroke is captured, with close-ups of breath-taking dynamics in writing. That's just the beginning. A disastrous ink-blotch was not edited out but candidly revealed, as well as how I erased it with surgical blades. Extremely dynamic writing with pen and brush is included, in black, in white, in colors and with 24 carat shell gold. Composition is discussed, as it is improvised at the moment of writing, and also my later re-thinking caught live on camera. Demonstrations illustrate clearly principles of rhythm I've derived from music and applied to calligraphy.
Still from an animated sequence illustrating the foundational word 'minimum' changing color across its 4 rhythmic elements, also enunciated with a vocal 'Tak-ke-Toom...' and accompanied by an ensemble of West African polyrhythmic percussion!
Enunciating rhythms in calligraphy?
Have you ever thought about how cadence in spoken words might affect the rhythm of writing them? Diminuendo? Crescendo? I even suggest enunciating calligraphic rhythms as South Indian percussionists do. You do not need to be a musician to quickly comprehend terminology that I adapt. After live writing, video animations over the calligraphy reveal relationships with a 'wow' factor that no book can emulate. The video presentation makes it so easy to understand rhythmic relationships that you may in retrospect be amazed how you never considered them before! I present a rhythmic vocabulary that is easy to understand yet may change your way of looking at calligraphy and beyond.
In filming as in calligraphy, It's all about focus...
From copying to performing.
The program has advanced from a process that began with copying italic letters to a stage where the calligraphy is more of a performance. It may still be helpful to copy some of my demonstrations but at this stage they are more examples than exemplars: my personal approach to inspire and encourage your own.
I candidly explain the logic of every stroke as it is made, revealing that while rhythm is partly based on feeling, a consciousness of the formal repetitions may elevate the work beyond that of the many calligraphers who largely miss this aspect.
Close-up of wet gouache, and the final demo below. "sWordsman".
Mind-blowing?
I'm afraid that this may at first blow the minds of viewers, which is in itself is not the object of an educational program. However I believe that after recovery from first experience of mind-numbing pen movements (that appear so "free" yet are combined with rational explanation of each move as a logical decision); I believe repeated watching may re-open your mind with an expanded view of what is possible.
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Apple's iPad with its flat 9" screen may be the coolest way to watch calligraphy.tv right at your calligraphy table. PC and Mac computers will play higher definition versions of the movies but please note: TV/DVD players will NOT play these movies which are higher definition than SDTV. However even an iPhone with wi-fi may replay videos right at your calligraphy table. On release, the DVD set will ship with 12 glossy demonstration sheets in protective sleeves for you to work from.
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Availability
Get unlimited online access now by pre-ordering the DVD set. Pay by credit card securely via PayPal, or alternatively e-mail me to enquire about paying by check in US$, Euro or GB£. This module is not on offer as an independent subscription as earlier modules have been. (95% of my buyers have opted for the full DVD pre-order and that is certainly the best value as it also gives unlimited online access to all modules and parts of modules that are complete until the DVD sets are shipped.) Those who have subscribed to earlier modules may request to upgrade to a full pre-order and claim a discount equal to the subscription price already paid. Just e-mail me your request.
Link 1: Watch the Calligraphy.TV sample movies.
If either of the two versions of the trailer movie play well on your system, then so should all the content. These trailers are presented exactly as the full program is, both online and as it will be on DVD. You will need up-to-date Flash or Quicktime software, both are free downloads, click either word to access a direct link.
Link 2: Subscription and pre-ordering info.
The program as a whole is outlined at www.calligraphy.tv
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