Figure 4 Hassan Musa’s poignant drawing of four hands holding pens, two in blank white and two in calligraphy, suggests the interface of calligraphy and writing. The drawing is from the inside cover of Patricia & Hassan Musa, Adam du Paradis (Grandir: 2005), a retelling of the story of the eleventh century scholar Abu Ishaq Ahmad Ibn Muhammed Ibn Ibrahim Al-Thaalabi


1. Handwriting—in general—becomes calligraphy when a writer intends to make calligraphy out of his written marks. Calligraphy is a question of desire. The motivation to make a well-written sign situates a writer in an attitude for research that is aesthetic and open-minded, in which he can create a sign that is aesthetically ‘better.’ Such a sign aims to attract, even seduce, the viewer’s gaze. To make a ‘ better’ sign, a writer must cultivate the material aspects of his practice.


These are: •Understanding the potential of his writing tools, that there is a special relationship


between these tools and writing; •Knowing how to handle these tools in relation to his body. Writing is a corporal


activity that involves a kind of applied choreography that is designed to realize a specific graphic order; •An awareness of the possibility of making pictures with cursive marks. Remembering


Performance and Persona • Hassan Musa | 147


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