A scribe is a person who copies out documents… A person employed

                               before printing was invented to make copies of documents, manuscripts...

 

                                                                   … As a verb scribe is: to write.

​

​

Tracing the Scribe is an artist’s book inspired by my fascination with the earliest forms of writing: illuminated manuscripts and, especially, the codices of early Islamic eras. One of the most beautiful ancient Qur'ans in the world

is known as the Blue Qur'an, which dates to the 9th-10th century, however the dating, location of origin, and patron of

the Blue Qur'an are unknown and have been the subject of academic debate. I have long marveled at its pages, written

with gold ink on indigo-dyed vellum and my book is a testament to its beauty, which stirred me to respond.

 

Approximately one hundred detached leaves from this Qur'an are held in private and public collections around the

world, including those of The Met, The Museum of Islamic Art, Qatar, LACMA, Yale Library, Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris, and the National Library in Tunis, which holds sixty-seven pages. The complete Blue Quran manuscript is estimated to include 600 parchment folios. Its production materials alone boggle the mind, including perhaps

150 sheepskins.

 

My book incorporates a section from one of my favorite lleaves within the Blue Qur'an, called Sura Al-Fatir. The graceful, almost abstract lines I copied in my own hand are in a script known as the Arabic Kufic script. I particularly love the

style and it’s thought that 7th century scribes were the ones to develop it, naming it after the city of Kufa located in present day Iraq.

 

I was inspired to copy this particular folio not only because the sinuous lines are so elegant, but also because its message is compelling and resonant for those of other religions. After some sleuthing, I’ve been able to identify the chapter and its verses. The work didn’t end there; the process of copying and recopying a page written by an ancient scribe - making it my own as an artist in the 21st century – all this has been a learning journey for me. Tracing his letters, I followed his hand while also adding my own touches. In doing this, I felt the sense of being one with the scribe. I find it amazing that someone like me, with an elementary level of classical Arabic education, can actually manage to read a 9th-10th century folio without special academic expertise!

 

For the overall design I chose the traditional Islamic book structure and complemented it by incorporating Arabesque ornamental motifs from around the 12th century. I also included an acetate overlay with what are called diacritical marks, which help us read the text correctly. Unless one already knows the passages by heart, it’s these red dots that help readers differentiate one Arabic letter from another and decipher the text.

 

My wish is for others to enjoy this artist’s book not just as a religious text, but in multi-dimensional ways: a work of art

in its own right, a vehicle to honor a scribe who lived some 1200 years ago, and a testament to the long arc of learning and creativity. This tradition stretches from those who lived before him to those who will be born after me. I dedicate

this book to those who preceded the printing press, the centuries of scribes, writers, and artists creating beautiful tablets, scrolls, manuscripts, codices, etc. It’s their copying, lettering, painting, illuminating, and binding that preserves our collective history and humanity. Their writing is posterity itself.