Aksharaya had a privelege of organising a talk Katharina Pieper, by one of the most popular calligraphers of Germany, Katharina Pieper.
A calligrapher, lettering artist, designer, teacher and editor, her work has been published not only in books and journals but she has also exhibited it all across the world. She also writes articles for different journals in Germany, England, Belgium, Austria and Switzerland.
In the first part of the session Katharina gave an overview of the origin and history of the Latin script. She also unveiled valuable information about the lineage of calligraphers in Germany and the history of various Calligraphy schools in the country. She explained further that originally these Calligraphy schools were founded as a counter movement to invention of printing. She then shared works of various renowned calligraphers, lettering artists and type designers from Germany including Paul Renner, Rudolf Koch, Anna Simons, Scheidler, Herman Zaph, Gudrun Zaph Von Hesse, Friedrich Poppl, Werner Schneider, Karlgeorg Hoefer, Hans Joachim Burgert, Gottfried Pott and many others. She also compared calligraphic styles from different epochs, which show similarities to architecture of the same epoch.
In the second part of the session Katharina showcased visuals of her professional works, personal works as well as some of her lectures and workshops conducted in the past. The highlight of the session was the various styles of her calligraphy work including publications from 1996 to 2011, calendars from 1999 to 2002, series of postcards, bookmarks, etc. which provided immense inspiration for one and all.
She then presented a demonstration of her calligraphy using the ruling pen. She beautifully stated that the tool is just an instrument and everything depends on the calligrapher’s expressions. The energy flowing in each artwork, each letterform has an expression and a reference to oneself. So, it is the thoughts and expressions that play a vital role here. She then concluded by appealing to the audience to always continue the practice of calligraphy and to keep the tools rolling in future.
You can view the works of Kathrina Pieper on www.schrift-kunst.de