Square Word Calligraphy

Learn about the Square Word Calligraphy system that writes English words in a square format using Chinese. Xu Bing has designed a calligraphic system known as Square Word Calligraphy in which English words come to resemble Chinese characters. Like a linguistic breeder, the artist combines Chinese calligraphy with English writing to create a new "species".

Square Word Calligraphy Xu Bing continued to work with the written word after his move to the USA in 1990. After years of preparation, he created Square Word Calligraphy, which he often calls New English Calligraphy as he transforms English words nearly beyond recognition in the style of Chinese characters. The painting consists of two panels (a, b).

The first verse of Walt Whitman's "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry" written in "square word calligraphy," the hybrid writing form invented by the artist. This writing system consists of English words written with letters arranged in bunched stacks resembling Chinese characters, reading from top to bottom but left to right, using small red circles as periods. Square Word Calligraphy is a form of writing Xu Bing began developing in 1993, in which English is written to resemble Chinese characters.

This writing system highlights the interplay between Eastern and Western cultures, aligning with Hong Kong's vibrant cultural tapestry. Xu Bing developed the original Square Word Calligraphy system in 1994, which fused written English and Chinese by arranging the letters of English words into square shapes resembling Chinese characters. David Kelley later created a modified version in 2012 using a different Sino.

Square Word Calligraphy, developed by internationally recognized contemporary artist Xu Bing starting in 1993, is an innovative method of writing English by combining strokes in a structure similar to Chinese characters. In Square Word Calligraphy, Xu Bing has devised a method of writing English words in rectangular arrangements which resemble Chinese characters. A code of calligraphic script elements maps to the 26 Roman letters and a relatively simple set of rules for the composition of square words allow one to write English using Chinese calligraphic principles.

Xu Bing is a conceptual artist whose work often revolves around language, writing, and books. The book Square Word Calligraphy by Xu Bing in Reed's Special Collections consists of an instructional and copybook to teach the audience a kind of writing created by Xu Bing. The calligraphy looks like Chinese characters but is actually English.

Square Word Square Word provides instruction and practice space for the basic principles of New English Calligraphy, a fusion of written English and written Chinese invented and designed by artist Xu Bing. The letters of an English word are slightly altered and arranged in a square word format so that the word takes on the ostensible form of a Chinese character, yet remains legible to the.