Learning Calligraphy Without An Alphabet
Calligraphy is about writing beautiful letters. Based on an alphabet—a recognized, pre-determined set of characters. What if getting rid of letters could make you a better calligrapher? What can we learn from abstract expressionism, asemic writing, sculpture, and architecture? How can these practices inform our own calligraphic practice?
Drawing from a 100-day mark-making series and works with abstract calligraphy, Gui will present inspirations, references, and most of all, lessons learned. We will talk about what makes good calligraphy “good” beyond writing beautiful letters. And, hopefully, we’ll leave with a deeper understanding and appreciation of letters—no matter which alphabet.
Gui Menga (he/him) is a calligrapher and lettering artist working from São Paulo, Brazil. He began his learning journey in 2008 with Andrea Branco and Cláudio Gil, two of the most prominent calligraphy artists and teachers in Brazil. Since then, he has studied with some of the best lettering artists around, such as John Stevens, Julian Waters, Luca Barcellona, Martina Flor, Ale Paul and many others. Besides working with clients and brands to give voice to letters in advertising and design projects, he has been teaching lettering and calligraphy and sharing his knowledge on history and techniques of calligraphy since 2014.