The black marble lettering that graces the soaring Taj Mahal is a beautiful thing to behold. The Arabic calligraphy, transcribed from the Qur’an, is inscribed in long, swooping, stark black lines - a gorgeous contrast against the serene white marble. I was lucky enough to visit this wonder of the world, and when I did walk the calm grounds to the magnificent structure, the lettering struck me by far as my favorite part - perhaps with the exception of those viciously cute monkeys trawling the grounds.
Calligraphy is a beautiful art form that can be used expressively and beautifully in a mural. Though the Taj’s marble inlay isn’t widely identified as mural, it *is* a gorgeous form of art expressed upon a wall, as many murals can also be defined. The lettering on the Taj provides a profound and beautiful example of words used as art.
Extracting inspiration from the awesome world around us is integral to art-making. In that spirit, the art of the Taj inspires an array of images in my mind – of how murals offer a fantastic opportunity to use lettering expressively and even abstractly of various languages and alphabets.
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