9A Letters (work of art)
Artwork Info
Key Ideas
- This work is made up of nine sculptures made of cardboard and paper. All nine pieces are unpainted and similar in size. They are arranged in a line, which gives the composition unity.
- Each component is a letter represented as a three-dimensional form. Each letter represents one of nine alphabets that were used in Egypt. From left to right the letters represent the Hieroglyphic, Kufic, Coptic, Hieratic, Old Roman, Naskh, Demotic, Old Athens, and Modern alphabets.
- The number of letters (nine) is significant to ancient Egyptian systems of measurement, but the materials and forms look modern, like urban architecture.
Learn More
Artist El Mestikawy creates architecturally styled sculptures using recycled materials like cardboard, newspaper, and other paper scraps that were originally designed as product packaging for mass consumption. His work titled 9A Letters is a group of nine sculpted letterforms made from recycled cardboard and paper. Each letter (in this case, the letter A) represents the first letter of nine alphabets used in ancient Egypt. The number nine is also significant to ancient Egyptian history and systems of measurement; “nine arms” was a standard measure of length in ancient Egypt. The abstract, three-dimensional form of these letters further transforms each piece into a geometric object that goes beyond language and simple text.
tags: shape, rhythm, writing, change, communication, function, place, time, variation
Additional Resources
Resources for Teachers:
- Read an article about the artist.
- Look at more works by the artist.
- Read an interview with the artist.
Resources for Students:
- Learn about hieroglyphs.
- Read about the Rosetta Stone, which helped translate two of the alphabets El Mestikawy references in his sculpture.
Images
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9A Letters
sculptural rendering of the first letter of nine alphabets