The Hebrew Letter – a Calligrapher’s Journey

with Izzy Pludwinski

Join us for a peek into a personal journey through the ancient scribal traditions and the world of modern calligraphy.

The Hebrew aleph-bet (technically an abjad) is one of the oldest alphabets in existence. Paleographically perhaps 3000 years old; mystically the Hebrew letters existed before the creation of the world.

As the language of the Hebrew bible, it has a long, religious scribal tradition which is taken very seriously to this day, bound by hundreds of legal scribal requirements. It is also surrounded by mystical tradition with thousands of kabbalistic treatises being written on the secrets found within the Hebrew letter.

Izzy Pludwinksi is a calligrapher who started out as a simple Hebrew scribe and eventually branched out into the wider world of calligraphy as an art form, separate from all the legal requirements of the religious scribe. This lecture will venture into both worlds, touching on mysticism, calligraphic rhythms, typography, and perhaps even a bit of Zen, all leading to the writing of the book The Beauty of the Hebrew Letter.

Letterform Lectures are a public aspect of the Type West postgraduate program. The series is co-presented by the San Francisco Public Library, where events are free and open to all.