Words Made Flesh: Incarnational, Multisensory Exegesis in Donald Jackson's Biblical Art

This essay explores the potential of calligraphy for engaging sacred text through an analysis of two works by Donald Jackson, British calligrapher and creator of The Saint John's Bible. Closely situating these works in the contexts of the twentieth-century Roman-alphabet calligraphy revival, in...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Homrighausen, Jonathan (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Brill [2019]
In: Religion and the arts
Year: 2019, Volume: 23, Issue: 3, Pages: 240-272
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Jackson, Donald 1938- / Bible / Chrysographie / Calligraphy
IxTheo Classification:CE Christian art
HA Bible
Further subjects:B The Saint John's Bible
B Visual Exegesis
B Donald Jackson
B iconic text
B Calligraphy
B gilding
B chrysography
Online Access: Volltext (Resolving-System)
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Description
Summary:This essay explores the potential of calligraphy for engaging sacred text through an analysis of two works by Donald Jackson, British calligrapher and creator of The Saint John's Bible. Closely situating these works in the contexts of the twentieth-century Roman-alphabet calligraphy revival, in Jackson's own career, in his own writings on calligraphy, and in the context of his medieval predecessors, reveals not only a visual but a multisensory exegesis of scripture through reading, seeing, hearing, touching, and moving. Through his use of lettering and gilding to engage many different sensory modalities, Jackson's works exemplify the Bible's role as an iconic text in which script becomes image. Theologically, they embody an incarnationality revealing the spirit of the scribe and the Spirit inspiring the scribe.
ISSN:1568-5292
Contains:Enthalten in: Religion and the arts
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1163/15685292-02303003