The past, present and future of traditional arts in our words
Ottoman master Necmeddin Okyay was known as hezarfen (he who practices a thousand arts). He was a master calligrapher, hafiz (memorized the Quran), bookbinder, Ebru artist, botanist, master archer and among other skills. In our times, it is difficult enough to master one art, imagine not only learning but mastering that many different arts.
Benjamin Franklin once said, “energy and persistence conquers all things.” If there is a calligrapher that embodies those words, Shahryanshah Sirajuddin is one. We begin a new year of artist profiles with someone whose determination and love of calligraphy brought him to Turkey, all the way from Indonesia. His sincere journey to learn the art of calligraphy is an inspiration for us living in the west where classes and teachers are not so readily available. His story teaches us that with persistence and energy any creative skill, not matter how overwhelming, can be learned.
In his book, Outliers, pop psych writer Malcolm Gladwell said it takes approximately 10,000 hours of “deliberate practice” to achieve mastery in any field. Now this may or may not apply to every discipline, but in my opinion extended hours of practice is certainly needed in fields like art, music and sports. So, how long would it take to master roughly 16 different skills?
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