“The Qur’an was Nazil in Mecca, Read in Egypt, Written in Istanbul”. Maryam Norouzi, award -winning calligraphy, settled in Istanbul because he thought that the center of line art in the sülüs and celi sülüs genre is Istanbul and wanted to perform his works more professionally. Norouzi, who has been living in Istanbul for 10 years and continued his work here, started his calligraphy with his family. We met with the artist on the occasion of the awards. We talked about his life and calligraphy. Before we go to our conversation, let’s get to know him briefly: “As a member of a family intertwined with art and culture, I was born in 1986 in Kirmanşah, Iran. I started to take care of the amateurish at the age of 10.
The center of this art is Istanbul
How and why did you come from Iran to Türkiye?
When I realized the necessity of coming to Istanbul in order to perform my studies more professionally, I made this decision. I have been living in Istanbul for 10 years. In particular, in the sülüs and sülüs type of calligraphy art, it is a fact that the line community of this art is the center of this art. Therefore, there are calligraphy candidates and calligraphers coming to Istanbul from around the world. A few years after coming to Istanbul, I started to participate in international competitions and received awards many times in the world’s most prestigious competitions on behalf of Türkiye. For example, I received twice the first prize in the “Sülûs” category in the Albaraka Turkish International Calligraphy Category, in the International Line Competition organized by IRCICA.
I started with the guidance of my family
What does calligraphy mean to you? How and when did you start line art?
Line art is a lifestyle for me. I grew up in a family with art. Therefore, it is not an exaggeration that this art is the most important element of my daily life. In other words, I can say that I integrated with art. I started calling calligraphy with the guidance of my family, and when I was 13, my works started to be exhibited. Reîsü’l-Khattat Hasan Çelebi teacher and my teacher Davut Bektaş’la met in this period.
Our President called me and congratulated me
What made you feel the award you received from the United Arab Emirates?
In the last three months, I was awarded the first prize in the Sülüs and Celi Sülüs categories in the Al-Rakîm international line competitions held in the United Arab Emirates in the United Arab Emirates. These awards have been important motivation for my work on put forward permanent works. Especially for me, it was a very valuable award for our President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to congratulate me.
Our teachers were guiding for us
Who do you know from master calligraphy artists and what do you think about them?
My teacher is Davut Bektaş. The contributions of my teacher about me to come to a place in this art are above all kinds of appreciation. The most important issue in the coming of this art to the present is the extraordinary work of the old calligraphers and the works that are guiding and guided for us. The calligraphers of these are Nazif Bey and Halim Efendi, whose favorite, impressed and felt closest to their schools. My biggest dream is to write a Holy Quran with its line. If I can realize this dream, I will move to the line literature as the first female calligrapher who writes the Holy Quran.
A large part of my day is writing
Are you happy in Istanbul, can you tell us how your life has passed here?
Yeah, I’m happy. Living in a city where you encounter a masterpiece related to calligraphy is the greatest desire of every calligrapher. A large part of my day is writing. When I want to relax, I visit either a museum or a mosque and try to examine and benefit from them.
