The 42nd Meeting of Art Research was held in Kamal-ol-Molk Museum.
The meeting was in fact the fifth of its kind to honor a calligrapher and paid homage to Master Mohammad Vali Kimia-Qalam.
Nasrollah Afjei, senior calligrapher, Nasser Javaheroiur, Hassan Hamedi, Tandis magazine director, and a group of calligraphy artists attended the meeting, reported YJC.
Earlier, tributes were paid to Hossein Mirkhani, Mirza Yadollah Sojudi and Valiyollah Parvaz, all well-known calligraphers.
Nasser Javaherpour, Kimia-Qalam’s disciple said the master “had a great sense of humor and nothing really angered him.”
He was initially a merchant but was well familiar with various crafts and “I am certain that he would have been an eminent satirist if he had not chosen calligraphy.”
Frames Without Works
Javaherpour explained about learning nail-calligraphy from Kimia-Qalam: “Once I was at his house and saw many picture frames without any work in them. I found out about his style of nail-calligraphy when I asked about the empty frame.”
“They are not empty but done with nails”, the master said. He then drew a bird with his nails which I have with me to this day, Javaherpour noted.
Afjei also narrated some memories of Kimia-Qalam.
Exhibition
Later, an exhibition from calligraphy works of Kimia-Qalam along with the works of Abdoljabbar Khamsei (Meshkin Qalam) was inaugurated in one of the museum galleries.
Kimia-Qalam was born in Zanjan in 1898. He started studying in a Maktab (or Maktabkhaneh: traditional elementary school) in 1903 and 10 years later, in 1913, obtained a certificate in calligraphy from Master Khamsei.
He picked Kimia-Qalam as his last name in 1926.
The master passed away in April 1967.
