Biography of Asef AlefAsef Alef was born in Baghban Kocha in 1956. He studied at Amani Highschool. He has 5 sisters and 8 brothers. He was the 5th child. His father only had one wife. His father was the General Director of the Municipality of Kabul. (This means there was a section within Kabul he was responsible for.) When he was in grade one, and first saw the books at school, he saw calligraphy for the first time. He was about 7. His father encouraged his son's interest in learning to draw calligraphy. When he was 12, Alef received the first position among the students of Afghanistan in calligraphy in a natonal competition. The competition was between all schools in Afghanistan. Ustad Azizudin Wakhili Popalzaiy was a famous calligrapher artist. He was known as Popalzaiy and is of the generation before Brezhna. He was the oldest artist in calligraphy and miniatures. Popalzaiy was the judge of the art contest, and awarded Asef Alef with the prize. The painting Alef won in the contest that day may still be at the Ministry of Education today. Back then, he won 100 Afghani (like 10,000 Afs today - about $200 now). Alef finished at Amani Highschool. He went to Kabul University – he studied at the Faculty of Education. He didn’t have interest in fine art, but to teach chemistry and biology. He received his BS degree. When he was 14 he started his training with Ustad Husseinee. By the time he started at Kabul University, he had finished his training with Mr. Saied Mohmd Daud Husseinee. Mr. Hussainee was a master calligrapher. Alef was able to study with him for 2 years. It was with Mr. Hussainee he began to learn Islamic miniature art. He also studied with different masters for about 1.5 years, for example, Mr. Honerjo, Ustad Roohane, and Mr. Samatkhan. After that he developed an interest to learn about classical art painting. Now he mainly works in calligraphy and Islamic miniature. Interviewer Is Calligraphy always Quoranic? "No, it started in what is known as modern day Iraq, when it was Assyrian. It was the Sumer civilization when calligraphy began. This is before Islam. Calligraphy was a means of earning income for me after university. Sometime I wrote the advertising boards, shop signs, and billboards. I started to sell calligraphy art and paintings. I taught 6-7 years in Almani Highschool in chemistry and biology. What mosques in Kabul have you painted? The first mosque I painted was Abdulhadi Dawi Mosque in Mondai. It was in front of my old house. I have to go back in my story. I had a shop in the Jad-e-Walayat near to where Ismael and Rabani's studio is now. I was designing using twelve printing presses for calligraphy, miniatures. I was at the store when the grandson of Mr. Ghakfar Dawiee, grandson of Shukria, came and offered this job painting at the mosque. I have also painted the Shaw-e-Du-Sham-Shera mosque, the Shaw-e-Du-Sham-Shera Tom the front side of the mosque), the Abdul Hadi-Davi Mosque, and now the Haji Abdul Rakhman Mosque. I have been working at the Abdul Rakhman mosque for about a year. What is your opinion on who the other master calligraphers are in Afghanistan? 1. Kamaruddin Cheshti 2. Munir Paiykan 3. Ismael Seddiqi 4. Abdul Shukoor Faquiree 5. Abdul Khadi Fahim 6. Nyatulullah Hanif 7. Mr. Attayi 8. Karim Donesh 9. Hafifa-jan – she is dead now. Tell me about calligraphy as if I do not know anything about it. There are 7 types of Islamic Calligraphy, which is not all Arabic: 1. Solza Mohaqueq – for mosques and walls – started in Turkey 2. Solza Motanzer Raihan – used for mosques 3. Deewonee – used for King's palaces (Dewon means the palace for the king) from this area 4. Nastaleeq – used as sample for people the most beautiful writing is from Iran 5. Shekesta – means "Broken." Used in old times for writing of books 6. Kofi – very straight – used for getting some ideas from Assyrian times. It is the first calligraphy of Islam, used for judges offices and writing books. 7. Naskh – used for Koran writing and is from Baghdad Describe your work at the Haji Abdul Rakhman Mosque. All of my writing in the Abdul Rakhman mosque is Solz-e-Mohaqueq. It has 14 small domes, 1 big dome and 4 medium sizes. The big one will take at least 6 months. I have finished all the others, working standing up. How did you decide which colors and design to use for that mosque? Because of the background in the mosque, and the coloring of the outside tile, when I saw all that, I decided upon which colors I would use for the inside art. Who is paying for the construction of the mosque? The son of Haji Abdul Rakhman is paying for the construction of the mosque, including Mr. Alef for his calligraphy art. There is an engineer who is overseeing the entire project. The entire project is Afghan - there are no foreign monies coming in What would you like to tell the world about Afghan art? I am trying to preserve it, to increase it, and to show it. I am happy one of my older sons has an interest in art, so we may see his art in public one day. I have been an illustrator in the first election of Afghanistan. I am the Afghan Refugees Book Artist, I was the calligrapher in books written by Mr. Shabnon Gaznawi. I have done exhibitions in Afghanistan. I left during the Taliban years. During that time, I had 200 students I trained through donations from the UN. In 2005, Mr. Sediqi had this to say about Mr. Alef (quoted from WOLESI JIRGA & PROVINCIAL COUNCIL ELECTIONS AFGHANISTAN 2005): "As an art teacher at Amani High School, Sediqi recalls one student who stood out – Mr. Asef Alef. "Alef was in my fifth class at Amani," Sediqi recalls. "He was very talented then and is even better now." Return from Asef Alef bio to Home New! 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