The museum’s birthday. Media Overview.

TV-Tsentr (TV-Center) TV-channel: The Contemporary Museum of Calligraphy has celebrated its birthday

The Contemporary Museum of Calligraphy has celebrated its first birthday. Among the presents there was one royal indeed. It is the World Famous Mezuzah listed into the Guinness World Records. It was created two years ago in Israel by Avraham Borshevsky, a famous Hebrew calligrapher. And now this masterpiece has moved to Moscow for good from a private Israeli collection.

But the largest mezuzah, traditionally comprising 700 characters from the Pentateuch should be kept in its case –it is strictly prohibited to take it out.

Alexey Shaburov, Director of the Contemporary Museum of Calligraphy,
“To write a mezuzah is a hard job. The master should possess special skills, and not everyone can make it. After it is written it should be checked by computer. It is a special sacred text with its own certificate. The letters should strictly fall in line with the canon, so they are also kosher, like traditional kosher Jewish meals and things like that.”

Traditionally a mezuzah scroll should be kept in a case on a door frame to the right in every Jewish household. It serves a protective charm for the dwellers of the household and bestows a blessing to any guest who touches it. The museum’s entrance couldn’t accommodate such a large canvas – 76x94 cm – thus it will be kept in a special showcase.

Among the scrolls and manuscripts there was another important present – the handwritten copy of the National Anthem of the Russian Federation. This folio was given to President Dmitry Medvedev by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi at this year’s G8 summit in L’Aquila.

Yevgeny Drobyazin, calligrapher (author of the handwritten copy of the National Anthem of the Russian Federation),
“It is really hard to work with Russian scripts for they have long been considered as of little practical use, the privilege of the learned few. For example, the Ostromirov Gospel was wholly painted, including letters, and not written.”
The museum is only one year old but it has already accumulated an impressive collection of over 1300 samples of Arab, Japanese, Slavic, Jewish, Korean calligraphy. Every handmade work is unique in its technique, though some of them were being created impromptu by Russian, Korean, Chinese masters accompanied by classical music. Today the World Famous Mezuzah and other chefs d’oeuvre were only available for 1 hour. You will be able to fully savour the art of calligraphy on October 14 – November 14, 2009 in Sokolniki at the world’s largest exhibition dedicated to calligraphy.

Kultura (Culture) TV channel: The Contemporary Museum of Calligraphy celebrating its first birthday

The Contemporary Museum of Calligraphy celebrating its first birthday

Today the Contemporary Museum of Calligraphy has celebrated its first birthday. The solemn ceremony opened with a live performance by calligraphers from Russia, China and Korea who were writing to the sounds of Beethoven and Shubert. Then the wide audience was presented a world-renowned sacred masterpiece – the World Famous Mezuzah. The art piece was created by Avraham Borshevsky, a famous Israeli calligrapher.

The mezuzah written by Avraham Borshevsky is at present the only calligraphic manuscript registered in the Guinness World Records. A mezuzah is a parchment scroll (often contained in a decorative case) inscribed with specified Hebrew verses from the Pentateuch. Mezuzahs are affixed to the doorframe of Jewish homes to fulfill the mitzvah (Biblical commandment) to inscribe the words of the Shema "on the doorposts of your house".

“The World Famous Mezuzah will be shown to the general public at the II International Exhibition of Calligraphy on October 14th, 2009,” said Alexey Shaburov, Director of the Contemporary Museum of Calligraphy. The exhibition will be held from October 14th to November 14th, 2009 in Moscow’s Sokolniki Museum-Educational Complex. Over 100 calligraphers from 33 countries take part in this project.

Another important clou of the evening was the handwritten copy of the National Anthem of the Russian Federation. The manuscript was created by a famous Russian calligrapher Yevgeny Drobyazin, and then illuminated by Barbara Calzolari, a world-known artist from Italy. This July the hand-made Russian anthem was presented to President Dmitry Medvedev by Silvio Berlusconi at G8 summit in L’Aquila.

According to Alexey Shaburov, the handwritten copy of the National Anthem of the Russian Federation and other masterpieces by Yevgeny Drobyazin will be shown at the II International Exhibition of Calligraphy together with the first handwritten copy of the Constitution of the Russian Federation”.

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Source: Contemporary Museum of Calligraphy