Gottfried Pott – A Look into the World of Calligraphy

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Calligraphy has long been neglected by many professional typographers, but the Type Directors Show suggests that “Lettering” is an important discipline in the field of typography in the United States. The number of fonts inspired by handwriting is growing along with the interest in calligraphy. Linotype presents here a look into the world of calligraphy, written by the internationally known expert, Gottfried Pott.

Gottfried Pott
Gottfried Pott, born 1939, studied graphic design at the Werkkunstschule in Wiesbaden with emphasis in lettering art under Prof. Friedrich Poppl. At the same time studies in painting with Prof. Vincent Weber and studies in music with Peter Kempin. Activities: Exhibits, workshops, development of type faces, as well as limited edition publication of calligraphic works. Since 1988 Professor for Calligraphy and Lettering Design at the University for Applied Science and Art at Hildesheim/Holzminden. He is a member of the Bund Deutscher Buchkünstler (Association for German Book Artists).
The exhibition “LetterArt” of Gottfried Pott took place in Caste Waldthausen in Mainz-Budenheim, Germany, from 6–27 October. The variety and quality of the works presented made the showing a great success.

This article presents a look into the world of calligraphy and includes excerpts from “Schrift · Bild · Klang. The Music of Lettering”. In this book, Gottfried Pott combines text and images to beautifully illustrate the connection between calligraphy and music. Though the complexity of the theme allows only a brief presentation here, the parallels Pott draws between attributes common to the arts of handwriting and music are a good introduction to his ideas.

* SCHRIFT · KLANG · BILD – THE MUSIC OF LETTERING from Gottfried Pott, published by Verlag Hermann Schmidt, Mainz