Hunter Saxony III Is Pushing the Boundaries of Calligrapghy
Calligraphy is an ancient art with roots across the globe, dating back to early Chinese dynasties and Greek civilization, all through the Italian Renaissance. But one glance at a work by San Francisco-based artist Hunter Saxony III, and your understanding of calligraphy will be turned on its head. In an approach that is varied, yet distinctive, Saxony creates detailed works that fuse the decorative nature of calligraphy with imagery, drawing, and mixed media. He manages to revolutionize an age-old discipline and make it feel both timeless and contemporary—an extraordinary feat for any artist.
What is compelling about Saxony’s work is that it cannot be shoe-horned into any one particular moniker. His subject matter is broad, as are the mediums through which he creates. He works on paper and old book plates, has explored tattooing, fashion, and editorials. Some of his creations are more abstract, consisting mainly of botanical motifs and feather-like designs. Others are based in traditional calligraphic lettering. He has inked a pair of shoes, worked with a musician on an album cover, and created an entire series from vintage photographs. In its variety, his work falls outside of classification, existing between the visual and the linguistic. “I’m constantly questioning when the two should be in conversation,” Saxony says of the marriage between the image and the word. “Sometimes I use words to convey a sentiment within the work itself and ornamental elements as a visual placeholder.”
I want to make work that is both decorative and declarative, which is something I’ve been honing in on visually for the last two years or so…”
Yet no matter the medium or sentiment, there are consistencies in Saxony’s work that give him a recognizable style. His lettering technique is bold and ornate, some rendered with thick lines, others carefully executed in wavy, organic strokes. “Aesthetically, in terms of my ornamental work, I’m looking to find moments in nature and human-made creations, then abstract them a bit through my own lens.” On his Instagram account, Saxony often posts examples of his inspiration, showcasing old typefaces and elaborate lettering found in old manuscripts. Ancient religious texts, examples of Chinese woodblock prints, and work by Taddeo Crivelli (the Italian illuminated manuscript painter) appear on his profile alongside his own contemporary creations. His dichromatic palette remains consistent: black and deep red are his colors of choice, a conscious creative decision. “To me they are the most powerful colors to pair together,” he says. “In studying Asian and European calligraphy, red was the first color I found used after black.”
And while his work is beautiful and intricate, worthy of any wallspace, it also has a conscious depth. After the 2018 passing of Nia Wilson, Saxony created a series entitled Nia Wilson / Say Her Name / No Silence. The body of work was unique in its use of archival photographs of Southern Gentry that Saxony then painted over, rendering Nia Wilson’s name in his signature black and red. Saxony has also created other works of art addressing racial injustice and social issues, some that directly pay tribute to the Black Lives Matter movement, and others that meditate on lives lost through violence, such as “Double Dutch Lamentation (For Breonna),” a 2020 work dedicated to Breonna Taylor.
I’m looking to find moments in nature and human-made creations, then abstract them a bit through my own lens.“
Yet even in his works that are not overtly political, Saxony is making a statement. “As a Black Calligrapher, especially in SF, I feel like just creating work on a high level is a form of activism,” he says. “I’d like my work to inspire and encourage people who look like me to mess with letters… While it’s a different type of activism than making BLM-inspired work or protest art, the end goal of respect and representation remains the same.” Saxony has often described himself as “The Last Black Calligrapher in San Francisco,” an epithet that is as much a descriptor as it is a statement about Black representation in art. In being the last, he is positioning himself as the only, emphasizing his isolation, something that many artists of color have experienced throughout their careers. “‘The Last Black Calligrapher in SF’ as a statement refers to how I was able to learn about and experience calligraphy in this beautiful city,” Saxony says. On his Instagram page, he offers additional insights. “People ask me often about what ‘the Last Black Calligrapher in SF’ means… it’s a statement of change and a statement of discovery and a statement of purpose,” he writes.
In reading the statement, it’s also hard not to consider what it means to be the last of anything. A word like last has an implication of finality, and elicits thoughts about calligraphy’s own mortality. As we turn more to the keyboard than the pen, is the extinction of the letter arts inevitable? Saxony doubts it. “Honestly, as long as we are using words as part of language, calligraphy will be alive and well”.*
This article originally appeared in Hi-fructose Issue 63, which is available in print here.
