Nikos Samartzidis Collection
About
The Nikos Samartzidis Collection consists of paintings and other media inscribed with Greek and English poetry written in the Linear B script. The collection is housed and displayed at the Program of Aegean Scripts and Prehistory at the University of Texas in Austin.Biography
Nikos Samartzidis is a painter born in northern Greece who now lives in Germany. Samartzidis creates paintings using the Linear B script, a written form of ancient Mycenaean Greek. He has a lifetime of experience in painting and has exhibited his paintings throughout Greece and Germany.
In some cases, the script appears as it would on complete tablets, and at other times, on broken ones. At other times still, in natural settings like sandy beaches, or in modern and geometric aesthetics, like stained glass or the overhead view of a map. In these works, he explores the themes of forgotten languages and the traditions of Greek bardic poetry.
In some cases, the script appears as it would on complete tablets, and at other times, on broken ones. At other times still, in natural settings like sandy beaches, or in modern and geometric aesthetics, like stained glass or the overhead view of a map. In these works, he explores the themes of forgotten languages and the traditions of Greek bardic poetry.
"...I wanted to see the signs not just painted with brush and color but really ‘engraved’ like originals in clay (Samartzidis).”
Scalar Outline
This Scalar exhibit presents the paintings of Samartzidis with their translations from Linear B to Greek and English. It also provides some information on Linear B's original uses, re-discovery, and how to translate the poetry from Linear B to English. The Samartzidis paintings are presented within the thematic and poetic contexts within which Samartzidis envisions them. The Scalar concludes with an online gallery of the twenty paintings PASP currently has provided with translations of the works.This page has paths:
- Forgotten Scripts Kevin Stuart Lee
- What Is Linear B? Kevin Stuart Lee
- Greek Oral Poetry Kevin Stuart Lee
- Splash: Nikos Samartzidis Collection, Linear B Paintings and Poetry The Program in Aegean Scripts and Prehistory
