نشریه پژوهش هنر
پیاپی 13 (بهار و تابستان 1396)

Columns are structural elements that transfer the vertical forces from beams and vaults. They have undergone major changes in terms of form in the course of time. The formal analysis of different parts of columns may reveal valuable geometric information about them. Recognizing the geometric forms of stone columns can be one of the proper strategies for restoring these valuable elements. The size and form of the base, shaft and capital directly affected the final form of stone columns in post-Islamic Iran. Previous studies in this field have mostly focused on aesthetic, symbolic as well as typological aspects of these columns. However, for the first time, the present research has examined the influence of geometric features on forming the final structure of the Persian stone columns in monuments built during post-Islamic era. This study is descriptive-analytic in nature and the data was gathered via library sources and field studies. Accordingly, after defining the column and its different types using field studies, the structural elements of a column were examined and typologically analyzed and categorized. The results show that the form of the base, shaft and capital of most stone columns in Persian public monuments in post-Islamic era were adapted from Greek and Platonic styles. Also, in some cases, a combination of different styles could be observed. Even in elaborate capitals, the Greek-based adapted styles can be seen. Moreover, the overall form of a stone column is compatible with the plan of the monumental structures.

Clothing displays customs and habits of a society and can communicate with humans through its features. The type of women’s cover reflects how they are engaged in cultural and social activities. The occurrence of all-out developments in Europe during the Qajar period and Nasser-Din Shah’s trips to Europe and Iran’s relationship with the West initiated the challenges for Qajar women’s clothing. By this description, these questions arise in the mind that what were the characteristics of women’s clothing as Iranian traditional dresses before and after communicating with the West and how these changes could be described and analyzed. What is pursued as a goal in this paper is the comparison and analysis of Qajar women’s clothing with an eye to the status of Iranian tradition, entering the transitional stage and then the Western modernization, and finally the process of this change would be analyzed. To achieve this purpose, the qualitative research method (descriptive-analytic) was selected and data analysis was carried out by content analysis. The theoretical framework of this study is based on two approaches of Iranian traditionalism and Western modernism in terms of sociology. In this regard, the understanding of transition situation seems to be necessary. Research resources are provided through studies in the library and also searching in internet. The results of this paper show that the study of Qajar women’s clothing should be done in three sections: covering, tunic, and footwear on two inner and outer axes. Clothing has been analyzed in three periods of tradition, transition, and modernity from the beginning to the end of Qajar era. It has been revealed in this research that the inner-wearing tunic and footwear during the transition period and the outer clothing during the modern era changed. The investigation and analysis of Qajar women’s clothing paves the way for understanding the changes of current clothes for the reader.

Cinematic superheroes can be considered as modern cultural and mythic phenomena whose multilayered characters enjoy various philosophical meanings like ancient myths. Diverse forms of superhero genre constitute a significant part of media culture and environment. The aim of this study is to answer how modern cinematic myths fulfill various ideological goals from the perspective of cultural studies. Cultural studies tries to analyze the conditions which lead to the production and determination of the role of social, economic and political forces as well as the power structures. Within cultural studies, the cultural semiotics of Roland Barthes has been used in this study due to his innovative definitions of myth. The results of this study show that the superhero, as a metaphor of real life, can simply embody countless metaphorical meanings since s/he turns the film into an arena of conflict between paradoxes, cultural meanings, social customs and political suppositions. More than consumerism, the aim of modern mythologization is to achieve a homogenous society in line with liberalist life style. Moreover, the hero-making narrative of cinema, especially Hollywood, is at the service of creating the central signifier of the American capitalist ideology which transfers the cultural concepts in accordance with current norms and regards some goals like national security, the Cold War, changing the racial and sexual stereotypes as well as environmental issues.

In previous studies on canvas-marouflaged murals, some researchers put these works in the group of easel paintings and other researchers categorized them as wall paintings whereas they are indeed the combination of easel painting and wall painting. Moreover, the emergence and evolution of these works have not been studied in particular and mentioned yet, and thus there is not sufficient knowledge in this field. For recognizing these types of murals in Iran, it is better to compare them with similar works done in Europe. The main concern of this study is the similarities and differences which can be identified in the emergence and evolution of marouflage in Iran and Europe. The main aim of this paper is to reveal the similarities and differences in the manner and process of creating these works and also the form of their implementation in Europe and Iran. To achieve this aim, the authors try to find out the technical and evolutionary relationship between panel painting, easel painting and wall painting and then compare them by introducing a selection of marouflage murals in Europe and Iran. The data of this research is collected via field and library studies and comparative-analytical method is used. Comparative findings indicate that European marouflage murals are very similar to each other regarding method, material, process of implementation and final form of the works and, in fact, they were accepted as a special style of mural painting. But marouflage works in Iran (some of which were implemented in Europe) are varied in terms of method, material, stages of implementation, subject of paintings as well as the final form of works and they were not known as a particular style of mural painting.

A common motif in Sassanid art is the king on horseback often accompanied with royal symbols and glory. On the remained images of the Sassanid kings’ horses, a pair of conical form, in some cases circular (tassel) is hanging on the back of the horse. These tassels are attached by a chain to the horse-cloth or crupper of the horse. Many believe that the tassels were used to decorate the Sassanid horses. Due to the frequent use of these motifs on the king’s horses, it could be hypothesized that the reason for using them in Sassanid art was more than decoration. It had a symbolic and royal meaning in Sassanid art. The aim of this study is to identify the meaning and function of such tassels in Sassanid art, specially the plates’ motifs. Accordingly, the tassel motifs have been examined in several works including Sassanid silver and gold plates and petroglyphs. These pictures were examined using descriptive-analytical method. It was concluded that probably these tassel motifs have been adapted from various flowers, particularly the lotus, of Sassanid era and since lotus was a symbol of glory these tassels were also a symbol of the royal charisma. They were believed to increase the king’s chances of winning the wars and legitimize his power.

In recent decades, urban arts and artistic interferences with various forms, expressions and vast meanings are considered in urban societies. The existent studies and experiences show that, besides basic and primary needs of human beings, satisfying the spiritual, psychological and emotional needs of people for promoting and improving the quality of urban environment is an obvious and undeniable issue. Regarding the importance and influential role of urban arts on people’s happiness and satisfaction and its impact on the mental and psychological health of the society, this paper aims at explaining the role of urban arts in improving the quality of urban life and, using descriptive-analytical method, it tries to answer the following questions: what is the relationship between the improvement of urban life’s quality and artistic interventions, and how can urban arts be effective in improving the quality of life? Thus, while pointing briefly to the definitions of city, urban environment and indicators of improvement of life’s quality, the goals and types of urban arts and their role in improving the quality of life are discussed. This research is a fundamental and qualitative research based on documented data. Finally, it is argued that the urban arts can affect cultural policies and improve the quality of urban life via identity-making, beautification, refining urban spaces, happiness, liveliness etc.

The architecture of Arak’s bazaar is a result of the continuity of valuable experiences which are due to the concordance between the environment and various functions of bazaar. In this architecture a lot of effort has been put to create integrity and unity in different spaces of bazaar. The physical structure of Arak’s bazaar is created based on an aforethought proposal, i.e. it has a straight symmetric path instead of a freely curved structure. Mobile Ta’zieh of Arak and bazaar as the place for its performance brings up questions about the effect of shape, form and structure of bazaar on the formation of this type of Ta’zieh. Has the mobility of Ta’zieh affected the structure of bazaar? The order of answers to these questions is also important. The research hypothesis is that the lack of a suitable space for performing Ta’zieh has been the reason behind selecting bazaar as the site for its performance. Reviving the neglected issue of mobile Ta’zieh, behavioral analysis of Ta’zieh in its context and exploring the potential of bazaar’s environment necessitate this study. The research method for this study is analytical-historical. Data is collected through library studies, field research and conducting in-depth interviews. The aim of this study is to examine the interaction between structure and form of mobile Ta’zieh and the body of its performance (bazaar) in the city of Arak. In this study, the special and unknown ritual of mobile Ta’zieh is introduced and the flexibility of this ritual due to lack of circular space, the linearity of bazaar, local competition, economic relations of merchants, and the presence of particular mosques are discussed. Then, it is pointed out that mobile Ta’zieh has changed the drama, scenario, the timing of the narrative and location of persons in order to show it to the people in bazaar as a sequence in different parts. Finally, it is concluded that one of the reasons for hierarchical performance of Ta’zieh in Arak’s bazaar is the linearity of the place within which it is performed.

The attitude and reaction of Safavid government as a central integrated government in the Islamic world towards art, culture and religions, especially Jews, can be studied and analyzed. The dominant atmosphere of Isfahan in 11th century (hijra) was so that the Jews of this city could produce their unique illustrated books by adapting the themes of literary masterpieces of Muslim Iranians and using as the model the techniques and traditions of book-decoration prevalent in the royal art workshops or private workshops in that period. Meanwhile, regarding the longstanding presence of Jews in Iran, some particular indices known as Judeo-Persian were created which represented their specific linguistic and expressive features and they can be observed and explored in their particular literature and texts as well as in the field of book-decoration. Using a descriptive-analytic method, this study aims at shedding light on the activities of Jews, particularly their art of book-decoration, in two classes of religious and national texts by providing a close reading of nine paintings from the library of Jewish theology school of America. The study of these texts and paintings portrays a group of people who not only tries to keep their language and basic concepts alive but also keep their connection with other people and religions of this country by selecting common visual manners and conventions of Iran and emphasize their shared concepts as an Iranian.