Tehran Squares Sculpture as indelible heritage of modernization (Case study of Hor (Bagh-e-shah) Square in Tehran)

The Nasserid and Pahlavi governments exercised power in "urban memory" by establishing memory organizations, carrying out memory programs, and inventing traditions. On the other hand, the cultural policy of the Nasserid and Pahlavi governments have dominated the "Modernization" styles in Iranian painting, urban planning, architecture, and urban sculpture. In fact, the expansion of the installation of urban sculptures in Iran is associated with modernization stabilization. On the other hand, the traditional and religious groups are opposed to displaying and installing sculptures in public. The statues of Nasser al-Din Shah and Garshaseb in Bagh-e Shah and  Hor Square () are two valuable relics of modernization. In this article, the authors use the semiotics of these sculptures to understand how the power and memory relationships govern them. The statue of Nasser al-Din Shah was created in the social relations resulting from the mechanism of "sovereign" power. The power relations engraved in this sculpture have reproduced the memory policy of "modernism". The statue of Garshasb is created in the context of social relations made of the mechanism of "disciplinary" power. The mechanism of hidden power in the sculpture has reconstructed the memory policy of "archaism". Despite the fall of the Pahlavi government with the Islamic Revolution and the overthrow of the mechanism of disciplinary power with the globalization of this eighty-five year's old legacy - the statue of Garshasb - continued its life by changing its name to "Hor". Garshasb's sculpture shows the connection between ancient and Islamic memory. On the other hand, artificial fencing and demarcation have revealed the mechanism of disciplinary power and the memory policy of archaism. In fact, the collective and urban memory of a collection is interconnected.