A glance at the sacred paradigm in Contemporary Iranian literature and Art

Paradigm implies the models and examples that govern the minds and languages of scholars in different eras.With a little leniency, the dominant systems of thought or paradigms are identifiable in the humanities and arts. Many artists see themselves as the followers of these dominant examples and find a deep connection with the dominant ideas of their time. During the 1940s, most artists and writers in Iran had devoted themselves to promoting the ruling paradigm, namely Marxism.In the 1960s, it was Kant’s modern self-referential art which attracted many artists and writers. A decade later, Islamic nativist ideas, which had emerged in the wake of various conflicts with tradition, paved the way for the development of ‘sacred’ aesthetics. In other words, intellectuals and religious thinkers developed a new kind of philosophy of art and literature in Iran by using the ideas of Western philosophers and religious traditions. Though they have had and still have different opinions in many cases,these intellectuals including Ali Shariati, MortezaMotahhari, Abdul Karim Soroush, DavariArdakani, and others have an identical belief in aesthetics: the presence of a ‘sacred thing’ in Islamic art. Therefore, the belief in a sacred thing along with the social and political conditions (especially after the Islamic Revolution) has paved the way for the growth of the Islamic-revolutionary art.