Analysis of Critical Approaches of the Contemporary Iranian Modern Painting in Readout of Traditional Negargari (Persian Painting)

During the early decades of the 14th S.H century, the Iranian nationalist movement inspired the widespread and diverse use of traditional art themes and motifs in contemporary art. Although Iranian painting had been under a process of modernization since the late Safavid period, during the Qajar period and again after the second Pahlavi reached its peak of the conflict, exchange, and interaction. Among them are Iranian nationalism, Westernism, Return to Self, Identityism, Neo-traditionalism, and etc. Furthermore, the interaction of contemporary modernist painters with traditional Negargari (Persian painting or Miniature) has developed in various ways and under different approaches, each of which is rooted in a deeply rooted social and intellectual logic and subject to a wide range of discourses. As a result, these approaches have a specific relation to contemporary developments and social currents in Iran's history. "Critical approaches" are among the most important of these; They are broadly categorized into two groups: "formalist" and "middle eastern"; and have served as a source of inspiration for artists. The two critical approaches developed during two different periods of contemporary Iranian history. Throughout the 20th and 30th decades of the 14th century S.H., the formalist critical approach emerged more with the Saqqakhaneh movement and lasted until the following decades. As the geopolitical evolutions in West Asia took place in the 70th century (2000 BC), the Middle Eastern critical approach also developed and expanded. Thus, as their name suggests, formalist critical approaches focused primarily on formal aspects of traditional Negargari, whereas middle east approaches focused on society and the identities of the Middle East, highlighting their socio-political aspects. Accordingly, this qualitative research has employed a descriptive-analytical approach and has given special attention to critical theory. The aim of this research is to answer the question, 'What is the formulation of the critical encounter of contemporary Iranian painting with traditional Negargari, and what are the characteristics of works inspired by the critical approach? In this study, using library resources and Internet images, we discuss 12 examples of artworks that are related to both formalist and Middle Eastern approaches, in order to examine how the discourse affecting those artworks is framed. Finally, this study shows that the interaction of contemporary Iranian modern painters with traditional Negargari, beyond Westernism or traditionalism, has been formed through various approaches including critical. Moreover, this critical approach includes both formalists and Middle Eastern groups, and each group's works differ in structural or discoursive characteristics. In addition to all this, these features have been praised or criticized both in Iran and internationally. Because of the ambiguity and inaccuracy of the Iranian art economy today, it can serve currents, experts, and institutions that value contemporary art, especially in the field of Iranian modern contemporary painting.