Analyzing the Function of Language in Contemporary Painting from the Perspective of Michael O'Toole's Systematic Functional Linguistics

The use of language in contemporary art is one of the types of rhetorical painting. Written language accompanies image in a variety of forms such as the use of writing in painting in conjunction with a work that forms multi-modal text. Linguists such as Michael O'Toole have studied non-linguistic texts such as painting in system-functional linguistic theory. The present paper intends to study the two-sided painting by defining the three functions of representation, modal, and composition in the theoretical framework of O'Toole. By analyzing the works of Sagar Daeiri among the numerous examples of this type in contemporary Iranian paintings, we seek to answer to this question: What is the function of text language in contemporary painting? It seems that based on the chosen theoretical framework of language and written signs in painting, a powerful modality aspect is created to communicate and interact with the audience and in this way, writing in painting becomes a powerful tool in conveying and criticizing social, cultural, and political messages.