نشریه مطالعات تطبیقی هنر
پیاپی 11 (بهار و تابستان 1395)

When doing research in the university system there is a serious need for standards and practices that are adequate for the subject. The idea of scientific and rigorous theoretical study involves a structure that is also applicable as a basis for the researcher to collect, analyze and interpret data. Experts in the field of research methods have introduced necessary steps for research in various subjects. One of the essential elements of a large part of scientific researches in various fields is “comparing/contrasting” two instances of a few things. “Comparison” is one of the keywords and applications in theoretical studies. What is seen in most articles and writings about “Comparison” is its’ use to compare two things that are more or less the same, however even this prevailing method is incomplete as it does not specify the criteria and standard compliance similarities. What is new in this paper is that it will follow and document steps to apply the compare/contrast method by highlighting the differences in order to create a logical link between two or more phenomena.
This article intends to put forth a philosophical approach to the explanation of the terminology and the etymology of the so-called “comparison”, the oldest rational discussion on “analogy” that has been used since the time of Aristotle to introduce and explain reliable indicators gathered in “comparison”. The criteria considered in this study is based on a model commissioned by Harvard University research writing expert, Kerry Walk - who has spent many years in the fields of art, architecture, history and literature, on the methods for effective research and teaching – and was presented to the Center for Research and Publication at Harvard University as reasonable and accurate.

Shahsevan nomads live in Northwest of Iran. This tribe was established in Safavid era which is one of the magnificent periods in the Iranian history, as a powerful army by Shah Abbas I to support Ghezelbash soldiers as the strong defending forces of the country to encounter the foreign powers. The tribe was scattered in different historical periods to settle in different areas such as the central parts (Baghdadi tribe) and Southern parts (Fars Inaloo and Baharloo tribes) of Iran. The common evidences of their cultural roots can be found in the areas they lived that is the cause of spreading their art and culture in the history of Shahsevani Rugs from Northwest to the South of Iran. This article tries to introduce the various designs and motifs of Shahsevan Rugs in Iran in spite of widespread living places of the tribe. Comparing the structural elements of designs and motifs of Shahsevani Rugs (medallion, corners and context and border motifs) in all of the three mentioned areas, it is tried to find the shared structures taken from formal and geometric features of the rugs. The data in this descriptive-comparative article are analyzed in the form of qualitative-interpretative method. The literature is collected by the library method and the sample studies are identified as a field study by the authors. The findings indicate that there are ample similarities in the general structure of Shahsevan Rugs such as patterns and motifs and the few differences, if any, are manifested in the applying priority of the motifs (animal, geometric, plant) and in the structure of some of the motifs that are due to the adjacency of this tribe with other tribes or some ethnic relationships such as marriage with other nomads.

Design thinking attends to designing manners to figure out common patterns to describe what designers do and how they interact with complex problems. These data can help improve designer‘s skills and other design insights. There are lacks of studies in design thinking in Iranian design studies. This issue causes defecting the understanding of design thinking principles and specifications. This issue not only causes defecting the understanding of design thinking principles and specifications, but also misunderstanding of the one in design society too. The main issue which is focused on it is about “what design thinking characteristics are?” In this paper we tried to describe design thinking specifications in three viewpoints as foundations, methods and facilitators to demystify design thinking. Design process, problem solving, and human-centered approach, learning from failures, making prototypes and expert’s collaboration are the most important specifications that are described deeply through this study. We compared traditional thinking with design thinking in conclusion. Results show deep differences between two models. A visual model shows design thinking principles in three viewpoints. This model provide an integrate understanding on design thinking principles but there are potentials to bring up of other models in the future studies.

The influence of the religion, traditions and beliefs in the art of different historic eras is a common phenomenon. In addition, historical and theological backgrounds of the considered population have also a great role in the formation of the art. Iranians created valuable works with precision and elegance during different historical periods and decorated them with various motifs to improve their appearance. After Islam, artists mostly attempted to write and decorate divine revelations and particularly the holy verses of Quran. Of the most decorated Quran arrays the signs of Quran can be mentioned in which the floral motifs were applied in various states. The main objective of this research is to introduce and analyze the floral motifs in the Iranian pre-Islamic works and their comparison with the motifs of Quran signs. The question is as follows: What are the similarities in floral motifs of the Quran signs and the works of the pre-Islamic Iran? And if there is a similarity, in which group of floral motifs can be seen? In order to answer the question, data collection was conducted using library documents and observing the works.
This study is a descriptive and comparative approach with collecting data from library documents and observations. It was concluded that the floral motif in the signs of five verses, signs attached to head of the Suras and Hezb and Juz signs could be inspired by the motifs used in the Iranian ancient works, before the age of Zoroaster to the time of Sassanians, applied in various angles and states.

The importance of Education and the role of pictures in its success is obvious in many scientific, cultural and advertising subjects which are being instructed through pictures and therefore can be memorable better. But the point is how to learn to create impressive pictures for the audience with an exclusive taste. Moreover, technology development and innovation of new tools require novel educational methods which are currently applied in higher education institutes all over the world. Studying these methods in order to be adapted to the Iranian art and culture could be led to some optimized consequences.
The leading research issue is the comparison between the University of San Francisco and Tehran University, since it seems that planning and offering the courses have been revised in the University of San Francisco and it is based on the technological development, but the educational planning and offering the courses in Tehran University, ratified in December, 1990, is still running. The aim of comparing these two educational systems is to result in a useful process of updating and modifying the educational planning of illustrations through the process of reforming and integrating the courses relevant with global developments.
The outcome of this research in spite of demonstrating the educational merits of both, indicates the necessity of interaction between Iranian art universities and the publishers, advertising companies, TV and computer game producers and animators as well as holding galleries of students’ works for more communication with the society .In the end it is recommended to increase the courses of specialized design and digital illustrations in order to preserve the merits and quality of the current system and improving the procedure of learning and training.

The Iranian textures in the Safavid era are associated with some phenomena such as symbolism and myth. These textures contain some motifs that indicate the beliefs and ideas of the Iranian people, and these motifs have preserved the concepts over time. The dragon is one of these symbolic motifs whose presence can be traced back to the oldest literary sources in Iran's history. Dragon is referred to as a symbol of evil everywhere. On the other hand, China is the land of dragons and their motif is actively present in Chinese arts. This study is an attempt to compare the Dragon form and concept in the Iranian and Chinese textures. This is a descriptive and analytic study and aims to answer the following questions: 1- what is the concept and form of dragon in the Iranian and Chinese textures. 2- What are the similarities and difference between dragons role in the Iranian and Chinese culture? The presence of dragon in the Iranian textures is usually associated with concepts such as battle, good and evil, light and darkness, and it is sometimes interpreted as a gathering of animals in the wild. In the Iranian textures, Dragon is a creature that must be fought in order to come to light and the victory of the hero somehow depends on killing the dragon. This is a symbolic battle of good and evil which is frequently observed in the textures of the Safavid era. Dragon is mostly observed in conflict or confrontation contexts and has an ophidian and defensive form, whereas, dragons, in the Chinese culture, refers to power and emperor. Considering the differences between symbolic concepts of dragon in China and Iran, there are definitely many examples of discrepancy between the Iranian and Chinese textures.

Sistan and Balouchestan is located in the southeast of Iran and consists of two regions; Sistan and Balouchestan. The ornamentas and decorations in these regions have various shapes and features, the most significant of them are the potteries discovered in the ancient hills, carpets, needleworks and other splendid accessories and ornaments. Various factors have led to the formation of color and form of ornaments and accessories in these regions, the most important of them have been natural, historical and environmental factors. In their ornamentation, the artists of this region have artistically and skillfully observed the visual characteristics in their work. The present researchers have tried to study the repetitive contexts and motifs in four handicraft fields as practiced. The goal of this paper is to perform an analytical, comparative and compatible study based on the information collected through literature review and field observations on the repetitive elements from ancient times to the present. The questions that are developed are as follows: What similarities could be found between the figures used in handicrafts (pottery, hand-woven items, ornamental sweeps and ornaments/accessories) from the ancient times to the present era in the two regions of Sistan and Balouchestan? What type of relationship exists between the figures and natural environment of the two regions? What kind of relationship exists between the figures and beliefs of people in the two regions? The main factor in selecting the four fields has been the proximity of the motifs and repeated elements among them.The authors have tried to select the figures which are rooted in the culture and beliefs of the people of mentioned region, and also with slight changes have the highest application for ornamentation in the four artistic fields. In the present paper, repetitive motifs in the four artistic fields are divided in four groups based on the proper variables and several motifs in each group have been analyzed based on the apparent similarities between the geometrical, animal and floral figures. Motifs of figures are lozenge, snake, fish and tree of life. Ultimately, it is determined that how some of the motifs have taken the evolution path since the ancient times to the present era to indicate the intention and purpose of the artists by considering their implementing in any of the four handicrafts.

Every nation has its own ideals that objectifying them is by culture. In the process of this transformation, the architecture and music which come from the culture of each region have a fundamental role. Architecture and music have many similarities in conceptual directions, space, shape and morphology. They also have similarities in the basic and fundamental principles such as proportions, rhythm, harmony, repetition, aesthetics, etc. In such a period of time that the architecture has been turning to be meaningless and just a formal user of elements, music sounds with regard to their influence on human spirit, can be a proper parameter to benefit in architectural design particularly in conceptual schemes. The aim of this study is to interpret music and architectural elements with a common language and answering the question of whether the music sounds have the possibility to be converted into architectural forms. In order to answer, with interpretive-historical research methods and collecting data from library sources and interviews, firstly by analyzing the nature of architecture and music, their constitutive parameters have been identified and then have been studied comparatively and many common features were found in the basic principles such as spacing, extension, taking advantage of geometry and mathematics, as well as factors such as rhythm and texture morphology. After finding 23 features in music that could be interpreted as the common language of architecture, examples of architecture were recalled by the common language of music and finally it was concluded that music can be a role model in architectural design since in addition to the mentioned common properties, both by using numbers and quantitative proportions of their primary materials and voice, create a space which has a qualitative nature. Therefore the musical Dastgah Shur was designed on the identification of spacing and extension as the fundamental elements of music and using these formal elements.

The Aghkand potteries have high position in the classification of pottery types of the early Islamic period. Since the researchers assess the start and use of Aghkand potteries from the 4th century to the mid of the middle Ages of Islamic period, so in this paper we perused the comparison of pottery designs of Aghkand and textile designs of Buyid and Seljuk periods that lie in the interval. Whit this research in addition to being able to find the background of motifs on pottery, we found out other effects of textile designs on the pottery designs of Aghkand in the mentioned periods. Some motifs such as birds are seen on the Aghkand potteries in the same form designed on the textiles in terms of how to apply their forms and the type of bird and the position of design in the background. Since the main location of manufacturing the potteries known as Aghkand type is not properly known, such studies can help archaeologists and virtuosos in representing a solution in discovering the place of their manufacture. Therefore we can assess the manufacturing date of the most of potteries which have similar themes whit textile designs through resemblances seen between textile designs of Buyid era and pottery motifs of Aghkand.

As the electronic and internet communication grows, the need to desig websites for universities has become more apparent, and attracting the users to these websites and passing information through these websites, has become one of these organizations’ primary goals. As a result, designing Graphical User Interface for these websites plays an important role and identifying design criteria, would be a great help to improve it.
This paper is a study in design problems of websites in the Iranian universities in comparison to common patterns in the websites for successful universities of the world. To reach this goal, from both Iranian and the world’s university websites, some cases have been chosen regarding their scientific and website rankings. In each category 53 websites from different universities have been taken into account, based on their study departments and location and their visual aspect, like texts, type and size of fonts, colors, images, animated pictures, etc have been studied via a checklist questionnaire with some questions and prepared options. The data has been extracted and presented separately for each category. Then the data has been analyzed with frequency distribution graphs and by the help of Chi square test.
The result of this study indicates that overall, the Iranian and world’s university websites work the same in characteristics such as choosing main and background colors, not using patterns in the backgrounds, way of distinguishing the main links, number and using different sized pictures, dividing the page into three or four columns and avoiding to use music,. The difference though, between universities in Iran and the world is more related to the texts, like using borders around headers, overusing of different typefaces, insufficient diversity of font sizes and short distance between lines in the Iranian websites. In other occasions, Iranian websites, in addition to using slide shows, make use of animated pictures and usually other pages of Iranian’s university websites do not follow the same color and design pattern of the homepage.