نشریه پژوهش هنر
پیاپی 21 (بهار و تابستان 1400)

Lighting as one of the basic parameters in architectural design and one of the factors creating a sense of space and strengthening the identity of the place, has a strong presence in Iranian and Islamic architecture; And since managing the presence of natural light as well as artificial lighting in terms of visual, semantic, functional aspects, etc. is also important in the field of environmental graphic design. The present research considers the optimal use of lighting and lighting facilities in the environmental graphics of Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque in Isfahan as an outstanding example and with a pathological perspective. Two questions can be asked in this regard; First, what are the damages caused by improper lighting in the environmental graphics of Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque, and second, which methods are effective in designing the principles of lighting. In this regard, the effects of light spectrum, light quality and intensity and duration of radiation of artificial light sources on the historical texture and the damage caused by it have been studied. Furthermore, providing practical solutions appropriate to conventional artificial light sources for lighting the historical context in order to minimize these damages using the latest scientific achievements is another objective of this study. The research method in this research is descriptive-analytical which has been conducted in a qualitative manner with the aim of investigating the pathology of light and lighting in Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque in Isfahan. Data collection was performed using field method (observation) and documentary method (library studies and upstream documents). In the present investigation, a profound view on the use of light in historical context has shown that artificial light can affect the expression and creation of historical context as much as sunlight, and on the other hand, inadequate lighting in historical context can have detrimental effects on environmental graphics. Unfortunately, the damage caused by light, such as fading, fading and discoloration, and the deformation of works of art and history are irreversible. Therefore, it is necessary to protect valuable works against these damages.

Carpets in Iran have always had a function beyond a mere hand-woven carpet. Examining the designs and motifs of this valuable Iranian handicraft, we can say that the designs and structures have some kind of roots in the culture of this land. The carpet can also be called the cultural identity of Iran. Qajar carpets are one of the richest artistic treasures of Iran. One of the most interesting functions of Iranian carpets in the Qajar period is to use it as a medium to express the image of people and princes. During this period, kings in various arts have taken great political advantage to show their authority and domination to the Iranian people. In this research, we seek to examine the symbols and signs that directly or indirectly show the concept of power in the carpet. In line with this, in this study, four pictorial carpets from the Qajar era were investigated using a descriptive-analytical method. This investigation was conducted using a descriptive-analytical method, and the data were collected through library research and close observation. The results indicate that the carpet was considered and used by the Qajar kings as a new medium to convey the concept of power. It can be said that pictorial carpets have been one of the preferred visual methods to convey the political goals of the Qajar kings. Since there is a close relationship between art and politics in this period, kings wanted to maintain power and gain legitimacy in society, using images of kings in the carpets or in other pictorial symbols such as a bird in the hands of the king, or a crown and an umbrella and feathers or the motif of Bothe as visual symbols to convey the concepts of power.

It has become a reality in the world of contemporary visual media that some of images and visual texts attract viewers and researchers to their similarities with other images - in a real or imagined way - while furthermore, constantly encouraging them to discover and examine an intra-textual relationship and interaction. Conducted as comparative and descriptive-analytical research, this intra-disciplinary study compared two works of fine art: Velázquez’s Las Meninas and Abd-ol-Khalegh Khan’s photograph of Zell-e Soltan. As part of this comparison, it employed the qualitative method of Gillian Rose’s post-constructionist discourse analysis to explore the intercultural interactions as well as the constructed discourses in the two images and to investigate the influence — or lack thereof — of apparatuses of power on the development of those discourses. The research questions were: “In the studying the artworks, what discourses are constructed and how are they constructed?” and “In what way are they similar in this regard?” The findings indicated that Velázquez and Abd-ol-Khalegh Khan have constructed, as both the artist and the subject of their piece, a different and dominant body of themselves without any influence from institutional systems and by sidelining power holders. In both images, the discourse of art and that of politics are in conflict with each other, and both artists, by adopting the same representation approach, implicitly point to and highlight the overpowering of politics by art. It seems that in this historical intercultural interaction between the East and the West, Abd-ol-Khalegh Khan was influenced, as an artist, by Velázquez’s critical approach in Las Meninas in the creation of his photograph.

Wooden spoons are among the works of art that are known as decorative and functional objects in the Safavid and Qajar periods. Identifying and examining the features used in the spoons of each period indicates the repetition and continuity of these features in the decorations, composition and general structure of these spoons. Since these spoons have similar artistic and technical characteristics and were made in a close period of time, the main question of the present study is: What are the commonalities and technical and artistic differences between Safavid and Qajar wooden spoons? And the sub-question is: What is more emphasized in terms of artistic features in the old wooden spoons and what are the most common and widely used technical and artistic features in decorations? The purpose of this investigation is to identify and analyze the artistic and technical features of these spoons based on their description and adaptation to identify their common and different aspects and thus, determine the most common and most widely used technical and artistic features in them by examining the amount of commonalities. The research method used is descriptive-comparative adopting a qualitative approach. Data collection was done using written documents. Statistical samples of the research are 17 images belonging to the Safavid and Qajar periods that were purposefully selected and studied. The results of the research indicated that the general shape of the spoons, has followed a completely similar pattern and has common details. Existence of designs such as: Geometric, Islamic, multifeathered flowers, and animal motifs in each period shows the common influence of these arts from similar patterns. The composition of the spoon components includes openings, handles and decorations that are made in one piece and several pieces. The decorations include various designs with a structure of 1/1 and 1/2, by transfer method. The spoons are often made of one piece of pear wood with an inlaid and lattice technique. Using the same pattern of openings and handles, the same artists, geographical area, type of wood available and usable for cutting spoons and limited design and construction space to use more diverse designs are common features used in making wooden spoons.

One of the important (effective) factors in the body of architecture is paying attention to the ornaments/decorations which are shaped by geometrical patterns. These physical elements have been used in different parts of the building and has created beautiful designs. Furthermore, the creation of beauty could be examined from two perspectives, physical and mental, in which in the present study, the physical perspective of decorations has been investigated because of the effective criterion in creating the motifs. The context of this study is located in a city with a valuable historical background related to brick ornaments. Accordingly, Dezful with the desired features and Xowunchini brick designs was selected for investigation. Furthermore, the research questions are: What are the effective factors influencing the aesthetics of brick design? And what is the effect of each one of the physical factors on the beauty of Xowunchini designs? This research is based on a survey method in regards to the samples and descriptive-analytical. In this study, the context of the research was examined using observation, case study, library research, and observation. Then, the research framework is evaluated with codas technique in 6 steps and the study of beauty components in the sample community is done. Finally, based on the results and logical inference, the findings of this study were presented. The research finding show that Xowunchini ornament have had different geometry and have created a different quality of beauty, as they were formed under the influence of aesthetic components. Furthermore, the result of this research shows that the effective criteria in creating the beauty of ornaments include proportions, relationship with numbers, type of pattern, roots of patterns, reproducibility and emphasis on special role. These criteria are varied in Xowunchinis and have a variety of species so that few ornaments can be found that have similar criteria.

Five-petal flower is one of the most used decorative signs in Iranian buildings. Ali Qapu palace and Chehel Sotun palace are two of the buildings which five-petal flowers are used in them in tremendous numbers. Diversity, beauty, production and methods of implementation are considerable in these palaces. The purpose of this study is to examine the characteristics and distinguishable features of this motif and its development in these two palaces considering their form, techniques of implementation, and coloring.Therefore, the research question is: What are the similarities and differences among the visual and technical features of the five-petal flower motif in these two palaces? The research method is descriptive-comparative. Data collection has been done through field research, analysis of written documents, and direct observation. The research results show that the use of five-feathered flowers in the two buildings under investigation is important and according to their initial form, they seem to have followed a single pattern. At Chehel sotun Palace special techniques such as: Naturalism, construction, and elegance were used in the design, pattern, and execution. In addition, painting and gilding have also been used widely. But in the Ali Qapu Palace, due to the limited color, variety in technique, execution and size has been seen more.