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سال نوزدهم شماره 113 (آبان 1401)

Problem statement: 

The definition of artistic postmodernism has always faced challenges. However, it is possible to obtain a tool for analyzing the postmodernism of artworks in this period by considering components such as eclecticism, pluralism, deconstructionism, and the importance of micro-narratives and subcultures, as well as the identity crisis. In this regard, this research seeks to answer these questions What are the features of Wangechi Mutu's works? What similarities and differences can be found in the works of this artist? How are approaches to Mutu's works’  associated with postmodern keywords?

The purpose of this study is to search for and analyze the characteristics of postmodernist art in the works of Wangechi Mutu, a Kenyan female artist living in the United States. Considering the characteristics of her works, this study uses postmodernist tools to interpret them.

This research described and analyzed a part of Wangechi Mutu's paintings based on the theoretical foundations of postmodern art through a qualitative study.

The results show that the artist has achieved an eclectic and plural expression, both in the structure of her works and in their content, by using visual and conceptual collages and, in general, a collage worldview. In this way, she has succeeded in breaking the foundations of macro narratives and subcultures of women, black people, and immigrants, and was consequently able to relate to the issue of an identity crisis. Mutu’s works are her socio-political statements in which she expresses and critiques the issues of racial and class discrimination in the contemporary world.

Problem statement:

 Contemporary art has developed various outcomes and phenomena that do not comply with traditional artistic norms. One of these emerging phenomena in modern art is “appropriation,” which has piqued the curiosity of numerous artists. Artists today are also art consumers, in addition to their cultural activities. In this regard, “appropriation” may be seen as a contemporary art strategy for returning to the past, using pre-existing motifs, and reproducing works with new concepts. This approach has gained popularity among Iranian artists at the same time as it has in the Western world.

This research aims to observe, examine, and evaluate contemporary Iranian art, mainly the works of modern Iranian painters, to investigate the idea of “appropriation” and identify its ways and functions with regard to Iranian contemporary art.

The descriptive-analytical method was used in this study, and data were gathered using field and desk research methodologies. First, we examined the similarities and overlap between this phenomenon in Iran and the Western world using definitions and studies associated with “appropriation” in Western art. Then, we highlighted contemporary Iranian artists whose work follows the “appropriation” principles.

According to the results, contemporary Iranian artists have predominantly accepted this method. As a consequence, artists have applied the notion of “appropriation” for a variety of purposes, three of which are noted below: 1- “Recycling the past within modern contexts,” 2- “Fostering intercultural dialogue and translation,” and 3- “Transposing the meanings of native artworks.” This study examines a range of appropriated works by contemporary artists under each of these functions. In the first function, artists’ attention has been drawn to the representation of the splendor of the past and the difficulties or concerns of contemporary man. In contrast, in the second function, the fusion of Iranian culture and art with renowned Western works has been highlighted. Finally, in the third function, we see previously recognized Iranian pieces distorted or tampered with, as well as new meanings added to them. Thus, some characteristics of works created through the “appropriation” strategy include modern and critical reproduction of images and works from the past to develop new meanings, link the past to the future, and refer to or retell the past.

Problem statement: 

The murals of the Medieval era have always been reviewed under the influence of the governing religious discourse of this era. In this regard, inter-textual relations are rarely referred to, in the form of art, the city, and the intertextual identities of the works in relation to their regional developments.

This research aims to analyze the semantic visual meanings of concepts that validate the thought discourses by manifesting them in the public urban spaces, and to build purposeful visual narration relying on the identical intertextuality and native textual contexts to be presented in the public space of the city. Therefore, the ‘quiddity’, ‘semantic’, and the ‘way it is achieved in the art of pre-modern cities are being analyzed in two questions: the semantic quiddity of art and the city, and the interactive functions of art in the city, in relation to this concept.        

This research study is a kind of fundamental-theoretical method in terms of purpose, which initiates with a semantic quest in the historical texts of the ‘city and art’, and is based on the history and pictographic connotations of church murals by adopting a descriptive method followed by an interpretive-explanatory one.

Findings of the literature review indicate that the meaning of art in the medieval cities was defined by a solid structure in city-art relations under supernatural power, with a kind of succession relations as follows: God (king, pope), City (castle, city of God) and Art (skill, enigma). Therefore, its interactive functions are established in relation to the city and art with superior power, and the audience, who has a nature below the god, is identified merely in relation to the reader who perceives the message.

Problem statement:

 Aesthetics, an experience that manifests itself in various forms under different conditions, is primarily experimental. What appears pleasant in the built environment has always been contentious and ambiguous. It can vary in geographical, social, and cultural contexts depending on the type of relationship it has with human perceptions. However, aesthetics has been overlooked in terms of users’ experience with an environment due to an overemphasis on its preferential nature, as well as obliviousness to sociocultural commonalities that lay the groundwork for subjective perceptions. As a result, some anomalies in architectural design have come to light. The following questions arise in this regard: What factors influence the development of architectural aesthetic experience from the standpoint of an ordinary user? What factors contribute significantly to the intensity of this experience?

The purpose of this paper is to explain aesthetics and its criteria through users’ perceptions and lived experiences to revive their aesthetic feelings by translating them into effective components.

This descriptive study employed the philosophical phenomenography of people’s lived experiences in buildings. It is also classified as interpretative-inductive research.

Perceptual, motivational, sensorimotor, cognitive, behavioral, and emotional components all play important roles in the process of aesthetic perception from the user’s standpoint, resulting in the architectural aesthetic experience. In fact, the role of each component in this experience is highlighted differently depending on the features of different buildings, which are distinguished by variable component priority and feedback. However, when all components in an experimental process play complementary roles, the experience can be maximized. Moreover, for this experience to be effective, the emotional component must be strong.

Problem statement: 

The stereotomic theory is one of the oldest theories and is intellectually inconsistent with the tectonic theory. Thus, to regularly read architecture from this perspective, which results in reasoned critiques to improve the quality, first, it is required to classify implicit concepts related to the aforementioned theory to achieve its approaches. The important challenges of this research are aligning this theory with the conditions of contemporary architecture to analyze architecture through its lens and to explain how architectural components are influenced by the approaches of this theory. The results of this study can serve as a basis for reading architectural works and determining the contribution of architectural components to the acceptance of the designs framed by this theory.

Research objectivs: 

This research aims to demonstrate how the approaches of the stereotomic theory affect the components of contemporary architecture and how the components react to the above theory.

The present study is qualitative. It was carried out on qualitative variables using library studies, deductive thinking, and interpretive analysis. The analyses were performed using Maxqda n’s coding method in Max Kyoda software.

The results of the present study indicate the direct effect of architectural style and the low effect of the construction period on the being influenced by the body and architectural space by the approaches of the stereotomic theory. The components of materials, elements, structures, and construction in the architectural design process are mainly subconsciously influenced by the approaches of the mentioned theory. The structural component in the role of behavior is the most influenced by the approaches of the stereotomic theory, and the spatial body in neo-modern and technology-based architecture is the least influenced by the approaches of the theory.

Problem statement: 

Problem Statement: Carpets and rugs have always been used as a context for conveying the concepts of Iranian history and culture. The position of specific elements and motifs in carpets can manifest the idea of ​​the time in which the work was created. One of the prevalent elements in altar rugs during the Qajar era is the crown. This element was replaced by a cresset form (Ghandil) or the great name of God in some altar rugs during the Qajar era, which was positioned lower than the forehead of the altar, as it was common in previous times. Another specific feature of this element is its association with tree or vase elements. Among the Qajar carpets with crown elements having a special place, there is a rug that is kept in the Carpet Museum of Iran that has a verbal and visual text and both refer to the coronation of Muzaffar al-Din Shah. Moreover, on the forehead of the altar, the crown element is associated with the lotus flower and similar icons. This study aims to answer the reason (why) and the manner  (how) of the relationship between the name of Mozaffar al-Din Shah, the lotus flower, and the crown, below the forehead of the altar, and seeks to explain and analyze the verbal and visual icons which are associated with the crown element.

Research objetive:

 This study attempts to analyze and explain the patterns used in the altar rug of Mozaffar al-Din Shah by addressing the crown element.

This research used a descriptive-analytical method. To study the altar rug of Mozaffar al-Din Shah, the iconology method was used for analysis on three levels.

Reviewing and analyzing the rug, has shown that according to the discourse of Archaism, the crown has a different identity in this kind of carpet. The resemblance between Taj-e Kiani (The Royal Crown) and FarreKiyâni (Faravahar), and its placement beneath the forehead of the altar, the position of the Quran Verse of Light (āyat an-Nūr) makes it a substitution for the Light of God (Nūr Allah).Moreover, its association with the ‘lotus flower’, the ‘tree’, and the name of ‘Muzaffar al-Din Shah’ refers to the granting of divine splendor (Farr or Farrah) to him. It also emphasizes the establishment of a new government by Muzaffar al-Din Shah.

Problem Statement:

 The various design tools, which have received attention and have been used in educational structures and professional activities of architects, undoubtedly influence the design process, from the incidence of reinforcement aspects in ideation to presenting architectural projects. Hence, such tools must be chosen within the context of logical and unbiased interactions to identify their strengths and weaknesses.

The extant study aimed to identify and compare judgment criteria for design tools to improve the design and guide designers in choosing appropriate tools that are matched with various topics or design progress steps.

The present paper was conducted based on futurology. The Delphi method was an approach adopted to identify experts’ consensus.  To this end, the factors affecting design tool selection were examined. The subject was studied and identified over three discussion courses by using binary matrixes for structure evaluation through the hierarchy method. 

Design tools have various forms and potential. Each aspect of precision, ambiguity, functional simplicity, accessibility, and flexibility is evaluable based on the design topic and designers’ inherent talents. Thus, it is not a smart action to be decisive in selecting a tool or insisting on a specific feature regardless of factors affecting design, designer(s), and design step.

Problem statement:

 As a logical research system, the architectural space syntax method has been profoundly developed in recent decades. However, despite all its advantages, it has received serious criticism such as negligence of the individual and mental characteristics of the built environment, existential integrity of the human in the space, and analysis of the behavioral patterns based on the space configuration. The present study attempts to understand how such characteristics of space can be investigated simultaneously with the space configuration. This article assumes that using a weighted graph instead of a simple graph allows for determining the unique value of each space, leading to more precise and reliable results.

The article seeks to take into account the impact of mental components of space, apart from space configuration, on the movement and, consequently, the behavior of a human in an architectural building. The simultaneous analysis of the weights of mental components and space syntax can correct some defects of the current approach in space syntax analyses.

The analyses performed in the study were both qualitative and quantitative. The integration and agent-based analyses, as two parameters related to the research subject, were performed to study the spatial organization of the Iranian Artists’ House through two approaches. The weights of the mental components were first determined using a simple graph and the depthmap software. In the second method, they were calculated using the AHP method and considered in the space syntax calculations. Eventually, the reliability of the outcomes was compared using the gate count method.

The comparison of the two methods revealed that the results obtained from the weighted graph were more precisely in line with the movement flows in the space of the Iranian Artists’ House.