پژوهشنامه فرهنگستان هنر
پیاپی 21 (پاییز 1402)

Upstream narratives are those that penetrate the main narrative for several reasons and cause the narrative to deviate from its original path or, in some cases, cause it to stop. There are four main reasons for this kind of narratives: a) they are related to an institution of power or a system of capitalism and can penetrate the action process and block its passage or put it in a bottleneck; b) they benefit from a kind of discourse legitimacy that is either rooted in tradition and ideology or rooted in false beliefs; c) they use referential components that cannot be dealt with due to their anchoring in discourses or language and media structures; d) They have the possibility of simulating with multiple perceptual systems and can therefore have a direct and immediate impact on social groups. What mechanism do these upstream narratives have? How and on what basis do they disrupt the action process? In this essay, we will try to focus on the literary and artistic discourse and show how the upstream narratives prevent it from moving or cause its movement to deviate by interfering with the path of the main narrative.

Mohsen Vaziri Moghadam is one of the most prominent designers, sculptors and painters of modern Iranian art. The main characteristic of his art is emphasizing the process of creating the work, paying attention to the plane of expression and the plane of content. For him, the process of producing the work is more important than the object and the artwork. In his moving sculptures, we see that the spectator can interfere in the processing of new forms. The spectator or the next interlocutor can also destroy the previous form and product a new form. In his voluminous works, we are faced with the dynamics and tight involvement of the enunciator. An intervention that itself is one of the factors of changing form and creating meaning. We will try to show the enunciation and the creating meaning in this process. If we suppose the creator as a subject in process and consider him as the enunciator, we can say that by creating the work, the enunciator always gives his place to an enunciator who becomes an enunciator and this process can continue. The essential enunciator creates meaning that is in the process and invites other enunciators to participate in the process of meaning. This meaning is different and complementary through the narrative that everyone creates by creating movement in the volumes. The purpose of this article is to show how interactive art affects the values of each spectator and convinces him to participate in the process of creating the artwork.

Modern science lead to the creation of objects since humans could by modern objects achieve the power of invention to occupy the world. Arising the renaissance and passing Dark Ages was not possible without the invention of objects, like telescopes, engaged in the production of science and knowledge. In the digital state, there is a different history of objects which function as super-object being intelligent and able to make decisions and get roles in the production of streams of history. Despite the usual description of objects as being inert and inactive, super-objects introduce the analytical and conceptual position of quasi-objects. They are machines like an object but are not the same. Quasi-objects have the singular capacity of the agency. Hence, human doesn’t have the highest rank over objects in the hierarchy of things. In light of the concept of quasi-object, the main object of the article is to take a theoretical approach to develop a map of relations for explicating the concept of quasi-object, and then analyzing this concept in the field of digital art. Consequently, the digital state is a historical period of conjunction and entanglement of organisms with objects which have the intellectual power of agency. Therefore, in the digitalized contemporary era, we should move from the historical concept of the object to the contemporary concept of quasi-object.

The degree of reality of an object’s representation via sign/text is referred to as its modality. The audience also judges the modality of the text in order to comprehend or evaluate its degree of credibility.Such a judgment depends on time, place, and a dynamic, fluid social/cultural milieu. The use of modal verbs in language is well known for establishing or implying the factuality of an action. From a social semiotics perspective, modality is not just limited to linguistic features, and generally speaking, all numerous forms of representing the object have varying degrees of modality. Visual representation is one of the most important of such methods. Different forms of visual modality, such as naturalistic, abstract, sensory, etc. modality, have a substantial impact on the veracity of the object. In general, visual media, as opposed to written texts, are a powerful instrument for representation of the object. Furthermore, the perception and cognition of an object /world depends on a person’s cognitive capacities. In particular, the neurological underpinnings of visual perception, which serve as the foundation for the perception of visual features like form, shape, color, depth, and texture, have a significant impact on a person’s ability to perceive an object or of the world visually. Some of these experimental foundations were described as Gestalt psychology by experimental psychologists in the early 20th century. However, as research in cognitive science and neuroscience has advanced recently, a more thorough understanding of the neurological foundations of visual perception has emerged. This understanding has found expanded applications in theoretical and real-world fields ranging from aesthetics to cognitive design. The visual modality of the object is therefore anticipated to be impacted by these foundations, and audience perception of the value of reality can undoubtedly be significantly influenced by knowledge of these effects and their use in visual/sensory media. It should be noted that, because the concepts and instances associated to the visual object are so broad, the instances meant in this study are graphic works with scientific, cultural, artistic, or commercial topics. This study demonstrated how certain fundamentals and principles of neuro-aesthetics, such as “good continuation,” “isolation,” “symmetry,” and “peak shift” in graphic design, can boost the reality value of different types of visual modality. Furthermore, it showed that their application should be done with knowledge that the profound effects these principles may have on the audience’s visual perception may have a substantial impact on the works’ design quality, attractiveness or sensory impact, and visual modality.

From the beginning of the architecture semiotics in 1960s, the main question in nearly all of the architectural discussions is whether the architecture as a functional and utilitarian construction has any meta-functional meaning? From 1990s, with appearing the semiotics of the passions, the analysis of the architecture meaning extended over the cognitive dimension of the meaning and the emotion-perceptional dimension of that was considered, which is the turning-point of the architecture semiotics. Therefore, discussing the emotion-perceptional dimension of the architecture based on the hermeneutical phenomenology and the discourse theory has developed the architecture analysis from just a formal attitude to a new approach considered the architecture as an object means substantial fact in the world and interacting with the subject-body.
Hence, the question is how the architecture analysis could pass the coding level study and provides studying the meaningful experience of the architectural object. The hypothesis is based on the theory of the semiotics of the passions (i.e. tensive dimension of the discourse), it is possible to extend novel horizons to the meta-functional dimension of the architectural object. Therefore, in this research, firstly, it is explained the cognitive- actional dimension of the spatial discourse (i.e. the being-text). Then, it is defined the separation of the being-object architecture as an instrumental place and becoming-object architecture as existential place. Finally, the researchers attempt to show based on the Khaju bridge how the qualitative factors constructing the tensive space by two valances of coherence and rhythm make possible the analysis of architectural object.

Contemporary Islamic art in the Middle East has emerged as a powerful tool evolving and reforming for empowering and branding nations softly, showcasing the rich cultural heritage and creativity rooted in the Islamic world heritage. This study aims to explore the main policies, themes, events, and organizations involved in promoting contemporary Islamic art in the countries that are the key players of the region. Furthermore, it investigates the image that contemporary Islamic art has cast for the region, in the context of soft power and nation branding as features of modern geopolitics.
This research employs a mixed methodology, integrating three conceptual frameworks of analysis rooted in Joseph Nye's Soft Power theory, specifically justified by Alexander L. Vuving. Nation branding is another key concept in this paper’s methodological investigations, with a focus on the fundamentals of this term from Keith Dinnie. The methodology developed by Simon Anholt's nation branding index (NBI) hexagon, applied in the annual Brand Finance's Global Soft Power Index (GSPI) reports, is also used in this study as a comprehensive ranking tool that measures a nation's soft power and brand in a global perspective.
The results of this study indicate Türkiye, Iran, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia are the key players in the promotion of Contemporary Islamic art in the region, applying the potentials of this art to foster their soft power and nation branding in various discourses. By the development of contemporary Islamic art, nations have challenged stereotypes and misconceptions about Islam and its followers, fostering greater understanding and appreciation for the diverse and vibrant culture of the Islamic world. On the other hand, critical approaches, which is the core of contemporary art, have challenged the Islamic or a nation’s soft power in applying hard power to culture and lifestyle of the people. As the world becomes increasingly interconnected, the role of contemporary Islamic art in nation branding continues to grow in importance, shaping global perceptions and fostering cultural exchange and public diplomatic concerns for years to come.