A Reflection on the Concept of the Art of the Islamic Revolution and its Role in the Development of Iranian Art

Culture and Art
A Reflection on the Concept of the Art of the Islamic Revolution and its Role in the Development of Iranian Art

*Fatemeh Aghaienejad, Sayyed Jalal Mousavi, Fatemeh Khazaminejad

The Meaning of the Art of the Islamic Revolution:

The fall of the Pahlavi regime and the rise of the Islamic Revolution led to a situation in which many artists created original artworks on the subject of the Islamic Revolution. In the meantime, the artists, based on the existing atmosphere which was in line with the Islamic culture, laid the foundation of the art of the Islamic Revolution. In fact, the art of the Revolution should be considered as one of the brilliant periods of culture and art in the history of Iran.

Accordingly, the artists in this period, with a creative and profound understanding of the ancient Iranian-Islamic principles and in line with the modern foundations of contemporary arts, came on the scene in an attempt to create the framework of the art of the Islamic Revolution based on the Iranian art as well as the spiritual atmosphere that is compatible with Islamic culture.

 

The art of the Revolution is the reflection of the ideas in line with the Revolution. The main ideas of the Revolution are crystallized and reflected in the artworks created on the subject of the Revolution. If an artwork seeks to, implicitly or explicitly, revive or elaborate on the main mottos of the Revolution through the framework of the art, it will be classified as a part of the art of the Revolution.

The art of the Revolution, on the one hand, is a mirror reflecting the artists passionate ascension towards his Creator and the representation of Divine Beauty and Goodness in conceptual and imaginary forms, and on the other hand, reflects his mystical and painful presence in the fields of defending the freedom and dignity of the Revolution. Such images and themes of western and westernized art, which are the result of humans fall from the paradise of faith into the hell of selfishness and formalism, would be denied and eliminated by the art of Revolution thereby giving rise to new forms and meanings which correspond to the greatness and beauty of the Revolution. In this sense, the art of Revolution is popular; however, because such popularity does not mean vulgarity and populism its beauty and richness will not be decreased and lessened... The art of the Revolution is popular because it addresses the pure and divine nature of the people and invites them to reflect on the truth of the Revolution.

 

Undoubtedly, it is not possible to reach a large number of different subjects and concepts in the context of the general terms used for the art of the Revolution, because not all the artists of the Revolution and of course, their works were lived and created in a single spiritual space. In other words, the different inferences and spiritual influences of the artists have been varied in terms of quality and the permanence and even the possibility of presenting it through visual expressions. For this reason, belonging to a generation or a period of time, is not the only criterion for explaining and interpreting correlations and similar sensory, social, human and spiritual issues. Accordingly, regardless of the ideological orientation, many similarities and differences can be recognized in the group that has been engaged in creating creative artworks for and under the influence of the Revolution.

 

Characteristics of the Art of the Islamic Revolution:

 

The Islamic Revolution is a phenomenon that begins on January 9, 1978, with a public demonstration that took place in the city of Qom in protest against the insulting remarks published by the Etelea’at Newspaper against the religious leader of the country, Ayatollah Khomeini. After the suppression of these demonstrations by the Shah’s regime, popular protests in the form of periodic commemoration ceremonies which were held on the fortieth day of martyrs took place in various cities of Iran.

 

This growing and widespread popular movement was led by Imam Khomeini, who sought the mosques and clergy’s help and was inspired by Islamic teachings in general and Shiite ideology in particular (dynamic and political Islam). Imam Khomeini’s leadership turned a typical protest or demonstration into a demand for fundamental change thereby making the change of political regime and the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty one of the fundamental demands. Also, the violent reaction of the Shah’s regime, caused the demonstrations of the people to continue in the form of a deep revolutionary and widespread movement the peak of which was the demonstrations that took place in the Tasua and Ashura of 1979. Therefore, on January 16, 1979, the Shah had no choice but to leave Iran. On February 1, 1979, Imam Khomeini returned to the country and received a welcome from millions of Iranians. Eventually, the Islamic Revolution of Iran gained victory on February 9, 1979, after three days of armed conflict. Following the changing of the political regime in Iran, this revolutionary movement established the Islamic Republic System. Such development is the beginning of the social, political and cultural developments within Iranian society based on Islamic teachings.

 

Accordingly, it can be argued that there should be at least five indicators in the definition of the art of the Revolution. They include “people’s presence,” “specific ideology,” “guiding leadership” “seeking to create a fundamental change” and “the intensity and speed” of the event.

1) The presence of people: In a revolution, a large part of the population is effectively mobilized. People’s participation in the revolution requires elements such as the organization carried out by a leader, party or ideology.

2) Specific ideology: The occurrence of the Islamic Revolution in Iran which was founded and relied on a special ideology, conscious leader and passionate people showed that this movement is not coercive and far from rationality and will of people; rather, a special political thought implies that, even in the cases that theorists reject the possibility of the occurrence of a revolution, it can bring about a great change in the different structures of society and destroy a long-standing system that enjoys internal and external support. In this regard, the stronger the ideology is, the larger the scale of the mobilization of groups will be. The factor of ideology constitutes a set of determining elements that typically exist in the art of the Islamic Revolution.

3) Guiding leadership: It is obvious that leading the Islamic Revolution should be designated to those who have been inspired by the Islamic culture throughout their life and are fully acquainted with the Qur’an, sunnah, jurisprudence and Islamic teachings. Accordingly, only the clergy can lead the Islamic Movement.

4) Fundamental change: Revolution means change and thus it brings about transformation as well as profound and fundamental developments in the field of values in a way that the new values will ​​replace the old ones.

5) Intensity and speed: Despite the relatively long process of the formation of revolutions, the emergence of revolution is quick and sudden.

Constituent Elements of the Art of the Islamic Revolution:

The flourishing of religious spiritual art in Iran coincided with the occurrence of the Islamic Revolution which was regarded as man’s re-covenant with God. This commitment was accompanied by something to which its devotees aspired in a manner that was reflected in their actions and works. Defining martyrdom as the art of the Men of God, Imam Khomeini provoked a new debate that influenced the special arts. In some cases, the art has a special meaning and refers to the concepts of virtue and perfection as Imam Khomeini considered the martyrdom as the art of the Men of God, whereas sometimes it has a limited connotation that is to say the conceptual forms that exist in human history and is included in poetry, painting, music, etc.

Like all other things, art also needs fundamental and essential elements with which it would come into existence and survive. These elements may drive the art towards growth and perfection or lead to its fall and decline.

The art of the Revolution and its dominant atmosphere temporarily demanded a visual culture, which was changed by the cultural change of the Revolution; This visual culture was a reconstruction of a “conceptual aesthetic understanding” that at the beginning of the Revolution was focused more on the “subject and subject matter” than the form, and as the early years of the Revolution was passing it was trying to deal with “concept and symbol.” Therefore, it should be said that one of the factors and elements that form and build the art of the Revolution during the various periods, is the “presence of symbolic elements” which are rooted in spiritual traditions and customs. (Picture 1)

This element, whether it will be strong or weak, has been existed in the works of art. Looking at the artworks created in the above-mentioned period, we realize that spiritual values ​​and symbolism have a high status. The artists of the Revolution, through spiritual tendencies, led the pre-revolutionary art towards gaining an Iranian identity. In other words, artists were very eager to present their works with beautiful designs and forms calling the world towards Iranian culture and identity.

Among the cases that can be mentioned as the constituent elements of the art of the Islamic Revolution, which is somehow related to the factor of symbol, is the use of ancient (traditional) elements and patterns that are frequently can be seen in the artworks created during this period. By using these elements in their works, the artists of the Revolution tried a new experience and hence gained a special status in the field of contemporary arts. Khazaei, for example, believes that the presence of elements of miniature in paintings and posters is the evidence of this claim.

In many of these posters, the cypress (picture 2),

he halo used in decorative designs (picture 3), etc. all of which are taken from the elements of Iranian painting, are presented with a new symbolic meaning conforming to the principles of visual arts.

Another element of the art of the Revolution is “ethics.” Describing ethics as a pillar of the art of the Revolution in his book “The Wisdom of Islamic Art,” Rahnavard believes that the subjects selected by the artist are influenced by ethical perspectives and inspired by a religious view. This does not put a limitation on choosing the subjects, rather it entails addressing and covering the immoral acts such as crime, indecency, and theft with special care and even by using symbolic expression and with the intention of promoting morality.

Another element that can be mentioned is the “human being” which played a significant role and was frequently used in painting, posters, cartoons, graphics, etc. of that period. Usually, since the revolutions are aimed at freeing human beings from oppression, injustice and exploitation, they tend to cover the subject of humanity as well as his joys and sufferings. This is one of the common elements seen in the revolutions of France, the Soviet Union and Mexico, as well as in the Islamic Revolution of Iran. Images and scenes related to sympathy and expression of affection and support for those who have suffered (picture 4) and on the other hand expressing anger and disgust towards the oppressors and the arrogant (picture 5), are among the themes that have been seen abundantly in the works of artists.

The last and probably the most important element which constitutes the art of the Islamic Revolution of Iran is “religion.” Many believe that the creators of the art of the Islamic Revolution – which should respond to the Revolution and its intellectual foundations –

have accepted the absolute Divine Sovereignty and in fact, defined the orientation of art with its source:

“In an Islamic society, God is not only the source and root cause of an artist’s values, but also He is the source of all values ​​and beings.”

Reference: The Proceedings of the 9th Progress Pioneers Congress. Spring 2016.

 

 


Picture 1: "Ya Tharullah" painting. Nasser Palangi. 1980


picture 2: Picture 2: "Chashme Narges Be Shaghayegh Negaran Khahad Shod". Kazem Chalipa

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