Reflections on Qajar Art and Its Significance

Humanities Journal of University of Zakho

Existentialism is one of the philosophical schools of thoughts that can be analyzed in the light of the thoughts and affirmations of poets. This research tries to demonstrate the basic principles of existentialism in Mathnawi of Mem and Zin. Literature is associated with philosophy since literature deals with human condition and essential thoughts of human. Mathnawi of Mem and Zin is one of the works that can be understood philosophically, and this indicates Ahmad Khani's greatness undoubtedly. The aim of this research is understanding and being familiar with existentialism in Mem and Zin, which is one of the divine type, and that it can clarify how views of Khani conforms the basic philosophical principles of this school. In the epic of Mem and Zin, many elements of existentialism can be found such as individuality, faith, freedom, anxiety, rationality and concept of transcendence and the most important one which is finding the spiritual freedom. This research is the library research since it is based on content analysis. The research findings indicate the role and the importance of thoughts and decisions of human in achieving excellence and understanding the concepts of choiceness and freedom, apprehension, communicating and being in contact with others, faith, rationalism and transcendence. The epic of Mem and Zin can be considered as one of the existentialist works because lots of elements of existentialism can be found in the epic. The characters especially the protagonist, themes, and symbols that can be found in this epic are completely existential in color.

2018

2017

گسترش ورود اروپاییان به ایران در قرن 19میلادی/13 هجری، اگرچه موجبات افزایش اطلاعات آنان در عرصه­های مختلف از طبیعت و جامعة ایران را فراهم ساخت، اما به­دلیل ادراک حسی یا سطحی از فرهنگ، ادیان و مذاهب ایرانی، به­ویژه مذاهب قومی، محلی و رازآلود، دریافت­های آنان با اما و اگرهای فراوانی همراه است. این امر در گزارش سیاحان غربی دورة قاجاریه از مذاهب صفحات غرب ایران به­وضوح قابل مشاهده است. هدف این پژوهش بررسی انتقادی این موضوع بر پایة روش تطبیقی است. بخش فراوانی از آنچه سفرنامه­نویسان خارجی در سفرنامه­های خود تحت عناوین اهل ­حق، نصیری، چراغ­خاموش، چراغ­پف، داوودی و به­ویژه فرقة علی­اللهی به عقاید و آداب و رسوم جاری در میان کردان با مرکزیت شهر کرند غرب منسوب داشته­اند، بیشتر به­یکی از آیین­های رایج در منطقه به­نام «یاری» تعلق دارد و در نتیجه تصویر آنان از فرقة علی­اللهی تصویری مخدوش و غیر قابل اعتماد است.

گلستان هنر, 2020

«مداد الخطوط» یکی از رسالات مشهور در آموزش خوشنویسی است که به‌واسطهٔ انتساب آن به میرعلی هروی در میان محققان و خوشنویسان معاصر اعتبار یافته و مورد استفاده و استناد مکرر قرار گرفته است. مقالهٔ حاضر به بررسی اصالت محتوایی و مسئلهٔ انتساب این رساله می‌پردازد. طبق این بررسی، «مداد الخطوط» رساله‌ای جعلی به‌نام میرعلی هروی است که متن آن اقتباسی ناشیانه و آشفته از دیگر رسالات خوشنویسی است. عمدهٔ متن این رساله برگرفته از «سواد الخط» مجنون رفیقی هروی است که با مطالبی از دیگر رسالات خوشنویسی، از جمله «رسم الخط» مجنون رفیقی هروی، «اصول خط» عبدالله صیرفی، و «اصول و قواعد خطوط سته» از فتح‌الله سبزواری آمیخته شده است. باور به اصالتِ «مداد الخطوط» تحلیل‌هایی نادرست را به‌ویژه دربارهٔ احوال و آثار میرعلی هروی و سلطانعلی مشهدی از سوی محققان خوشنویسی رقم زده است. As a famous treatise in teaching calligraphy, “Midād al-Khutūṭ” has been frequently used and referred to by contemporary scholars and calligraphers as a result of being a work ascribed to Mīr-‘Alī Hirawī, the prominent Persian calligrapher. The present essay would test the authenticity of such a work and reassess this treatise’s status in the history of calligraphy. The results indicate that “Midād al-Khutūṭ” is not a genuine treatise and not a work by Mīr-‘Alī Hirawī, but a poor, disorderly adaptation of other treatises in calligraphy. The major part of this work has been taken from “Savād al-Khaṭ” by Majnūn Rafīḳī Hirawī, mingled with some notes and subject matters from other treatises, including “Rasm al-Khaṭ” by Majnun Rafiḳi Hirawī, “Usūl-i Khaṭ” by ‘Abd Allāh Ṣayrafī and “Usūl wa Ḳawā’id-i Khuṭūṭ-i Sitta” by Fath Allāh Sabziwāri. Belief in the authenticity of “Midād al-Khutūṭ” treatise has brought about some false evaluations and analyses, especially of Mīr ʿAlī Hirawī’s and Sulṭān ῾Ali Mashhadi life and career by scholars in the field of calligraphy.

2019

. Introduction The city of Narmashir is located on the path of communication that, during the Islamic era, would link the center and west of Iran's plateau to the southeast, the shores of the Oman Sea and Hormuz. This city is known to be one of the major cities of Kerman in the third (Yaqubi, 2002, p.150) and fourth (Hadud al-'alam, 2004, p.143; Maqdisi, 2006, p.681) Hijri century. From the end of the Timurid to the Qajar period, there is not much noted in regards to this region in the geographical history books. Until the Qajar period, where Narmashir was re-named as the district of Kerman (Shirvani, 2010, p.603) and the district of Bam (Etemad al-Saltanah, 1988, p.472). In the current city of Narmashir, in addition to the Islamic buildings and sites, such as towers, caravanserai and a hill called 'carton', there were also reinforced using military-defensive and master-residential buildings. Qaleh Shahid (Shahid Castle) is an example of such buildings in Narmashir, which was most likely built in the late Islamic era. 2. Methodology With attention to the significance of Narmashir throughout the era of Islam and its vast affects, a historic and archaeological study of this area is necessary. In this essay, we study archaeology of the Shahid castle, which is one of the most known and ancient castles in the area. The main questions raised in this research are: What are the architectural and decorative features of Shahid castle and what are the factors influenced by it? What was the function of this building? The purpose of this essay is to investigate the type of work, as well as an analysis of the architectural and decorative features of the castle and its materials. Data collection method is field-documentary and the research method is descriptive-analytic. This data analysis is based on deductive reasoning. 3. Discussion Shahid castle is located today in a village of the same name in Azizabad in the central part of Narmashir city. Two-storey castle building has several rooms and two towers with similar decorations on both sides of the eastern and western entrance doors. The current area of ​​the building is estimated at about 200 square meters per floor. The castle was built without a platform and directly on the ground. It is possible that the castle and its towers were built in the late Zand period, and some of which have been added in the last 180 years (Shoshizadeh et al., 2005, p.2). The castle has a regular rectangular pattern (fig. 3). The main axis of the building has been the access point of the spaces through the central corridor. The most important space is a room on the first floor and on the top of the entrance. This room has three openings to the outside. Access to the ceiling and towers has been made from this room. The presence of a large open space outside the castle indicates the presence of the master and the possibility of communicating between him and the others. Divisions and social relations, the system of activities and economic conditions of the society surrounding the castle with regard to the presence of the privately-owned castle can also be seen. Shahid castle towers with a height of approximately 12 meters and the same decorations are located on both sides on the inside and the outside (fig. 6). The close proximity of the towers to each other, as well as increasing the defense of the castle's inhabitants, also adds to the beauty and decorative aspect of the building. The shape of the towers is cylindrical and their plan is circular. In addition to the two towers, there were four other towers. Two of which were at of the northeastern and the other two at the northwestern side of the castle; most of them were destroyed. The castle's towers seemed to have multipurpose functions. They were used to control the entrance and exit, in and out of the castle, in order to maintain control of the fortress, it was also used to protect the castle and to fight against the enemy. The fence and the presence of observation towers and congresses are considered as the main components of the castle's defense architecture. Thus, in constructing the castle with the master and the residents in mind, these necessary measures were needed to stop or at least slow down the speed of the invaders outside the castle and the fence inside it. Due to the current location of the castle in the village, as well as its frequent and continuous use, and the gradual abandonment of it in recent decades, no culture data, such as clay pieces, was found in any parts nor the surroundings of the fort. The main materials used are mudbrick and thatch, on some parts there was plastered surfaces. There are also bricks in some parts of the building. There is also signs of wood had been used within the framework of the remaining entrance (fig. 5). Narmashir is located in the warm and dry climate of Iran. In these areas, the hot seasons are long and the winters are short, with a temperature difference of up to two times at night and day. Therefore, the construction of walls using brick to keep the inside warm during the cold season, this is an example of the use of some of the best materials in the region. On the other hand, the use of clay and laminate as an affordable and popular material, made it both convenient and inexpensive, and it was easy to recycle. Observing the principle of introversion and the making room for interior spaces along keeping defensive issues in mind, and to avoid direct sunlight as well as hot and dry winds, openings in the walls have been kept to a minimum. In contrast, in order to provide light, the location of the entrance ports and ceiling lights is chosen to provide the necessary light space. The structure of the mudbrick was not suitable for joining tile or stone decoration. Clay can also be considered as materials that have been used in decorations, in addition to the structure of the Narmashir monuments. Hence, the special layout of the bricks in front and rear is used to add a kind of decorative element in the castle. For example, in niches or some windows, the layout of the upper part is such that architects create a multi-edged and decorative form with the front and back of the bricks, and draw a mortar on it. This type of decorative element has been seen in other Islamic cultures in Narmashir plain (Jamali and Rafi Abad) and in the upper part of the windows of the Rayen citadel of Kerman. The castle towers are covered with sun-dried brick, exterior and interior. For instance, the bricks on the exterior of the tower are lined with crossover, square shapes, diagonal lines, rows of other geometric patterns, and the outer decorations of the towers. This type of form and decoration has been used as architectural and decorative patterns that have been common in other towers and minarets in Narmashir and other parts of Iran since the Seljuk period. 4. Conclusion Shahid castle was built and used as a governmental, private and residential property, and which took military action during insecurity. The castles and towers date back to the late Islamic centuries. In regards to the architectural features, the type of decoration, type of plan and kind of materials used, the most important are: - Construction on a regular and rectangular surface; - The presence of the roof of the arched roof, the windows and the wall heater in the spaces and rooms of the building; - The presence of a fence and a solid wall in accordance with cultural and security conditions; - Establishing a dominant atmosphere; suiting the economic situation, livelihoods and social status, divisions and communications; and a system of social activism; - The construction of two observation towers with a circular plan and a cylindrical shape to suit the nature, the environmental conditions and able to withstand severe storms, as well as to better defense, over watch and gain control the inside and surroundings of the building; - The use of structural elements of mud brick, thatch and wood for the doors, and possibly windows, in accordance with the climatic characteristics of hot and dry areas. In general, we can say that the reasons for using clay in this area are: The use of local materials in accordance with the principle of "self-sufficiency"; Lower costs of construction, repair and maintenance; ease of work; Simplicity and avoidance of futility; Adaptation to the environment and needs; High resistance of mud brick and clay produced in Narmashir due to the presence of sand and gravel in them; Resistance to extreme changes in temperature between the night and day; Resistance to mild earthquakes; Good for thermal insulation.

Kimiya-ye-Honar (کیمیای هنر), 2016

Merleau-Ponty’s understanding of art is tied with his phenomenological view point of perception. According to him, the important matter in art, is not only about beauty, but about perception and expression as well. Merleau-Ponty seeks to describe the relation between the artist, the objects and the world he paints. In other words, he considered the relation between the artist and the artwork. However, in this study we are looking for another aspect of the relationship. Our purpose here is to describe the interaction of artwork and the audience. With this aim, rather than addressing his direct comments about art, we will return to Merleau-Ponty’s philosophical project. In this paper, first of all, we investigate fundamental concepts of Merleau-Ponty’s philosophy and then use these concepts to describe the relationship of the audience with interactive art event in general, and to describe the interweaving of the body of performer with the audience in an interactive performance in particular. In the end, by emphasizing on research data and analyzing them in the field of interactive art we look at the performance of “ Field “ (performer: Amir Mobed) and we analyze the importance of the aspect of embodiment in performer and audience in event and the interaction between them. It is important that interactive art, despite its expansion in the world of contemporary art and despite numerous research studies in this area, has been less studied from a philosophical perspective. By means of Merleau-Ponty’s philosophical views in the context of interactive art, it is a possibility to free a work of art from definitions, limitations, as well as dualism of outside / inside, artist / audience. Interaction of the audience with the artwork is the resurgence for art in order to establish a common world between the artist, audience and interactive art event. According to philosophical concepts of Merleau-Ponty, in the performance “Field”, performer is not the source and promoter of performance and all the body’s actions are not independent from the audience. He is exposed to embodiment, including looking, sensation and movement, and also the expression and bodily activity of audience. Interactive event is the common world of performer and audience, in which they are exposed to each other’s perception, and influenced by each other’s actions. In this performance, Merleau-Ponty’s concepts of expression are frequently manifested prior to any thought and reasoning, which is because of the physical proximity of performer and audience. درک مرلوپونتی از هنر با دیدگاه پدیدارشناسانه او از ادراک گره خورده است. به زعم وی مسالۀ مهم در هنر، پرسش دربارۀ زیبایی نیست، بلکه پرسش دربارۀ ادراک و بیان است. مرلوپونتی با تمرکز بر هنر در پی توصیف ارتباط هنرمند با اشیا و جهانی است که به تصویر می کشد. به عبارتی او رابطۀ هنرمند با اثر هنری را مد نظر قرار می دهد. اما با این حال در این پژوهش ما بدنبال وجه دیگری از رابطه هستیم. هدف ما در اینجا، توصیف ارتباط متقابل کار هنری و مخاطب هنر است. با این هدف بجای پرداختن به نظرات مستقیم او در مورد هنر، بازگشتی به طرح فلسفیِ مرلوپونتی خواهیم داشت. در قدم نخست ، در این مقاله، به شیوۀ توصیفی- تحلیلی به مفاهیم اساسی فلسفۀ مرلوپونتی می پردازیم و سپس از این مفاهیم به منظور توصیف رابطۀ مخاطب با رویداد هنر تعاملی بطور کلی، و توصیف تداخل و در هم تنیدگی بدنی اجراگر با مخاطب در پرفورمنس تعاملی بطور خاص، استفاده می کنیم. در خاتمه با اهتمام به داده های پژوهش و تحلیل آن در حوزۀ هنر تعاملی، نگاهی به پرفورمنس "کشت زار" خواهیم داشت و اهمیت وجه بدنمندی اجراگر و مخاطب را در جریان یافتن رویداد اجرا و تعامل بین آنها تحلیل می کنیم. این موضوع از آن جهت حائز اهمیت است که هنر تعاملی با وجود بسط و گسترش آن در دنیای هنر معاصر از مبانی نظری و فلسفی بی بهره مانده است. بکارگیری دیدگاه فلسفی مرلوپونتی در متن هنر، یک امکان است برای رهاسازی کار هنری از تعاریف و محدودیت ها، و نیز گذر از دوگانه انگاری بیرون/ درون ، هنرمند/ مخاطب، ... در هنر است. تعامل مخاطب با کار هنری، تجدید حیاتی برای هنر در جهت برپایی جهانی مشترک و تعامل بین رویداد هنر و مخاطب هنر است.

Parseh Journal of Archaeological Studies, 2019

Ringkasan Fiqih Mazhab Syafi'ie, 2022

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2018

Journal of Research in Islamic Architecture, 2021