SOCIOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF ART AND LITERATURE
Year:2012 | Volume:3 | Issue:2|Papers Count:8

Through confirmation and conferring prizes, the artistic institutions such as museums, galleries, academic centers, and governmental institutions legitimatize artistic innovations. At the same time, these institutions may have a restricting function upon artists’ innovation because they often support recognized and established styles of art. For example, art galleries, as economic foundations, normally exhibit recognized and confirmed works. Therefore, in order to establish their avant-garde and deconstructionist works, the innovative artists need to find artistic groups and societies so that they could confirm, establish and support them while maintaining their own artistic independence.Founding artistic associations, of course, needs a high level of social participation among artists. Romantic isolation of artists in the society, however, acts as an obstacle that reduces social participation. Therefore, the paper addresses this question that how mental patterns and romantic orientation of “being an artist” affect painters’ participation in collective artistic activities. In other words, to what extent do painters tend to participate in collective activities regarding painting? In order to answer this question, first, the collective and institutional activities in the Iranian Society of Painting Art were identified, and three forms of activity, namely artistic gatherings, artistic groups, and artistic associations, were studied. Then through a field study, the effect of variables such as gender, age, education, and social and economic status of the artists as well as their attitude towards social art and individualism in painting on their tendency to participate in collective activities was examined.The results obtained from interviews with 135 painters indicate that although Iranian painters maintain a positive view on collective work, their actual participation is lower than average. Also, a comparison of three types of participation in occasional gatherings, artistic groups and artistic associations showed that tendency to group participation is more prevalent, followed by occasional gatherings, and organized participation is the last form of collective activity preferred by the painters. It means that painters are hardly interested in institutionalized and associational activities. Painters’ non-participation and lack of integration in the artists’ social relations network bring about their inability to express their civil rights and unionist demands on the one hand and underdevelopment of artistic innovation on the other hand. The Iranian Society of Painting Art is dispersed. Individualism has prevented artists to join other artists, express their innovative ideas, and expand social and professional support and confirmation. Finally, recognizing artist’s innovation in creation of a work as a new set of artistic rules requires artistic institutions which could confirm these rules.

This paper aims to analyze the views of female painters on women and the representation of women in their contemporary painting works.The one sided representation of women in Arts in general has a long history and is likely due to the fact that most of the Artists have been male. On the other hand, increase of woman’s presence in painting art opens a field for research and, through addressing this issue; one can study the viewpoint of women artists about different societal issues. In this regard, we have to add that, at least in the painting works, more women are active than men.A male view has mostly placed women in stereotyped roles. This negative stereotype is due to the ignorance of the differences of male and female roles. Now we add that representation is possible to take place by one group. In this research we studied the contemporary arts which have been created by women, to find the answers to the following questions. Have the women painters also displayed the roles of women as stereotyped? How, through this method, women have reproduced the stereotype gender?Methodologically we have used Stewart Hall’s representation theory as the research frame work. Hall believes that meaningful reality does not exist and he introduces representation as one of the key methods of production which in a process is exchanged and distributed among the members of one culture.The statistical population of this study covered those works exhibited in an Iranian Women Paintings Exhibition called “sensation emergence”. These included 1327 painting works and in 244 of these works women have been considered as the main subject. In the painting works under consideration, we paid attention to the natural and cultural representation women, sexual appearance of women, representation of women in mother roles, wife roles, upbringing, and religious or non-religious representation of women.The research findings indicate that the women of women painters in terms of natural and cultural representation, sexual and non-sexual representation, playing the roles of mother and wife, and upbringing and child caring, are stereotyped. Predominantly, a sexual view of women is conceivable among these paintings. Nonetheless, in some paintings this stereotypical role has been has been rejected.

This paper, following a formalist approach, attempts to explain art as a Zeitgeist, or ‘spirit of the age’. It is aimed to investigate the enhancement of the painting by Armenian artists of Isfahan on the bases of historical literature and documents left since 17th, 18th and 19th century, as well as the available secondary sources tries to examine the Iranian-Armenian community’s achievements in art, frescoes, and painted curtains of 17th century in Julfa of Isfahan, as a part of Safavid capital, across the banks of the Zayande Rud which was constructed especially for the Armenians who were brought to Iran through forced migration by Shah Abbas between 1604 and 1905.The achievements of the Iranian-Armenian community in the arts were spectacular. The transitional period from manuscript illumination to canvas painting, during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, has not been adequately studied by the art historians. Frescoes, painted altar curtains, ceramics, and canvas paintings are still preserved in churches and the homes of the wealthy in New Julfa. During this period, a transition took place from conventional medieval forms to new realistic forms and means of expression.Along with miniatures and murals, other new forms and genres of art developed: easel painting, portraiture, life scenes from the daily experiences of ordinary people, and landscape painting. Artists whose names have survived include Minas, a legendary painter of New Julfa in Iran, and Ter Stepanos, also from New Julfa, responsible for manuscript illuminations from the mid-17th century and large paintings in the Cathedral of New Julfa.The wealthy merchants, artisans, and elites in general in the Iranian-Armenian community were the main consumers of this new type of art. No longer did painters require the patronage of the king, noblemen or clergy. The merchants of New Julfa and other cities in Iran eventually had to give way to newer representatives of capital. Iranian-Armenians never ceased to be agents of modernization in Iran, especially in the sphere of fine arts. In architecture, music, theatre, and other artistic fields Iranian–Armenians were always part of the vanguard. Their high level of urbanization, increased international contacts, integration in the wider Iranian society, and ethnic ties with other Armenian communities, made them ideally suited to that role.

Sociology of art and Literature as one of the sub disciplines of Sociology of knowledge studies social and cultural conditions of creation of an artistic and literary relic. Since art and literature are crystallization of social life of a group, class or a nation, so through the study of them it is possible to perceive social and economic situation of society. As soon as the sociology of art and literature as a branch of the sociology of knowledge has been initiated many literary masterpieces including those of famous authors of Western novels have been studied from a sociological perspective. In Iran, however, research in the field of sociology of literature has been limited. The events covered in the historical and sociological study of the historical novel “Tears of Sabalan” written by Ebrahim Darabi starts on Azar 25th 1325 and continues until the Islamic Revolution in 1357. In this two-volume novel, Darabi describes the life of Azerbaijani fighters. Sociological research on the Tears of Sabalan has not been done, albeit the issue has been addressed from the literary perspective.To fill the mentioned gap, the subject of present article is to study structural equivalence between structural aesthetics of historical novel “Tears of Sabalan”, mental structure of writer and ideology of middle class during the period of its creation. This study is based on Goldman’s genetic structuralism through two levels of perception and analysis.The results show that the writer wants to explore success and failure of social movements during the Pahlavi period. Hence, according to the writer, cooperation of groups and social classes, middle-class ideology and intervention of foreign players, explain the success and failure of these movements.Author of the novel was a high school teacher and came from a middle class origin. In addition, like most his counterpart intellectuals, was a pro socialist tendencies, and eager to solve social problems. As such the ideologies of middle class and social groups are reflected in his novel.

This article is an attempt to analyze the interaction of heroic morals and the logic of everyday life through the perspective of sociology of cinema. In other words, the author is aimed to study the interaction of heroic morals and the logic of everyday life as represented and narrated by cinema. The case under study is the movies of Masud Kimiai. Theoretically, a combination of Jean Duvignaud thesis on social dynamism and artistic imagination, Luckach thesis on problematic hero in modern society, and Loventhal theory about the transformation of hero in American society is adopted. By using this theoretical approach, it is argued that there is a dialectical interrelationship between social space and cinematic representation and narration of social realities. Structural narrative analysis and structural semiology are used to analyze the films. Kimiai has made about 30 films during forty years before and after Islamic revolution. Using theoretical-purposeful sampling, four cases of Kimiai’ films were chosen: Ghaisar, Ghavaznha, Eteraz and Mohakeme dar Khiaban. The findings show that Kimiai’ films represent and narrate the transformation of hero and his assimilation in everyday life in Iranian society. As the process of modernization has extended in recent decades in Iran, the logic of instrumental rationality has dominated on social interaction and cultural realms. As a result of this process, the heroic morals, based on ultimate rationality and transcendental beliefs, have been excluded, and the logic of modern everyday life, which is based on exchange and instrumental rationality, has dominated on social spaces. Kimiai’s films represent an anomic society in which the values, identities and lifestyles are full of contradictory elements. These contradictions have penetrated the mental life and the most intimate spheres of individuals. These films are concerned with the disruption and deconstruction of a homogenous life world and the rise of anomy, contradiction and chaos in objective and subjective life of individuals. Kimiai’s reading of social dynamism is closer to Emile Durkheim concept of anomy than to Jean Duvignaud’s theory about eternal transformation of human being and society. Kimiai, just like Luckach, believes in the problematic and alienation of hero in modern society. This is, in his view, the main reason of hero resistance to modern everyday life. Iranian society, as represented and narrated by Kimiai’s cinema, is not a homogenous one which supports his members mental and objective lives thoroughly, but a society that is an articulation of contradictory and non-homogenous values, norms, morals and traits. However, what is obvious about modern everyday life in Iran is that it has been dominated by reified, instrumental and non-transcendental logic which has weakened, and sometimes removed, heroic morals. Kimiai’s cinema can help us to reflect on different aspects of our society and to understand the logic of cultural and social change in Iran. This reflection and understanding, which is artistically articulated, is inevitably a critical and hermeneutic one that shows the inconsistencies, conflicts, anomies and anomalies in our society.

The Iranian new wave filmmakers pay attention and focus on the social changes in years before the Islamic Revolution in 1357 (1979).In these years due to the economical and social changes and the government’s attempt for modernizing the traditional social system and social uplifting has spread and this caused criticism by the Iranian new wave filmmaker of that era.Social approach and mobility was main theme in new wave cinema of Iran in the years before of revolution. Therefore In this article subject of heroes social mobility in four films which are: reza motori (by masoud kimiaia 1960) khoda hafez rafigh (by amir nadery 1971) sobhe roze choharom (by kamran shirdel 1971) have been selected for sociological studying and analysis.These four films (movies) are classified in critic social genre and their heroes belonged to social lower class Without a respectable job and made a living by robbery. Events of these films are about gaining substantial amount of money, by variant means. Heroes want to promote their social status by earning money, But social conflict and opposition of other persons cause the death of these heroes.This article focuses on sociological approach understanding special group of Iranian filmmaker who wander the clashes between traditional and modern culture and gain impacton the social development which cause the death of heroes in these four movies (films).Hence this article has analyzed the approach of filmmaker in representation of death of heroes, particularly according to social mobility at large industrial cities as manifestation against the command of the government.Police as symbolic power for protecting society from the first situation that is arresting the outlaw heroes and eventually kills them in these four films. This means suppression of dominant classes is gradually transformed into sympathy and inattention and then, power of killing. For content analysis two modes of interior and exterior criticism has been used. With regards to interior criticism, signs signify a hero on his own and his unsuccessful life, beside heed lessons of so upper class society and according to exterior criticism in a closed society the lower classes couldn’t make any progressive action for a better living.Conclusion of this research proves the hopeless opinion of filmmakers about these four films and about life and society. There isn’t any expectancy to a worthy living by an individual at social level. Death of heroes to be caused by their unbalance life, their environment is full of pain, suffering, poverty, wandering and social pathogenesis. Heroes of these films try to steal enormous amount of money, but their efforts are futile and in vain. Action of heroes weren’t admitted and approved by norms and values of middle class society.Governmental obligatory of social progress and modernization didn’t comply with democracy and justice. Black atmosphere in these four films (movies) prepare rude behaviors and cruel persons or the result of any possibility for a positive ordinary life. In these four films, heroes being in the closed circle, lonely, illness and defeat deciding in the kinds of death they face at the end of the movie. In this period. Distribution of wealth was unjustified and caused to increase the gap between classes in modern society of Iran, and this, borders of cities lead to social protest.

In this article we study the attitudes of Iranian cinema audience toward popular films. Affected by classic elite cultural theories, popular culture and consumers of popular culture have been humiliated for many years. According to this theories, audience of popular magazines, popular music, popular films and other popular culture products, have been considered as passive victims. Cultural studies approach, have changed this view. In this article, we use the cultural studies approach and consider popular film audience as active audience.We addressed “Ekhrajiha 2” for this study, regarding its popularity and its rank among the bestsellers in the history of Iranian cinema. Released in 2009. “Ekhrajiha 2” have been written and directed by Masoud Dehnamaki as a “Comedy/War” genre. The story of movie is about some Iranian soldiers during the Iran–Iraq War.In this research, two qualitative techniques have been combined to gain best result about audience attitudes: interview and participatory observation. First, one of the researchers (Mowlaei) has watched the film with audience in the cinema theater for 9 times. Cinema theaters have been chosen from different areas of Tehran that attract audience from different social groups. He recorded the audience behaviors and reactions. Then, another researcher (Kermani) interviewed some film viewers from diverse educational and cultural backgrounds.Results indicate that audiences decode the movie in different ways. As Stuart Hall says, encoding and decoding in communication have different phases in a process. Although director had tried to highlight Islamic and national ideological messages, audiences considered “Ekhrajiha 2” as a comedy product and enjoyed funny scenes of the movie. Thus, different audience groups decoded the movie in different ways.Using participatory observation and in-depth interviews, we also found six reasons for high welcome of the movie:1. Film Background: “Ekhrajiha” is a “movie sequel”, and some audiences went to the cinema to watch following stories.2. Representing a new viewpoint on Iran–Iraq War. In the Iranian war cinema, many previous movies have represented Iranian soldiers as the holy people. In this movie, some soldiers are represented with funny and villain personalities.3. Extensive advertising: IRIB (Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting) and other state propaganda heavily encouraged people to watch the movie.4. Different decoding possibilities: the movie structure allows audiences to decode messages and scenes in different ways.5. Appearing fun atmosphere in cinema theater: In some Tehran cinema theaters, audiences made a fun atmosphere. They went to the cinema with their family and friends and got pleasure from this atmosphere.6. Reproducing the movie in a consumption moment: cinema audience participated in reproducing movie simultaneously when they watched movie in cinema theaters.