JOURNAL OF THEORETICAL PRINCIPLES OF VISUAL ARTS
Year:2020 | Volume:- | Issue:8|Papers Count:12

The article at hand intends to examine the visual structure of works categorized as ‘ incomplete’ created by different artists in different epochs of time or in other words, in the course of centuries which greatly affected the viewpoints of many Western intellectuals. For this purpose, this study has endeavored to answer two main questions: can an artworks be considered complete, despite appearing to be unfinished? And also Have the artists deliberately made an incomplete work or it has happened accidentally without intention? In any case, as the findings of this study, it can be stated that with the passage of time and many centuries on the one hand, and due to the diversity of cultures in human societies and technical changes from the other, the subject has undergone tremendous changes that were absent during the past centuries and subsequently, there is a significant attitude and approach in these artworks that can be deliberated upon and interpreted. The research findings indicate that such works were first rooted in an unfinished space but later, they tuned into a paradoxical viewpoint and perhaps utilized the achievements of ‘ incompleteness’ , which is ‘ supposedly’ a very profound, innovative notion. In fact, the use of ‘ incompleteness’ or, in other words, unfinished, has not always been rooted in an actually incomplete space but sometimes, some artists have utilize ‘ incompleteness’ to portray things that cannot be seen or illustrate an intangible space. So, some old works of visual arts, especially painting and sculpture, have remained incomplete. Sometimes because completing them was time consuming and other times, due to countless other reasons. This is interesting for a group of artists that like ‘ incomplete’ or ‘ unfinished’ art. Therefore, in order to clarify the reason for creating such works first the term unfinished and incomplete have been surveyed from Etymological perspective. Then, brief history of incomplete visual artworks has been offered. In this connection, a particular attention has been paid to the completion of such paintings and their statues. Afterwards, the visual structures of the works which have become famous as unfinished works are studied. The research finally comes to conclusion. Carried out through desk study of library resources and valid internet resources, the research has been conducted using historical-descriptive method. Also the study takes up an analytical approach to clarify the relations. Particularly this research has tried to take note of different cultures and religions as well as social, national and traditional outlooks that have emerged.

One of the exquisite illustrated manuscripts available in Persian language in Iran is the number 708 manuscript available at the library of Shahid Motahari University (formerly Sepahsalar) in Tehran, which is a Persian translation of the book of Hiyal by Badi’ al-Zaman al-Jazari. In this book, of which at least 21 manuscripts have been identified and 3 of them are available in Iran, 50 automated machines have been presented along with illustrations. Therefore, it serves as a very important document in the history of science, technology and art of Islamic civilization. However, no research has been conducted on the artistic aspects of manuscript number 708, translated by Mohammad bin Dawood Alavi Shadiabadi. Consequently, this research, for the first time, the respective illustration is studied and analyzed to discover its artistic features and remove the dust of negligence from this valuable edition. The main question to be replied here is what are the characteristics of the illustrations of the manuscript No. 708? Other questions are raised during this study include how the does the illustrations of number 708 edition differs from the al-Jazari’ s original book? And what are the specific features of this manuscript? Employing descriptive-analytic method of research, the study at hand has been conducted through desk study of library resources. All the illustrations and paintings of this manuscript comprise the study population of this research. After conducting a general study, an improbable, 10 illustrations of this book have been selected and reviewed for the statistical sample. The most important features of the illustrations in this manuscript include avoiding the use of human and animal images, decorating large colored surfaces with elegant plant and geometric motifs, preventing the creation of colorful backgrounds in the images, not using a separate frame for illustration, avoiding perspective, using few, flat and pure colors, predominance of warm colors in the ambience of images, employing black and sometimes red lines around the forms, applying simple and symmetrical or balanced compositions, and paying attention to details. The examination of the illustrations of this manuscript also revealed that from among 135 illustrations, 36 images portray the main forms of devices, 27 ones deal with mechanisms and 72 pictures illustrate components and parts. In addition, as compared al-Jazari’ s original book, there is a lack of 7 texts, 14 main forms, 9 mechanisms and 26 components, resulting in possible lack of some images and texts during the course of this study.

In ancient cultures, there is no precise equivalent for many concepts which have been created in modern times and are rooted in the development of ontological aspects of human being. In addition, many of the concepts which are common both in modern and ancient societies are rather homophone and in fact not the same in terms of meaning. “ Art” is a concept in modern culture which has not accurate equivalent in ancient Mesopotamian culture. Art, as a unique concept that represents an ontological aspect of human existence and lacks a purpose beyond itself, is a very contemporary concept. Therefore, it is clear that we can’ t investigate the reality of ancient Mesopotamian art using modern concepts and we are not authorized to impose our schema on ancient Mesopotamian works, because such practice distorts the reality of ancient Mesopotamian attitudes and only repeats what lies in the western culture. Hence, for studying ancient art in general and study Mesopotamian art in particular, we need to establish a new approach. Due to the lack of such an exact approach, it is suggested that ontological concepts be considered as a model for finding main patterns of the ancient Mesopotamian art. In fact, ontological aspects of human existence have always challenged human mind and have resulted in the production of important pieces of art in various cultures. Perhaps, thinking about death is one of the most important drives among those that have amused human mind in every time and place; it has always engaged human creativity and as a type of incentive, it has brought about diverse material and immaterial achievements. Death attracts human life and ideals and human desires are formed in association with it. Death is intertwined with life and leads human thoughts and potentials; accordingly, death and what happens after death were the main concern of humanity especially in ancient world in which man was not surrounded by multiple belongings that confuse his thoughts about existence. Death obtains its meaning in relation to a network of beliefs and it can be pleasant or unpleasant; it is pleasant, if it is considered as an end to dark days, and it is unpleasant if it is considered as a starting point of adversity. In ancient Mesopotamia, death was an unpleasant phenomenon for human beings and nobody could have changed it. Man had been created to be servant of gods and death was an end to this job. Gilgamesh, who was one-third human and tried very hard to escape death, could not overcome it, because of the same one-third of his being. Those kings and elites of ancient Mesopotamia who wanted to abscond such fate, tried hard to create a new universe for themselves; a universe in which they enjoy eternal happiness. To earn such goal, they invented two practices: first, they would have become gods and leave humanity; this is depicted in Narā msin monument. In the second method, they would not become gods; rather they would stand in the threshold of gods and would gain a status which would protect them from death. This method has been portrayed in “ Investiture” painting in Mari. In the pictorial evidences which have been repeated in various eras and have changed during time, some elements are related to overcoming death. The most important among them are: vases from which water flows, the presence of a king or elites in the threshold of a god, and a king receiving a rod and ring from god. These motifs must be interpreted in relation to eternality; a perpetual life without any grief which is prohibited for usual people. In other words, these motifs have been allocated to special group and accordingly, they indicate the royal nature of Mesopotamian art. Therefore, we can’ t talk about public art in this type of culture widely, because the main works of art and fundamental motifs survived of such art are often designed for a special group.

The Scythians were a Persian speaking tribe who had kinship with the intial tribes of the Aryans living in the Iranian plateau. They have been more or less considered the same as ‘ Turan’ and ‘ Turanians’ mentioned in Avesta and the Iranian epic legends. The Scythians had a vast territory stretched from Eastern Europe to the borders of China and Mongolia. This region was inhabited by various Scythians tribes who were not only in battle with their neigbours but were also in conflict with each other. Unlike other Aryan tribes (such as the Greeks, Romans, Iranians and Indians), the Scythians were unable to set up a centralized and advanced state system that could lead them to civilization and urbanization and the type of their economy lacked required characteristics to meet such goal. However, they were desert-dwellers but they shouldn’ t be considered among the savage tribes of the ancient world because they were artloving people and even in the proximity of their civilized neighbours, they were able to distinguish right from wrong and shad artistic taste and admired art. Scythian art illustrated the life of a warrior and a nomadic tribe and thus, their art was distinctly different from the art of the ancient civilizations. Scythians loved arts and culture yet their geographical and social conditions did not allow them to establish a civilization similar to their southern neighbors. The Scythians used to assault their neighbours and took entire possession of their belongings. Thus, in their arts, traces of Chinese, Indian, Iranian, mesopotamian and Greek arts can be found. One of the greatest discoveries of Schtyian art are Pazirik and Vettersfelde treasures each of which contain valuable golden items that clearly reflect the influences of the pre-Achaemenid and Achaemenid Persian art. Moreover, although they didn’ t create a city or have a permanent residence; but valuable relics and works of art have been found in their graves and sanctuaries. These include several golden tools, weapons and a number of other objects among which the golden ones had motifs and sketches of mythical creatures and animals and other interesting designs. Aiming to examine one of the forgotten aspects of Iranian art in Europe, the author has based his research on this hypothesis that the Iranian and ancient Mesopotamia art have influenced the Scythian Vettersfelde art. Employing a descriptive-analytical method of research, the paper seeks to answer these questions that which elements prove that the works recovered from Vettersfelde have been influenced by the art of Iran and the ancient Mesopotamians and how they such elements have found their way to the Scythian Vettersfelde art. The study shows that the motifs and designs on these objects have a common root and that they indicate apparent influences from Iranian and Mesopotamian art or even they have been created in this region. Among different art styles of numerous regions, the Zagros Bronze Age artworks are most prominent which corresponds to the arrival of Scythians in the area during the Median period and the existence of the Scythian graves there. Addressing this issue is important in several respects including that the Scythians played a role as cultural mediators among their neighboring nations because they were scattered over a vast territory. Given their close proximity to Iranians, a thor-ough understanding of their art and culture can be very helpful in understanding Iranian art and culture. Moreover, the Vettersfelde treasure shows the strong influence of Iranian and Mesopotamian art on the art of far-reaching areas and can help researchers seek similar influences in such a vast scope. The treasure contains few objects (because most of the artifacts were crushed or melted by farmers), but among them, there are a few golden saddles that are extremely valuable for understanding the Scythian culture. In two large pieces of Vettersfelde Collection, there are several distinct designs, each of which show that these items all belong a single origin and have probably been made by the same artist. While studying it against the Achaemenid and pre-Achaemenid Persian art (especially the Zagros region) as well as the Mesopotamian art, the outcomes display that their motifs and patterns have been derived from the arts and culture of this region, which is dealt with in this research. Perhaps the Scythians’ military influence over the Median and Urartu territories for three decades and then Darius’ s war operations in Western Scythian territory led to the influence of Iranian culture influence on Scythian art.

The present article studies the way public art can develop the practice of collective creativity. Collective creativity is a type of collaborative creativity that encompass diverse strata of people as members of a society. Collective creativity is practiced when there is a need to overcome the probable conflicts and difficulties on a collective scale and as a whole. It is a skill needed for collective problem solving and benefits the public rather than only individuals, in that it is inclusive in engaging people. Collective creativity has been the subject of study from different perspectives. However, despite its importance, creativity has mainly been treated and studied as an individualistic phenomenon when it comes to art. In other words, although the end of the modern era promised a shift towards a more pluralistic approach to the arts, creativity with regard to art has not been respectively reconsidered and studied in its pluralistic sense. Nevertheless, the socio-cultural theory of collaborative creativity, considering its proximity to the field of art, may pave the way towards an interdisciplinary study of both public art and collective creativity. Maintaining a pluralistic approach towards art rather than an individualistic, elitist one, the public art may serve as a creative medium to promote collective creativity. Adopting a sociocultural approach, the characteristics of the space in which collective creativity is practiced, comply with public spaces in that both of them are collaborative and an interactive process of communication is in progress between them. Viewed through socio-cultural perspective, collective creativity is a process which is practiced collaboratively and hence, is prevalent in communicative atmospheres. Therefore, it is through communication that people reveal their intentions to each other and their differences and contradictions are disclosed as a result of self-expression. This confrontation of contradictions creates a dialectical atmosphere which is likely to raise conflicts. Considering the unique nature of each human being, such conflicts may be different each time and cannot, therefore, be predicted or dealt with a set of predetermined rules. Consequently, tackling such conflict demands creative thinking. On the other hand, public art, as a pluralistic art exhibited outside institutional frameworks so as to be available to a wide range of audiences, can act as an artistic means to develop collective skills. Moreover, considering public art-public space relations, and the fact that according to the socio-cultural approach, the public space is the field of collective creativity practice, public artworks may have the potential to trigger the interactive communication process that is required for the practice of collective creativity. To determine whether public art is able to trigger the self-expressing interaction process needed for the practice of collective creativity, the characteristics of this art type are first to be investigated since characteristics of an item are the means that enable it to function in a specific way or towards accomplishing a certain goal. In the present article, the functionality of public art for the development of collective creativity has been examined. Consid-ering that there exist several definitions of public art, the article first analyzes the nature of public art to prepare the groundwork for the study of its characteristics. Thereafter, due to the typological variety of public art, different types of such art are studied for their level of interactivity, which is the same quality that determines the functionality of public art for developing collective creativity. Since collective creativity is practiced in a communicative space, public art is supposed to prompt interactions if it intends to develop a communicative space. In other words, a work of public art has to serve as a stimulus that triggers communication between individuals. This process of stimulating the parties to prompt interactions is described in technical terms as “ triangulation” . The proper type of public art for the objective of collective creativity practice is, thus, the type which can better serve as a triangulation stimulus. In this article, first the theoretical literature on public art, public space, and collective creativity have been explored and analyzed in order to indicate how these three fields are interrelated. Afterwards, the study deals with how public art needs to be considered in a proper context if it is to contribute to develop collective creativity. Based on the outcome of this theoretical analysis, the attributes of public art and requisites of collective creativity practice are respectively studied in order to identify the type of public art which is most compatible with the objective of developing collective creativity. Based on the attributes of collective creativity, the new genre public art, due to its communicative nature, holds the most potential for triangulation and is, therefore, the proper type of artistic practice as a means of developing collective creativity.

The quality of everyday products and quality of life of their consumers are tightly connected to eachother. One of the main concerns of industrial designers is the product design suitable for Iranian consumers’ taste. To this purspose, there are important elements to be considered during product design process including artistic charecteristics, technical features of products, exploration of customers’ needs and the limitations of industrial sectors. As a multidisciplinary field, industrial design helps manufacturing industrial sectors develop products that comply with the customers’ need. Similarly, Ergonomics, as multidisciplinary science, is concerned with meeting both physical and emotional aspects of human needs. This science plays an important role in the design of the product. Ergonomics considerations in product design results in the production of safe, secure and attractive products that satisfies the customers. Undoubtedly, for those industrial sector authorities who seek for successful manufacturing, marketing and development of products, customer-care processes are important. Pioneers of production firms and marketing managers also emphasize on the abovementioned approach. The customer satisfaction and his persistence in choosing and buying the product depend on the quality and desirability of the product. Therefore, the customer’ s experience and his/her perception of production should be taken as the determining factor in the purchase of any given product. Of course, there are some other important factors such as duration of use of the product, customer’ s previous information about it and its history. After purchasing a product and upon using it, a new understanding of the product is created for the customer. This new experience may result in whether full satisfaction or dissatisfaction and factors such as the brand, design type, usability and initial price contribute to such understanding. Therefore, in this study, the ergonomic design of products has been carefully considered as an important factor in meeting customer satisfaction. Likewise, customer’ s perception of the product and considerations of ergonomic design based on semantics comprise the main scopes of the current research. In this descriptive study, the scientific role of designers in the publication of scientific and research-based articles and their attention towards the requirements of the industries was considered. The papers published during the last decade in SID Database have been studied among which are thiry one journals such as Negareh (Quarterly), Bagh-E Nazar (Monthly), Journal Of Deramatic Arts And Music (Semi-Annually), Scholary Journal Of Theoretical Principles Of Visual Arts (Semi-Annually), Journal Of Architecture Studies (Quarterly), Journal Of Visual And Applied Arts (Semi-Annually), Journal Of Studies On Iranian Islamic City (Quarterly), Maremat-E Asar & Baft-Haye Tarikhi-Farhangi (Quarterly), Motaleate Tatbighi Honar (Semi-Annually, Naqshejahan (Semi-Annually), Journal Of Architecture And Urban Planning (Semi-Annually), Journal Of Architectural Thought (Semi-Annually), Housing And Rural Environment (Quarterly), International Journal Of Architectural Engineering And Urban Planning (Semi-Annually) and so on. In this part of the study, words such as emotion, productivity, production, ergonomics, aesthetics, product, and industrial design were searched within these journals. Based on this research, it seems that product design based on criterias such as aesthetics, ergonomics and hedonomics play an important role in meeting customer satisfaction. Undoubtedly, these kinds of products, which the customers consider purchasing, play a critical role defining industrial sectors’ strategies. As hedonomics concern users’ mental and emotional satisfaction, so those productd designed based on hedonomics are often chosen as useful products. Aesthetics features of products and their pleasurable design are important for costumers and ergonomics and hedonomics play a prominent role in this respect. The results of this paper indicate that ergonomics helps designers develop new products based on the needs of both costumers and producers.

Wars leave indisputable adverse effects on social conditions. Upon the abatement of social traumas left from the World War II, Germany, that had suffered a lot during this time, encountered the question of defining the future. In the meantime, struggling to duplicate the developmental values of the capitalist system and particularly the American consumerism, the country endeavored to present a fresh look. However, the fierce actions resulting from the unstable conditions arising from the world powers’ clash was not only still prevalent, but each day, such condition was emerging in a new form in another part of the world. The development-based values of the Western society were spreading alongside the war ruins. The cold war was the official manifestation of the violence rooted in the ideological confrontations of the World War II. The ferocity of war and its aftermath in a society does not end at a specific time but runs through the history. For a long time, artists keep reflecting the terrors, humiliations and frustrations caused by wars in diverse forms of art. Postwar events and developments left a profound impact on the world of art. Post-World War and frustrations, Cold War challenges and concerns, economic crises, etc. comprised some of the major external elements that made the world of art no longer tolerate conceptual and minimal expression and agree or oppose to the politics of its time. Even the humiliations and frustrations of war was manifest in various forms of art for a long time. Just like others, the artists were witness to the cruelties of their time and suffered although they were not soldiers. In such circumstances, creation of artworks was a reaction to such events in the artists’ style. Anselm Kiefer and Georg Baselitz are among those artists each of whom have responded to the life events in their own specific way. In Germany, many artworks were created to portray the aftermaths of war in a new style influenced by expressionism. Such style is referred to as ‘ neo-expressionism’ . Employing descriptive-analytical method of research conducted through the desk study of library resources, the study at hand surveys the effects of war on the works of artists who created their artworks under the influence of the turbulent postwar period. Moreover, it seeks to illustrate how the consequences of suppression, such as violence, are portrayed in works of art. Through examining the form and content of the works of artists who have only seen the postwar ruins, the paper analyzes how social and political conditions can affect the works of artists of one specific era and beyond. Keywords such as violence, necessity, deficiency, etc. used to analyze artworks are generalizations that can be derived from an author’ s point of view in artworks. Hence, no criticism is absolute and artworks require repeated surveys and reviews in the framework of social, cultural, political and artistic developments. Evolution in the world of art world calls us to review the art of the past eons. This study seeks to take a closer look at the works of the two German artists using Ž iž ek’ s commentary on violence. The main purpose of this paper is to examine the hidden origins and aspects of violence in the works of postwar German artists based on Ž iž ek’ s viewpoints. In fact, the research mainly aims to address this question that how a human being suppressed by and humiliated in war, engages in the world of art. Artworks are ever involved in politics and social affairs whether consciously or unconsciously, explicitly or implicitly. Apparently, this is not a new or even a contemporary phenomenon. If politics is considered a matter of power or relevance, every work of art, even the most conceptual one, is linked to its own contemporary politics and is its product. Wars do not necessarily commence and conclude at a certain point of time; contrariwise, they engage with the cultures and societies for successive periods. Reflection of personal human experiences such as pain, grief, rage, and the like, for which there is no external equivalent, constantly make the contemporary artist face this question that whether such experiences can be demonstrated as art objects. The outcomes of this paper indicate that art is an effective and influential tool that communicates directly or indirectly with human thought and worldview as well as the society conditions. It is within the developments of the society that art currents are shaped and it is in the same ambience that they find meaning. But since the work of art has ever been considered beautiful throughout the history of art, it has been unable to portray ugliness and inequality, because for the audience, a work of art is beautiful and this accounts for a kind of failure for an artist who protests against social conditions.

The present study investigates both western and eastern styles developed in two Eastern districts (in Khorasan) as well as west and south of Iran during the 9th century Hijrah. Having presented a brief history of Nasta’ liq, the research also examines the way that both Eastern and Western styles have emerged. It was hypothesized that there are differences in principles, performing techniques as well as aesthetics between both Eastern and Western styles of Nasta’ liq. Moreover, the study aims to investigate the aesthetic differences between two styles of Nasta’ liq and come up with accurate understanding of the performance techniques the 9th-hijrah-century calligraphers employed to enhance the quality of calligraphy in the present time. Conducted through desk study of library resources, the paper offers a brief history of lives and works of calligraphers of two afore-mentioned styles, followed by surveying the features of their calligraphy. Afterwards, the similarities and differences of both styles in composition, writing and other features of both the styles. The results indicated that there is a difference between principles and the way of performing both eastern and western styles of Nasta’ liq that makes them distinctive. Moreover, oriental style pays more attention on promotion of Nasta’ liq, thus making the style more lasting. It was also clarified that Abdolkarim Kharazmi was the first calligrapher who had access to water-resistant ink. Nasta’ liq is a style in calligraphy, which is well-balanced, well-proportioned and possesses a perfect composition because all the principles of calligraphy are entirely observed and well-established in Nasta’ liq. Ease and speed of execution, legibility as well as beauty of the style caused Nasta’ liq to spread widely. As Agari quotes the famous expert in Iranian art, Arthur Pope says: “ Nasta’ liq, that is very soft, gentle and eye-catching, has emerged from the combination of the features of two styles, Naskh and Ta’ liq, the first being well-balanced and thorough and the latter being impressive and predominant. This style prompted by Iranians demonstrates an advanced civilization and sophistication (Asgari, 1393: 98)” .

The authenticity of the work of art has always been one of the issues that have attracted the attention of artists as well as art critics and theorists. Authenticity is associated with concepts such as continuity, change, and truth; in other words, the truth of the work is actually the continuity as well as the change in the framework determined by the work’ s essence. While expressing the distinction between various arts as for their authenticity, the American philosopher Nelson Goodman offers an innovative approach of the processes and methods of artistic creation in the allographic and autographic arts. For him, autographic arts are created in a single-stage and are inimitable while the allographic arts are two-dimensional and can be unlimitedly reproduced. Taking into account such definition, arts such as painting and sculpture can be considered autographic or autobiographic while other types of art such as photography and graphics that are easily available to everyone for logical reproduction might be considered allographic. Employing a descriptive method and collecting data through desk study of library resources, the research has been based on the theory of Nelson Goodman on the division of works of art into two groups of autographic and allographic and investigates the characteristics of authenticity in the group of reproductive works. Authenticity has been examined and used in many different ways. Therefore, there are several definitions of this concept. A number of theorists believe that creativity, as an important issue in an artwork, is the main pillar of authenticity of any original work. Autographic and allographic works are different in terms of ontology, the nature of the work and the presentation; however, in terms of authenticity, both are considered authentic and artistic; in fact these are original works and their creator has made them without imitating any previous artwork but through his own creativity and innovation, and thus, they are ‘ unique’ in essence. One can also search for authenticity in works that exhibit some degree of mental effort and are worthy of deliberation. The reproducibility of works is not an indication of the absence of authenticity, but shows that reproduction and copying of such works have been carried out by technological means without the slightest manipulation. Therefore, they don’ t have original and copy versions and are unique and matchless in nature. However, as for autographic works, the copy of the work is devoid of value and originality and has defects that differentiate it from the original one. Ultimately, intellectual and original works which possess a degree of creativity and intellectual endeavor are considered as authentic. Therefore, the authenticity of the works depends on the thought and content of the work that must be pure and innovative, and the way of presenting as reproduction or non-reproduction is not a criteria to be considered while examining the authenticity of any artwork.

The visual arts are those creations that are seen instead of being heard. These include such forms as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, handicrafts, architecture, etc. Architecture is the process and product of planning, designing, and constructing buildings or any other structures. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often considered cultural symbols and works of art. Historical civilizations are often identified with their surviving architectural achievements. As a form of visual art, Architecture has always been accompanied by beauty and one of the methods of creating beauty in Iranian architecture is the use of decorations, which has played an extensive and valuable role in the emergence of Islamic architecture. These decorations are mostly combined with visual qualities and fundamentals of visual arts and thus, they create a beautiful and pleasing appearance. Architectural ornaments have been among the most ancient components of Islamic art. Since the eighth century onwards, partial and, more often, overall decoration of buildings has been a characteristic feature of Islamic architecture. Religious monuments as well as secular complexes have been decorated with an array of styles and techniques that reflected the multiplicity of Muslim societies and their cultural expressions. Until the eleventh century, most decorative techniques such as the use of ornamental brickwork or moulded stucco and mosaics in the Muslim world were inherited from pre‐ Islamic cultures and societies. As one of the main ornamental elements of Iranian and Islamic architecture, brickwork is evident in most traditional buildings in Iran particularly the mosques, and considering this issue, the mosques of Maragheh city, as one of the cultural and historical cities of Iran, are very important. This article aims to analyze the brickworks of Maragheh mosque based on the theoretical principles of visual arts and answer this question that how the brickworks of Maragheh mosques have been used and how they inspire the viewers. The research has been conducted employing a combination of field study and descriptive-analytical method. The tools used to this purpose include observation and imaging of mosques and their brick decorations and desk study of library resources. The statistical population are the traditional Maragheh monuments and Maragheh traditional mosques are statistical samples. A look at the history of the mosques in the city of Marghah reveals that almost all of them were constructed during the Safavid era which is one of the periods when Iranian art flourished and religious buildings such as mosques became more import-ant. During the Safavid period, the Seljuk style of brick decoration expanded in scope from the pure structure stage to the first level mediator. Bricks are used in the vast majority of mosque’ s facade and the photos taken indicate that the they are one of the visual features of beauty. Two of the items of visual quality are significant in this structure: one is rhythm and two, are the fine movements in the decoration therein which inspires its invisible and sacred unity. Contrary to the above, the contrast principle in decoration is not used to prevent tension and instability and conflict with the viewer of the building. Generally, artist’ s feelings are delivered with using the visual principles in the interior decoration of the building and can be transmitted internally and externally.

As an art medium, photography is a representation system that, just like language, is capable of creating, presenting, and inducing several concepts concerning objects, peoples, events and even a special scene in various forms and in different qualities. In other words, human beings think through the latent capacities of language and use it with different functions such as typical dialogue, statement as well as artistic and poetic language. Likewise, a photographer, taking into account his/her goal and intention and the level of proficiency, knowledge, insight and creativity, can utilize technical and expressive facilities of photography. This way s/he gives to his/her work various qualities and functions ranging from representing, documenting, communicating, aesthetic, poetic, artistic and reporting. Here the questions arise that what factors give an artistic nature and quality to a photo and what are the factors affecting the artistic photo? In order to answer these questions, this article aims to elaborate upon the factors influencing the production of artistic photo based on some major style-making factors in the field of linguistics that is: a particular attitude, selection and avoiding normality. As every medium has a set of unique and recognized features and understanding any art medium depends on understanding its main nature, capacities and constraints, the research first discusses the main basis and framework of photography to understand on which foundation the medium of photography depends and enjoys what elements, characteristics, functions and capabilities. Then, the study continues with carrying out the analysis of artistic photos based on three main style-making factors of literature and language, that is, a particular attitude, selection and avoiding normality was. This research has been conducted employing descriptive-analytical and comparative method of research and data has been collected through desk study of library resources. This way, first a platform would be created to help develop exploratory studies of literature and linguistics with photography, which seems to be lacking. Moreover, a theoretical tool will be devised for exploring a variety of images that help expand the concepts of analyzing and criticizing the photo and provide a theoretical and practical framework for photographers. Also, given that there seems to be insufficient awareness of the definitions and examples of creative and artistic photography in the Iranian photography community, conducting research on this concept might be helpful in developing the history of artistic photography in Iran. Although there is no precise definition for some artistic expressions, but given the above issues it can be argued that artistic photo is special type of photography that is obtained from artistic action of a photographer, that is, creative and purposeful use of capacities and potential expressive capacities of photography. In other words, photography enjoys technical capabilities and potential expressive capacities to create artistic photo that include choosing a subject, selected frame (vertical or horizontal), angle of view (up or down), type of lens (normal, medium to telephoto) and the selected diaphragm (open or closed) and how a photo is edited (low or high contrast, white balance, color kelvin, frame work, shutter, time, … ). Artistic photo is result of a particular attitude of a photographer towards different subjects and the way of using facilities, capacities in selection and avoiding norms and rules in taking a photo that puts a photographer in the position of an artist who according his/ her skill, knowledge, attitude and creativity creates influential, motivating and lasting photos from the most common subjects instead of normal representation of objects and surrounding environment. This also provides the possibility for the photographer’ s audience to obtain a new and novel perception of the subject presented and think and contemplate on the photo.

Logotype is a graphic inscription used by business owners, institutions, individuals, etc. to distinguish their name from others. Logos are among the major assets of each brand and play a decisive role in the fate of that brand and business. Also, logo is a basic concept pertaining to consumer behavior, which may reinforce that behavior as a relatively stable characteristic of a trademark/brand. Considering that a logo is a branded asset, proper logo design will have a positive effect on customer brand attitude. Quality and design serve as distinguishing factors for a logo. Graphic designers use various methods to improve logo quality and design. One of the distinguishing features of logos is their gestalt, which refers to their organizing and configuration. Gestalt is a psychological theory that examines humans’ visual perception of their surroundings. Effectiveness has different implications, but in the definition given in marketing management, which is roughly the most commonly used concept in this field, is the evaluation of the position of advertising in attracting a customer for commercial purposes. Effectiveness is a popular concept in marketing management that deals with the evaluation of the position of advertisement in attracting customers for commercial aims. In order to assess the effectiveness of advertisement, several patterns have been defined the most commonly used is AIDA. Logotypes that are designed using AIDA method, effective advertisements lead costumers through 4 stages of being attracted to a commodity, becoming interested in it, desiring to buy and finally buying it. The current study claims that a commercial logotype may hold the same position as an advertisement and effect customers; and gestalt, which is its basic form, is considered a factor involved in such effectiveness. For this purpose, a Harir fabric production company logotype with acceptable pragnanz was selected as a representative for the evaluation of commercial logotypes, and its effectiveness evaluated using descriptive survey and AIDA method. This logotype, among with many other commercial ones belonging to fabric producers yet lacking high pragnanz, were put on catalog to be compared. On the back cover of this catalogue, 20 questions related to 4 effective AIDA factors were mentioned. Then the customer visiting one of the fabric wholesalers during a week, were asked to answer the questions before browsing the catalogue and choosing. The statistical population of this study includes 140 people which according to Morgan table and using the available sampling method, an approximate number of 100 samples were taken and 100 catalogs were distributed along with a questionnaire. The responses format was structured based on five items of Likert scale and its validity was confirmed by some professors of marketing and graphic management. Reliability was also measured using Lizrel 15, which indicated 82% reliability for questions on being attracted, 87% reliability for questions related to being interested, 95% reliability for questions related to desire factors, and 94% reliability for questions related to buying factors. Considering the reliability of all the four factors, it can be said that the researcher’ s questionnaire had significance reliability. The results exhibited that due to containing the principles of similarity, proximity, integrity, continuity, the image-background fit, and high level of pragnanz, the logotype of Harir Fabric Manufacturing Company can influence its customers. This effectiveness proved to be a good demonstration when Harir fabric production company Logotype was compared to weak pragnanz logotypes. The data showed that costumers are first attracted to logotypes with high pragnanz and then they are impressed by AIDA effective factors. The level of effectiveness was high in two factors of being attracted and becoming interested while in de-siring to buy and buying factors, it was a little bit lower yet still effective. Being attracted had the highest rate of effectiveness followed by being interested, desiring to buy and finally buying. Hence it can be concluded that just like advertisements, the commercial logotypes when accompanied by effective factors, may prove fruitful in selling and gaining profit procedures.