Mapping the historical context in which ‘modern art’ developed in Iran, this project aims to examine the ways in which modernist aesthetic values were perceived, appropriated and transformed within the socio-cultural context of modern Iran. Since the development of modern nation-state in early-twentieth century Iran, artists has produced their art in relation to the ‘other’ West and in search of indigenisation and authenticity. Combining local concerns with modernist values, such efforts finally led to the formation of a kind of ‘modern’ art during the 1960s that reflected the power dynamics between the Pahlavi state, the intelligentsia and the laypeople in the face of Western modernity. In this research, I intend to show the ways in which both aesthetic and socio-political axioms of modernism were adopted and translated by Iranian artists and cultural custodians alike, to develop a ‘national art,’ nowadays associated with the idea of ‘alternative modernism.’ In line with my previous study on the ideological aspects of art historical narratives in modern Iran, I will focus on 'modernist Iranian art' in the 1960s and the ways it has been, and could be, formulated and will examine the applicability of post-colonial and post-structuralist theories in this context. My final intention is to publish a book out of several articles on the above-mentioned areas.
Wed 17 Jun 2015
