Rereading the Forms in Transmodern Islamic Art: Commonalities between Calligraphy and Geometry in the Works of Contemporary Middle Eastern Artists Based on Feldman’s Model

Choupan, Seiran; Rahmani, Golale; Mohabbati, Monir; Sadoqi, Farkhonde

doi:10.22059/jfava.2025.401161.667555

Rereading the Forms in Transmodern Islamic Art: Commonalities between Calligraphy and Geometry in the Works of Contemporary Middle Eastern Artists Based on Feldman’s Model

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

seiran choupan ¹

golale rahmani ²

monir mohabbati ³

farkhonde sadoqi ⁴

¹ PhD Candidate in Art Research, Department of Art Research, Faculty of Art, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran.

² Master of Arts in Performing Arts, Department of Drama and Digital Arts, Faculty of Art, Nabi Akram (PBUH) Higher Education Institute, Tabriz, Iran.

³ Master of Graphics, Department of Visual Arts, School of Visual Arts, College of Fine Arts, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

⁴ Master Student in Handicrafts, Department of Handicrafts, Faculty of Art, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran.

10.22059/jfava.2025.401161.667555

Abstract

More than two decades have passed since the formation of the contemporary art movement of the Middle East. Due to the dispersion and lack of uniformity in the art of this region, each researcher has used a special title for it in their works in various periods and according to the paradigms dominant in Muslim societies. Titles such as; Muslim art, Islamic art, Arab art and finally Middle Eastern art have been applied to it, which has been as controversial as the Middle East itself. Middle Eastern art continued to exist under two factors: 1. The entry of Western colonialism and modernity into Muslim countries 2. The departure of famous artists to learn, or their permanence in the West, due to the conditions after September 11 in these countries. Sylvia Neff (2003), for the purpose of historical research, divides modern and contemporary Arab art into three periods: 1. Acceptance 2. Adaptation and 3. Globalization (Naef, 3003), which can also be generalized to Iranian artists. During the period of introduction and familiarity with Western art, Muslim artists tried to imitate the realist style and behavior of the West. In Iran, the acceptance of these ideas began with Mohammad Zaman, then ended with Mahmoud Saba, Kamal al-Molk, and finally his students. In the period of adaptation, artists who had gone abroad tried to create a modern art by preserving the cultural heritage and national background. In Iran, artists such as Jalil Ziapour and Hossein Zanderudi, with the Saqakhaneh movement and the adaptation of traditional art and its combination with modern art, led to the "Calligraphy" style, and in the suburbs of Arab artists, such as Madiha Omar, Kamal Balata, and... to the "Hurufiya Movement". However, in the period of globalization, after the September 11 attacks and during the two decades that followed, due to the migration of young Middle Eastern artists to the West, two streams of their experiences in new lands emerged. The former created hybrid works through traumatic experiences, critical art, and postmodernism, but the latter seeks a complete narrative of "selfhood" that has grown and emerged after emerging from the shadow of "otherness," which has created a trammel reflection with transmodernist art.

This research aims, while explaining Middle Eastern art, emphasizing the theoretical approach of transmodern art, to reinterpret the forms found in the works of transmodern artists, among whom four well-known artists from four different country areas were selected and analyzed and examined based on Feldman's four-stage model. To achieve this goal, several basic questions are considered; What identity aspects do the forms found in Islamic transmodern art in the works of Middle Eastern artists have? What experiences are these forms the result of? And finally, by answering the questions in question, a question that is not the subject of this article is raised and remains unanswered: Is Middle Eastern art repeating its past experiences, emerging with a new approach, and is this considered a loss or progress?

Keywords

Transmodernism

Middle Eastern art

contemporary artist

calligraphy

geometry

Subjects

painting& Sculpture

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