The Manifestations of the

Iranian Art in the National Documents

Research by Seyyed Hassan Shahrestani

Iran National Archives Organization, 2002

ISBN: 964-6189-55-5

By Alireza Yazdani

The scope of visual culture especially in our times is so broad that urges our graphic designers to take on more profound research and study. The creative graphic designer is sensitive to his society and his contemporary times and is always concerned with being informed and specialized in his profession in the lively and dynamic foundation of his contemporary culture. He attempts to explore every resource and expand his knowledge of visual culture. Finding these resources and presenting them in an aesthetic framework is always regarded as

necessary and useful undertaking. The researcher of this book had to choose a limited number of documents from among thousands in the Iranian national documents organization treasury (including orders, decrees, agreements, endowment deeds, marriage certificates, etc.) Although we do not know if each of the documents has been the best selection according to the intended standards but the 193 piece collection compiled in this book does satiate our searching and thirsty eyes. What is more necessary for a graphic designer than getting to know the history of its country’s visual culture and enjoy its elements in the contemporary graphic design language? The documents chronologically reflected in this book can provide research grounds with several tendencies but they were arranged more with artistic motivation and emphasis on their aesthetic beauty and it seeks its audience among graphic designers and art researchers and critics in the main.

These documents involve a six hundred year period of Iranian history and provide an opportunity for us to compare and review them from various aspects such as calligraphy, seal, signature, illustrations and more importantly, their style of arrangement. Although parts of the visual structure of these documents relates to technical necessities such as durability or the place of seals and signatures refer to the rank and position of the person that issued the document but the different elements and their general composition is so attractive and likable that we become tempted to compare them with modern and contemporary designs or enjoy them in our own designs. Upon opening the book and seeing the first picture which is an ordinance related to the Ilkhani period it will be unlikely not to become astonished. When the order was written or sealed or illustrated however, no one ever intended to create visual marvel in anyone. Preparing these documents that were all official and administrative was a simple and ordinary task. It seems though what makes these documents striking to us is that perhaps by a sense of seeking balance and instinctive manner in preparing the different documents from an important decree of the king to a complaint or a simple report, they attempted to treat the visual elements as such to allow all of what was seen on the document appear elegant and beautiful and give it credit and raise its dignity.

Some of these documents in terms of the arrangement of visual elements including calligraphy, illustration and seals appear so attractive and powerful that our modern nonchalant beliefs cannot accommodate it. Much of what we learn today in our academic education by the specialized and at times complex language in the principles and foundations of graphic design and a lot of what we see in the styles of great contemporary artists and in modern and post-modern works, can be found in this book. This does not imply that the writers and illustrators of those times were modernists; rather, the inherent vigor and energy and strengths of their works can in our contemporary approaches inspire deconstructive actions that also create identity. At last, the respected researcher’s useful commentary and the index of documents by topic are among the book’s strengths, although the same section does not appeal too much as far as illustration. The book cover also fails to properly reflect the elegance within the book.