Applying the Place of Islamic Mysticism and Zen Buddhist Ideology in Sohrab Sepehri's Paintings

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 PHD student at Department of Art Philosophy, Faculty of Art and Architecture, Islamic Azad University, Hamadan Branch, Hamadan, Iran.

2 Associate professor at Department of Literature, faculty of Humanities, Islamic Azad university, Hamedan. Iran.

3 Associate professore at Department of Religions and mysticism, Faculty of Theology, Islamic Azad University, Hamedan, Iran.

4 Associate professor at Department of Art Philosophy, Faculty of Art and Architecture, Islamic Azad University, Hamadan Branch, Hamadan, Iran.

Abstract

Painting and poetry, as two arts that are closely related to one's thoughts and interests, are a reflection of common religious beliefs and associated symbols. Painting and poetry are both rooted from the same source and foundation and correspond to the thoughts and ideas of the author. Sohrab Sepehri, a contemporary poet and painter, has a special style that distinguishes his works from others. The issue that can be raised is how to reflect the cultural beliefs and mystical thoughts in Sohrab Sepehri's paintings. This research uses a descriptive method and content analysis to analyze the style of Sohrab Sepehri's paintings. The findings of the research indicate that Sepehri has used mystical ideas such as Islamic mysticism and Zen Buddhism in his paintings and his works are influenced by Zen behavior. Most mystical artists, including Sepehri, have paid much attention to nature, which is one of the obvious manifestations of the creation of the universe.; in this sense, Sepehri sees and feels God next to the tall pine tree in the middle of the night. Sepehri's works also have artistic and semantic themes of worldview of mysticism, including Islamic mysticism. In general, it can be said that mystical ideas and Zen Buddhist behavior have been very influential in the composition and drawing of Sepehri paintings. Also, the existence of mystical and Zen symbols of Buddhism, such as mountains, trees, etc. in Sepehri's paintings expresses Sepehri's naturalism, which is one of the mystical ideas and principles of Zen Buddhism.
Research aims:
1. The study of the influence of Zen thought and Islamic mysticism on the composition of Sohrab Sepehri's paintings.
2. A study of the symbolic aspects of the elements of nature in Sohrab Sepehri's paintings according to Zen Buddhism and Islamic mysticism.
Research questions:
1. What effect did Zen Buddhism and Islamic mysticism have on the composition of Sohrab Sepehri's paintings?
2. According to Zen thought, what are the symbolic aspects of the elements of nature in Sepehri's paintings?

Keywords

References

Abedi, K. (1998). The Beating of the Shadow Friend (in the privacy of the dimensions of Sohrab Sepehri's life), Tehran: Publisher Kamyar Abedi. [In Perisan].
Brinker, H. (1973). Shussan Shaka in Sung and Yüan Painting. Ars Orientalis, 21-40.
Cox, R. A. (2003). The Zen Arts: An Anthropological Study of the Culture of Aesthetic Form in Japan. USA: Routledge1-272.
Emdadian, Y. (2011). A Hole in Color (A Review of Sohrab Sepehri's Paintings), Tehran: Publications of the Institute for the Development of Contemporary Visual Arts. [In Perisan].
Fischer, N. (2012). Beyond Thinking: A Guide to Zen Meditation (Zen Master Dogen). Edited by Kazuaki Tanahashi, SHAMBHALA, Boston & London, 1-185.
Flores, R. (2008). Buddhist Scriptures as Literature: Sacred Rhetoric and the Uses of Theory. State University of New York Press.Albany, 1-234.
Jaleh, B. (2006); An Essay on the Mystical Approaches of Sohrab Sepehri, Journal of Literary Studies and Research, Third Year, No. 10-13, pp. 77-61. [In Perisan].
Khorasani Medicine, M. (2001). "Zen Thought and Art", Journal of Art and Architecture, No. 47, pp. 98-86. [In Perisan].
Khadivar, Hadi, Hadidi, S. (2010). Erfan Sohrab Sepehri, Literary Criticism Studies (Literary Research), No. 19, pp. 82-51. [In Perisan].
Kharghani, M. (2016). An Analytical Study of the Relationship between Sohrab Sepehri's Visual Works and Islamic Mysticism and Zen Aesthetic Insight, M.Sc. Thesis. Non-Governmental, Islamic Azad University, Islamic Azad University, Central Tehran Branch, Faculty of Art and Architecture. [In Perisan]
Khairullah, F. (2015). Oriental Mysticism in the Thought of Sohrab Sepehri, Tehran: Hekmat and Erfan Publications. [In Perisan].
Heydari, M. (2015). Sufism Themes in the Poems of Sohrab Sepehri and Mikhail Naimeh. CLRJ. 2015; 3 (1): 121-142
Heriguel, O. (1971). Zen in Archery. Vintack Books, New Yourk, 1-116.
Juniper, A. (2003). Wabi Sabi: The Japanese Art of Impermanence. Rutland, Tuttle Publishing, simultaneously published in Tokyo, Rutland, Vermont, Singapore, 1-176.
Lazer, H. (2006). Zen Buddhism and American Poetry: The Case of Gary Snyder. International Journal of Education and Research Vol. 2 No. 2 February 2014, 1-12
Levinthal, D. and Rerup, C. (2006). Crossing an apparent chasm: Bridging mindfulness and less-mindful Perspectives on Organizational Learning. Organization Science. 17 (4): 502-513.
Maryam, Z. (2015). The Voice of Zen Foot with an Approach to the Works of Sohrab Sepehri, Tehran: Jamal Honar Publications [In Perisan].
Najafipour. (2012). A Study of Sohrab Sepehri's Thoughts in His Paintings, Thesis, Government of the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology, Tehran University of Arts, Faculty of Visual Arts. [In Perisan].
Olson, C. (2000). Zen and the Art of Postmodern Philosophy: Two Paths of Liberation from the Representational Mode of Thinking. State Univ of New York Press, 1-347.
Panahi, S., & Cheraghifar, F & Talebian, Sh. (2018). An Investigation on Painting and Imagery in Zen, Modern Applied Science; Vol. 12, No. 9; 2018, 200-208.
Park, J. Y. (2002). “Zen and Zen Philosophy of Language: A Soteriological Approach,” Dao Dao 1 (2): 209-228.
Purser, Ronald E. (2013). "Zen and the Art of Organizational Maintenance," Organizational, Aesthetics: Vol. 2: Iss. 1, 34-58.
Rafi, M. (2015). The Area of ​​Emotion (Sohrab Sepehri and Mystical Art in the Contemporary World), Tehran: Ney Publications. [In Perisan].
Reynolds, E. (2009). Chinese Painting: Philosophy, Theory, and the Pursuit of Cultivation through the Dao. Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection. 805, 1-16.
Saffron, Alieh, Jafari, A. (1383). Mysticism in the Poetry of Sohrab Sepehri, Pazand Magazine, No. 3, pp. 22-12. [In Perisan].
Spurll GM. (2009). Zen and the art of painting. CMAJ. 2009; 181 (8): E175 – E179. doi: 10.1503 / cmaj.081435.
Suzuki, Y. (2016). Sufism and Suzuki Shozan's Japanese Zen Teachings. Islam and Civilizational Renewal. 7. 443-456.
Suzuki, D. T. (2010). Manual of Zen Buddhism, Oxford University Press, USA, Year: 2010, 1-84.
Suzuki, D.T. (1957). An Introduction to Zen Buddhism. London: Rider & Company. 1-132.
Suzuki, D.T. (1999). Zen and Japanese Culture, Pashaei Translation, A., Tehran: Mitra Publications. [In Perisan].
Wang, Y. (2003). Linguistic Strategies in Daoist Zhuangzi and Chan Buddhism: The Other Way of Speaking. London; New York: RoutledgeCurzon. 1-264.
Weick, K., & Sutcliffe, K., & Obstfeld, D. (2008). Organizing for high reliability: processes of collective mindfulness. In A. Boin (Ed.). Crisis Management: 31-66. Los AngelesCA: Sage Publications.
Watts, A. (2019). The Zen Way, Special Intelligent Translation, Tehran: Behjat Publications.
Vakili, B. (2001), The study of the effect of Zen religion on Sepehri's thought and works, Honarnameh Magazine, No. 7, pp. 10-1. [In Perisan].
Yoshizawa, K. (2009). The Religious Art of Zen Master Hakuin (trans. N. Waddell). Berkeley, CA: Counterpoint Press. 1-255.
Islamic Art Studies
Volume 17, Issue 39 - Serial Number 39
December 2020
Pages 367-387

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics