Street art and public art in the Islamic Republic of Iran

Abstract

The article is devoted to the review of the visual environment of modern Tehran and other cities of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the context of the diversity of forms of monumental, urban and street art. The definitions of the basic concepts and tactics of the existence of contemporary art in the city, such as street art and public art, are given. Their aesthetic, conceptual components and genealogical prerequisites are revealed with an attempt to further adapt to the Iranian art scene, which can be characterized as young, dynamic, actively developing under the influence of a large number of specific socio-cultural features and external factors. The result of the article was an attempt to classify the diversity of these forms of urban art in Iran through the prism of dynamic intersections with its history, religion, political concepts, as well as world changes in recent decades, modern challenges and phenomena of urban culture, which determined the need for Iran to modernize and adapt a number of Western models for improving the living standards of its citizens, although the country remains closed and isolated from the outside world, and its culture is brightly colored by the desire for self-identification and localization. The article does not claim to be a comprehensive review of Iranian street art, but seeks to identify the most characteristic forms of its representation based on a business trip to Iran by one of the authors of the article.