Strategic Studies of Culture

Strategic Studies of Culture

Conceptual preparation of social assessment of “artistic literacy”

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Meysam Mahdyar 1
Simin Veisi 2
Soheil Ahsani 3
Mohammad Poorkiani 4
1 Assistant Professor of Cultural Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran, Tehran, Iran. Email: m.mahdyar60@gmail.com (Corresponding author)
2 Simin Veisi, Ph.D. in Cultural Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran , Email: siminveisi@gmail.com.
3 M.s of Art Research (Art and Architecture , University of Mazandaran. Email: Soheilahsani77@gmail.com.
4 PhD in Cultural Management, Baqir-ul-Ulum University, Qom, Iran. Email: m.poorkiani@gmail.com
10.22083/scsj.2025.519422.1276
Abstract
Introduction: If cultural policy is understood as the activation of cultural resources in the service of cultural objectives, then art in general, and Islamic-Iranian art in particular, can be regarded as one of the most significant cultural resources for cultural and artistic policymaking in Iran. One important dimension of such policymaking is the enhancement of public awareness of art and the cultivation of artistic taste, appreciation, and understanding among citizens. Despite the existence of educational curricula, books, and studies related to art education, the scholarly and policy literature on the concept of art literacy remains limited within Persian academic discourse. Therefore, art literacy can serve as a useful concept for understanding, assessing, and measuring the current state of artistic awareness and taste for application in cultural policymaking. Using a documentary research method, this study sought to identify the dimensions and components of art literacy in order to develop more objective and practical indicators for policy and measurement purposes.
Methods: This study employed a qualitative approach based on documentary and library research. Given the limited domestic literature on art literacy, foreign academic sources as well as relevant cultural texts were examined to identify the dimensions of the concept. In addition, theoretical literature related to neighboring fields, including art education and art criticism, was reviewed in order to expand and refine the indicators of art literacy. Through an intertextual analysis of relevant sources, combined with inductive reasoning and the use of selected existing indicators, the various dimensions of art literacy were identified with particular attention to their applicability within Iranian society.
Findings: Based on the analysis, the most important indicators for measuring art literacy in Iranian society include:
Art Historical Knowledge: Knowledge of major Iranian and international artists and their works across different artistic forms, with particular emphasis on Islamic-Iranian arts. This dimension includes familiarity with major historical periods of art (ancient, modern, postmodern, Islamic, etc.), the lives and works of prominent artists, the artistic media in which they worked, and the ability to associate artworks with their historical contexts.
Art Field Knowledge: Knowledge of artistic fields and media, with an emphasis on Islamic-Iranian arts. More specifically, it includes awareness of major artistic events in Iran (such as markets, auctions, and festivals), artistic institutions, associations, groups, materials and tools, artistic contexts in Iran and the world, books and media programs related to art, cultural gatherings, museums, historical sites, and other cultural heritage spaces.
Form-Based Knowledge of Art: Knowledge of artistic forms and formats and their distinctions from other artistic expressions, with particular emphasis on Islamic-Iranian arts. This includes familiarity with artistic forms and their subcategories, as well as the ability to distinguish Islamic-Iranian artistic traditions from other artistic traditions.
Knowledge of Art Movements and Genres: Familiarity with major artistic schools, movements, and genres in Iran and around the world. This includes knowledge of the characteristics of different schools and genres, their major representatives, and the principal genres of Islamic-Iranian art.
Aesthetic Knowledge: Familiarity with the principles of aesthetics, particularly those associated with Islamic-Iranian artistic traditions. This includes understanding concepts of beauty and ugliness, as well as the ability to recognize and describe artistic elements such as form, composition, harmony, color, unity, balance, rhythm, themes, and geometric patterns.
Art Criticism Knowledge: Familiarity with the principles and methods of art criticism. More specifically, it includes knowledge of semiotic and discursive approaches to artworks, the ability to describe artistic details, distinguish form from content, discuss the themes and meanings of artworks, and recognize major art critics and media dedicated to art criticism.
Artistic Engagement and Preferences: The capacity to appreciate and experience aesthetic pleasure through artworks. This includes direct engagement with works of art, participation in artistic events, purchasing and collecting artworks, discussing artworks with others, selecting artworks as gifts, and recognizing the significance of art in everyday life.
Artistic Ecology: Familiarity with the artistic capacities of Iran’s ecosystems and cultural subcultures. This dimension includes knowledge of the relationships between artistic forms, materials, tools, genres, and their geographical and cultural contexts.
Conclusion:‌ If we set aside certain postmodern approaches that reject stable artistic standards and emphasize innovation, deconstruction, and rupture with tradition, and instead consider classical aesthetic principles such as balance, harmony, proportion, coherence, and precision, art may be understood as contributing to the intellectual, moral, emotional, and behavioral development of individuals. From this perspective, the cultivation of artistic taste and literacy becomes an important cultural objective, particularly given the rich aesthetic heritage embodied in Islamic-Iranian art. At the same time, the development of artistic taste should remain connected to the historical, cultural, and social foundations of a given society; otherwise, it may provoke cultural and political reactions. Consequently, enhancing public art literacy across dimensions such as art history, artistic fields, artistic forms, aesthetic principles, schools, and genres—with particular emphasis on the historical and civilizational heritage of Iranian and Islamic culture—can contribute significantly to the cultural and social development of Iranian society. Furthermore, measuring art literacy through the proposed indicators can provide a more accurate understanding of how art is perceived, appreciated, and consumed in Iranian society, thereby offering valuable insights for cultural and artistic policymaking.
Keywords
Artistic Literacy
Cultural Policymaking
Art Policymaking
Artistic Education
Aesthetic Education
public taste training
art criticism"
Visual Literacy
Subjects
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