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  • Mohammed Ali Baniasadi: History and Innovation
  • Bahram Kalhornia (bio)
    Translated by Bahar Eshraq (bio)

Baniasadi’s Birth Place and Background

Developing an appreciation for a piece of art is often linked to understandings of the artist’s life, and viewers work to uncover details of the artist’s life experiences within the piece. People are compelled to gain biographical information about artists because the artist not only explicitly steps into a different and exciting world, but understanding the artist’s background may also reveal hidden meanings in his work. Mohammad Ali Baniasadi was born in 1955, in the Semnan Province of Iran. The Iranian painter, caricaturist, illustrator, and sculptor has taught his views and techniques to younger generations over the course of his career, and has had an outstanding role in the development of visual thinking in Iran. Baniasadi grew up in Semnan, and it was in this city that he spent his most fruitful years of development. Semnan is the historical urban city in the Northeast, the city of endless horizons, the city of khaki color, and the city of historical mysteries. The untouched nature and expansive horizon line in his hometown inspire his work and supplement the sense of mystical wonder in his art.


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Baniasadi’s work incorporates historical expression, and in order to discuss the maturity and the ancient expression of his it is first necessary to explore the historical mode of his land. A crucial aspect of his art is his use of earth-colored schemes: the harmonious khaki tones, colors that are prominent in Iranian landscapes, resurface [End Page 51] throughout his visual works. Aside from their brightness and vivacity, the colors are embedded in Iranian experience, and his use of Iranian historical arts and indigenous textiles express a uniquely Iranian foundation. Throughout history, Iranian artists have created a recognizable set of common colors that resurface throughout Iranian art, and Baniasadi has adapted this recognizable technique in his own work. He is able to evoke images of Iranian folklore and cultural histories in work through colorful artistic expression.

Design and Composition in Iranian Arts

Baniasadia’s close attention to architectural detail reflects his ability to express differing eras of Iranian culture throughout history. Contemporary artists often face the dilemma of adhering to traditional schools of art or breaking the culturing norms through innovative artistic techniques, and Baniasadi manages to incorporate the best of both of these worlds. However, he does not simply blend features of Iranian cultural art and contemporary creative techniques. Through scrupulous research and critical thinking, Baniasadi has managed to develop a skilled aesthetic eye, and rather than strategically merging two distinct schools of artistic thought, he creates his artworks using his own aesthetic judgment. Inventively and imaginatively structuring his illustrations as he creates them, Baniasadi expresses a deeply personal artistic form that permeates his works.

Traditional Iranian artists carefully design their works with meticulous calculations, often using rulers and other tools to ensure careful measurements. These painstaking techniques reflect aspects of Iranian culture, which values organization, planning, and structured methodology. This meticulous and precise method, with its systematic attention to detail, allows illustrators to parallel written texts and narratives in a uniform and logical fashion. Baniasadi has adopted this technique in his illustrations, yet at the same time he incorporates personal touches into cultural techniques. Much like a poet, he remains innovative and unpredictable while at the same time, to a certain extent, adhering to artistic norms. Baniasadi composes his works with creative fluidity and consistent unpredictability, and, through his self-motivated poetic freedom, has transcended the limits of academic artistic technique. His loose brush strokes and freehanded pencil lines give him an identifiable signature style, one that allows his viewers a glimpse into his soul and acts as a vehicle between his subconscious and artistic expression.


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Symbolic Language and Semiotic Message

As social beings, the world as we understand it is embedded in a semiotic nature. Therefore, the audience’s perception of an artwork depends on the piece’s referential message. Artists have always been aware of art’s ability to carry deep, semiotic meanings, and these...

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