A Study of the Characteristics of the “Grotesque Body” in Four Contemporary Iranian Painters

Contemporary Iranian art, being affected by social context and events, and also sociological issues, has a critical approach. One of the formats that contemporary art uses to represent body and its pain is grotesque. Grotesque is a concept diversified over time which includes new definitions in contemporary art and contrasts with common principles of representation. The question is that why the body in these works of art turns into a medium to represent pain, suffering and tension? To answer the question, this research analyses contemporary figurative paintings by taking advantage of  Mikhail Bakhtin’s views in this field. In these works of art, the coherence and integrity of the body is lost and their defamiliarization of the body is an attempt to make shock in the image. Fragmentation, deformation, demolition and metamorphosis are the most important features of the new state of this body. This study is qualitative, done in a descriptive-analytic method and the data collection is done via field study and library sources.