Conceptual references to social heritage and their manifestations in contemporary Iraqi art: A pragmatic-cognitive study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35560/jcofarts1892Keywords:
Conceptual metaphor – Social heritage – Contemporary Iraqi art.Abstract
Social heritage constitutes a fundamental knowledge base for understanding the relationships between man and his environment and society, and a means to enhance and develop social and cultural awareness. Social heritage is transformative in its forms and functions, and remains capable of being reproduced in contemporary contexts, especially in contemporary visual arts. From this standpoint, the current research is defined by its four chapters. The first chapter included a review of the research problem, which was represented in answering the following question: What are the references of the conceptual metaphor of social heritage, and do they have manifestations in contemporary Iraqi art? The research aimed to identify the references of the conceptual metaphor of social heritage in contemporary Iraqi art, a "pragmatic cognitive study." The chapter concluded with a review of the research terms.
Keywords: Conceptual metaphor – Social heritage – Contemporary Iraqi art. As for the second chapter, it included three main topics: The first topic dealt with metaphor, its origin and historical development, the second topic came about the conceptual references of metaphor in contemporary art, while the third topic dealt with the metaphor of social heritage in contemporary Iraqi art, and the chapter concluded with indicators of the theoretical framework. In the third chapter, the researchers presented the descriptive-analytical methodology. The research population was defined as (20) artworks, from which (4) samples were selected that employed conceptual metaphors of social heritage. The research instrument was designed according to the theoretical framework, and the chapter concluded with the analysis of the samples. The fourth chapter revealed the following research findings: The artworks reflect the artist's ability to symbolically integrate humanity and the local environment, demonstrating an interest in environmental sustainability and an awareness of the importance of the interaction between humans and natural resources. This is clearly evident in examples (4, 3, and 6). The research conclusions revealed that the study of conceptual metaphor in contemporary Iraqi art demonstrates the artists' ability to employ heritage symbols within a modern visual context, where the past and present are integrated, and historical meanings are reformulated to align with contemporary themes, carrying dual connotations between the traditional and the contemporary. The chapter concluded with a set of recommendations.
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