An analysis of the para-texts in Iranian architecture (Case study: Tabriz Kabood Mosque)

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Assistant Professor, Department of Art, Masoumeh University, Qom, Iran

2 Associate Professor, Deprtment of Farsh, Faculty of Arts, Shahrekord University, Shahrekord, Iran

10.22034/scart.2025.139993.1398

Abstract

As the speed of interdisciplinary knowledge transfer increased in the second half of the 20th century, common concepts and tools increased. Architects' acceptance of developments in other disciplines such as linguistic theory, critical literature, philosophy, and psychoanalysis led to the expansion of critical tools adapted from those disciplines to be used in architecture. Among these elements are paratexts. A paratext serves as an entryway to the text. The French critic and semiotician Gérard Genette introduced the concept of paratextuality as one of the five categories of transtextuality within the structuralist framework. This article seeks to descriptively and analytically address the question: Are paratexts present in architectural works as well, and if so, what are the key paratexts in the architecture of the Blue Mosque of Tabriz? The information gathering is documentary in nature, and this study aims to open new avenues for analysis by outlining the theoretical underpinnings of paratextuality from Genette's viewpoint. The findings suggest that artistic texts, akin to literary texts, are enveloped by paratexts that play a pivotal role in the comprehension of the text. The building's title and the entrance portal, as external paratexts, along with inscriptions the most significant internal paratexts are instrumental in imparting meaning. Paratexts are integral to the main text, and their examination is inextricable from the main text's corpus. The paratexts identified at the time of the building's construction are manifestations of extratextual factors, such as the cultural and political milieu of society.

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Main Subjects

Sociology of Culture and Art

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 12 August 2025

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