Art History Professor Reza Mirzaei publishes 'Equestrian Semiosis' in ART Magazine; essay examines equestrian motif in larger Iranian political context

Reza Mirzaei, clinical assistant professor of Art History at Alfred University's School of Art & Design, New York State College of Ceramics, has published a peer-reviewed article "Equestrian Semiosis: Unpacking the Parodic Layers of Bahman Mohassess's Painting and Theater" in ARTMargins, a journal published by MIT Press.

The article examines the 1960s work of Iranian painter and theater director Bahman Mohassess (1931-2010), focusing on how he used parody to critique both Western cultural influence and Iranian politics of his time.

Mirzaei analyzes Mohassess's 1965 painting Untitled alongside his 1967 Tehran production of Luigi Pirandello's Henry IV, revealing how the artist cleverly reimagined the equestrian motif, a politically charged symbol in Iran after the 1953 coup, when statues of the mounted Reza Shah became sites of public protest.

The study demonstrates how Mohassess transformed Western artistic forms into complex social commentaries that addressed both contemporary tensions in Iranian society and broader conversations in art history. This research contributes to our understanding of global modernism and highlights how artists in the postwar period used parody as a powerful tool for cultural and political critique.