Beyond Representation: Reimagining Shahnameh in Abstracted Forms of Animation

Winner of the Maureen Furniss Award for Best Student Paper on Animated Media (2023), awarded annually by the Society for Animation Studies

Introduction

Shahnameh, known as the Book of Kings, is Iran's most significant national epic poem. This poem, completed in 1010 AD, was written by Abu l-Qasem Ferdowsi over a period of thirty years (Khaleghi Motlagh 29) and chronicles the tales of ancient legendary Iranian kings and heroes, starting from Kayumars, the first man-king, and the founding of Iran, to the fall of the last Persian Empire of Sassanid to the Arabs in 651 AD (Davis 12). Moreover, Shahnameh is a canonical ancient epic with dominant mythological themes that explore cosmogony, ancient ideologies, and symbolic interpretations of natural events (Parnian and Bahmani). It embodies both national collective memory (Zand) and universal archetypes, with Franklin Lewis describing it as “world literature.” These designations emphasise Shahnameh's transcultural depth and profound engagement with "timeless, big-picture questions relevant to the human condition" (Lewis 313).

Written more than a thousand years ago, this text can be challenging to understand in its original poetic language today, even for Persian-speaking readers. Therefore, from the early years of animation production in Iran,1 this book has consistently served as a foundational text for various adaptations that could benefit from its rich contents while offering new and possibly more accessible ways of engaging with Shahnameh. However, despite Shahnameh's popularity for animation adaptations, there has been a noticeable absence of scholarly documentation on these artworks and a dearth of academic studies, particularly concerning their animation designs and the potential of such designs for meaning-making and creative outcomes.

This study identified sixteen animations created between 1971 and 2019 inspired by Ferdowsi's Shahnameh (see Appendix).2 A rigorous analysis of these works revealed a notable observation: some animations adopted a more realistic design, and others embraced a minimalist aesthetic. However, all consistently adhered to representational visual and motion styles and avoided radical abstraction and experimental forms of animation (see Figure 1). The preference for representational (as well as literal and narrative-oriented) tendencies over the last fifty years may stem from conservative approaches to the remaking of Shahnameh, attributable to its profound cultural and literary significance. It could also relate to the educational goals of clearly communicating Shahnameh's narratives and content, considering that most previous adaptations primarily targeted children and younger adults.

Nonetheless, one could posit that Shahnameh's mythological, universal, and archetypal themes present immense possibilities for interpretation through experimental and abstract remaking. Such alternative approaches could offer novel methods for exploring this canonical literary piece and serve as a mechanism to enhance its enduring relevance and understanding in previously unexamined forms. Therefore, this investigation contributes to the academic discourse concerning the affordance of abstraction in animated media, specifically focusing on the underexplored domain of Shahnameh's narrative in abstract and experimental animation forms. It aims to rigorously assess the potential for artistic expression and construction of meaning within the paradigm of abstract stylisation for the adaptation of Shahnameh.

The current study is among the handful of scholarly works exploring the possibilities of abstract animation as an untouched stylistic approach to recreating and reinterpreting this ancient poem.. This research employed several methodologies, including the creation of two original abstract animations based on Shahnameh. The findings suggest that, although abstract animations are often known as ambiguous, experimental, and open forms of expression (Taberham), these qualities can positively contribute to the adaptation of ancient narratives such as Shahnameh. Here, the openness and ambiguity of abstract animation can enhance the inclusion and access of the viewers regardless of their levels of affinity with an adapted narrative and offer unconventional, unexpected, and novel perspectives in its explorations, where the spectators play significant roles in the meaning-making process. Such an approach can facilitate an exploratory and sensory storytelling experience, fostering new understandings of a cultural text and prompting more interpretive ways of engaging with its narrative space.

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Figure 1: First row from the top, left to right: 1- The Discovery of Fire (1971), 2- Zaal and Simorgh (1977), 3- Rostam and Esfandiar (2001-2002), 4- The Legend of Mardoush (2002-2005), 5- Stories of Shahnameh (2004-2005). Second row from the top, left to right: 6- Rostam and Esfandiar (2006), 7- The Rebirth of Rostam (2006), 8- Shah Name (2009), 9- The Legend of the Hero Returns (2010-2011), 10- Simorgh's Heart (2011). Third row from the top, left to right: 11- Tale of Zal (2012), 12- Battle of the Kings: Rostam and Sohrab (2012), 13- One Thousand Myths (2016), 14- Jamshid: A Lament for a Myth (2017), 15- The Last Fiction (2018). Last row: Prince of Sorrow (2019) (see Appendix).

Animation and the Notion of Abstraction

Prior to examining the potential of utilising abstraction for the adaptation of Shahnameh, this section endeavours to elucidate the concept of abstraction in animation and its broader significance.

A foundational study looking into the notion of abstraction in animation is Art in Motion (2008) by Maureen Furniss. Furniss locates all of animation’s possible image types within a motion picture continuum formed between the two poles of mimesis (realism) and abstraction (concept) (Furniss 6). Realism in animation has blurred boundaries with mediums such as live-action film and photography. The illusion of reality in animation is often constructed through the medium's attempt to duplicate or echo the conventions of live-action cinema, naturalistic still photographs, and, more importantly, real life itself (Rowley; Wells, Understanding Animation; Hosseini-Shakib). As one diverges from the emulation of reality, the abstraction of forms and motions is initiated, and animation's formal (visual-motion) language is no longer concerned with naturalistic details.

When distancing from the realism pole, one moves toward the realm of icons, where the obsessiveness to replicate reality and naturalistic details is declined, thereby amplifying conceptual intentions. Scott McCloud delves into the meaning-making potencies of iconic forms and offers his famous theory of "amplification through simplification" (McCloud 30). He regards the iconic state as one where the constructed image does not resemble its real-life version, yet the viewer can instantly recognise what that image is. By purifying the image (for instance, through concentration, stylisation, and exaggeration), the idea or context the image intends to communicate comes into focus. Gyorgy Kepes frames this process as simplicity and intensity, explaining that through simplicity and selectiveness, the visual impact of an image is intensified, thereby delivering its meaning more effectively (Kepes 130). Vilayanur S. Ramachandran and Diane Rogers-Ramachandran, in The Neurology of Aesthetic, also examine the principle of "isolation (less is more)", a selective act where visual clutter is eliminated so one's attention is directed to specific details for clear communication (Ramachandran and Rogers-Ramachandran 17).

The iconic realm, however, is not the highest form of abstraction. Moving away from the iconic forms towards the end of Furniss's continuum, the visual and motion elements of an animated film tend to become non-figurative, non-representational, and overtly reduced. This is the realm of dots, lines, pure forms and patterns, vivid colours, non-realistic and unconventional perspectives, and motions, or, in other words, the abstract.

Eric R. Kandel believes that "… abstract art … subverts the innate rules of perception and relies more extensively on (the brain) top-down information (process) than does figurative art” (Kandel 28). This indicates that the way the human brain works to re-construct a visual perception through the received visual codes is different when it encounters abstract art than when it observes figurative ones. Celia Durkin et al. describe the experience of engaging with abstract forms as psychologically distant, in which viewers exhibit "globally distributed viewing patterns" (Durkin et al. 19809). In this state, viewers approach abstract art not in search of detail but rather as a holistic concept perceived from both a spatial and mental distance.

When gravitating towards the abstract end of the spectrum, the radical simplification of visual elements and their movements liberates them from representational constraints, thus fostering a space for generating multiple meanings and ambiguous ideas. Abstract art, being an open-ended text, invites exploration and speculation. It purposefully avoids conventional frameworks and "a fixed point of observation," offering viewers dynamic perceptual experiences (Kepes 200). Abstract forms can symbolically and metaphorically connect with ideas, emotions, or concepts, facilitating an engagement with elements that are intangible, non-verbal, and universal (Turner, “Content and Meaning in Abstract Animation”; Turner, Abstract Animation; Matthew Collings; Moritz; Wells, “Abstract”). By freeing the spectator from searching for a definitive or literal interpretation, pure abstraction can amplify the overall experience. This suggests that, when interacting with abstract visual and motion concepts, audiences are likely to divert their focus from fixed meanings and instead immerse themselves more deeply in the formal attributes of the artwork presented. Here, the experience itself can be considered the idea, the subject, the goal, and the result.

Abstract art has the capacity to actively engage viewers' intrinsic storytelling faculties, since the human mind not only recognises but also enjoys extracting stories from visual information, even highly abstract ones (Gottschall 174–181). An experiment by Fritz Heider and Marianne Simmel in 1944 demonstrated this phenomenon: of 114 participants, 111 construed narratives with varied human attributes, interactions, and motives from an interplay of geometric shapes (triangles and circles) engaging with one another (Heider and Simmel). The unbound nature of abstract art encourages spectators to be involved more dynamically in the meaning-making process, compared to the representational styles (Kandel 23–25). However, when an artwork is emptied of clear informational clues, audiences need to put in more effort to interpret it. The more ambiguous the visual form, the greater the need for creative involvement from viewers during interpretation. Abstract art thus represents a collective journey towards diverse modes of perception, a "pursuit of different ways of seeing, both on behalf of the artist and the audience" (Wells, Basics Animat. Scriptwriting 82).

This exploration into abstraction highlights its potential for delivering unique and nuanced artistic and interpretive ways that can be employed to recreate ancient texts such as Shahnameh. As outlined in the introduction, the sixteen animations produced between 1971 and 2019 based on Shahnameh are all representational. These animations employed visual styles more akin to stylised and expressive renditions of reality rather than adhering to naturalistic representations and also avoided radical abstraction. The absence of purely abstract forms of animation in Shahnameh's adaptations is of interest in this paper. Proposing Shahnameh as a potential text for exploration through abstract animation, this paper posits that pure abstraction may provide a perceptual experience of this text that is markedly distinct from those produced in the past fifty years. Consequently, this study seeks to explore:

Research Methodology

The preceding section delved into the concept of abstraction in animation, examining its artistic affordance, the potential for meaning creation, and engagement within foundational studies. Drawing on the insight gathered from this literature review, this segment further explores the potential of abstract animation for reinterpreting the narrative of Shahnameh. The current study adopts two additional methodologies: practice-based exploration and semi-structured interviews with experts.

As part of the practice-based analysis, I created two abstract animations, Rostam & Esfandiar (2020) and The Emergence of Zahhak (2020), inspired by the stories of Shahnameh. The following section examines the artistic potential of these films, investigating how such abstract animations are understood, engaged with, and interpreted by viewers based on interviews with several animation experts.3 The following animation scholars and practitioners participated as interviewees for this research:

In addition to general studies on abstraction in animation, employing a practice-based approach and expert interviews were pivotal in gathering detailed insights into the research objective.

To conduct the interviews, two criteria were established for potential participants. The primary criterion was the participants' expertise in animation studies and practices, with particular emphasis on areas such as adaptations for animation, abstract and experimental animation, and animated adaptations of Shahnameh that correspond with the keywords of this paper. The rationale for targeting experts was driven by the goal to gather data with practical value, enrich the collected data's critical and creative aspects, and avoid potential critiques of "over-subjectivity" (Gray and Malins 105).4 This approach also aimed to provide valuable knowledge for the principal readers of this paper, animation artists and scholars. Therefore, including individuals who bring a wealth of practical experience and academic knowledge in animation was deemed the most effective strategy.

The second criterion was the level of participants' familiarity with this Iranian national epic poem. This study investigates a specific text (Shahnameh), its cultural and national concepts and ideas, and its shared and universal themes. Thus, having both groups of familiar and unfamiliar spectators (ones who have a cultural affinity with and extensive knowledge of the text and others who are not familiar with Shahnameh) was anticipated to offer interesting insights into the various ways they interpret meanings and engage with the practical components of this enquiry. This decision was informed by the "Knowing and Unknowing Audiences" theory, proposed by Linda Hutcheon and Siobhan O'Flynn, that suggests the familiarity and unfamiliarity of spectators, in general, seem to influence how the readers of a certain text might engage with and respond to its adaptations. Consequently, the selection of interviewees included both familiar/native and unfamiliar/non-native spectators.5 This diverse group of interviewees, with their unique perspectives and experiences, provided a comprehensive understanding of the topic and ensured the credibility and reliability of the findings as well as its application to a wide range of audiences.

Lastly, a thematic analysis methodology (see Braun and Clarke) was applied to the collected data, culminating in identifying recurring themes and ideas. Employing these methodologies, the following discussions explore the remaking of this ancient poem into abstract animations and elucidate the artistic, meaning making, and engagement possibilities of abstraction in animated adaptations of Shahnameh.

The Projects: Abstracting Shahnameh

Rostam & Esfandiar6

The first abstract animation I created for this study, Rostam & Esfandiar (2020), lasts 2 minutes and 50 seconds (See Figure 2). It draws inspiration from the original tale of Rostam and Esfandiar in Shahnameh and the scholarly work ستیز ناسازها در رستم و اسفندیار, The Conflict of Incompatibles in Rostam and Esfandiar Story (Author's translation), by Mir Jalaleddin Kazzazi. Kazzazi describes the story of Rostam and Esfandiar as "the most significant epic story of Shahnameh and Persian mythology (Author's translation)" (Kazzazi 517), noted for its profound tragic and dualistic themes, built upon well-known archetypal patterns and cultural concepts (Kazzazi; Parnian and Bahmani; Zohdi et al.; Dehbir Sayaghi). The original narrative chronicles the ominous confrontation between two significant figures in Shahnameh: Rostam, the mightiest heroic figure of Shahnameh with heroic Farr (divine power given to heroes), and Esfandiar, the defender of religion and monarchy who is granted sovereign Farr (divine power accorded to kings).

In Shahnameh's ideology, the king and the hero are two faces of the same coin (Kazzazi 664), and despite their conflicts, their existences are interdependent. However, in the original narrative, these two forces, Rostam and Esfandiar, stand against each other for the first time, and their ominous opposition brings failure for both. Through abstract animation, this adaptation explores the core cultural and archetypical ideas of Rostam and Esfandiar, accentuating the paradox and conflict of these two incompatible forces as one of the most fundamental meanings of the original narrative. Focused on this concept, I abstracted the characters into minimalist forms and colours to embody their metaphoric positions as opposing elements of a singular whole. When they are in agreement, the characters are depicted as circles or splits of a circle, suggesting unity with their movements in harmony.

Conversely, in their paradoxical positions, Rostam and Esfandiar are embodied as triangles with antagonistic dynamics. I employed the colour gold metaphorically as an interpretation of the glorious world of Sovereign and Esfandiar and dark blue as a symbolic representation of the mysterious nature of the heroic Rostam. I chose these complementary hues (Fussell) to illustrate the hero and king as two segments of one whole that complete and oppose each other. When the harmony is disturbed, the two parts of the circle split into two separate triangles and start attacking each other. The blue triangle diminishes the golden one, but soon after, it disappears too.

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Figure 2: Still frames from Rostam & Esfandiar (Monireh Astani, 2020)

The Emergence of Zahhak7

The second abstract animation I developed for this research, The Emergence of Zahhak (2020), has a runtime of 5 minutes and 11 seconds (See Figure 3). This animation is inspired by the story of Zahhak from Shahnameh, several scholarly articles8 analysing this tale, and an original piece of music, “Avazkhani” (feat. Ferdowsi Ensemble) by Shahram Nazeri. I chose this music because it incorporates verses from the original tale and is presented through Iranian traditional music, thereby maintaining a connection with both the adapted text and its cultural context.

In Shahnameh, Zahhak is portrayed as a prince who trades his soul for diabolical power, murdering his father to reach the throne. The Evil spirit kisses Zahhak's shoulders, and two snakes grow out of them. Zahhak then takes over Iran and kills young men to feed their brains to his snakes to calm them down. His conflicted psyche and unforgivable sins of cannibalism and patricide frame him as the darkest and most evil symbolic figure in Shahnameh, undermining collective wisdom and ruling over Iran for a thousand years (Heydari; Yazdanpanah). The Emergence of Zahhak (2020) is an abstract embodiment of the moment when Zahhak and his doomed soul emerge in the universe. This animation envisages the first five verses from the original tale, which Shahram Nazeri also recites in “Avazkhani.” Davis translates these five verses as follows:

“Zahhak Reigned for a thousand years, and from end to end, the world was his to command (1st and 2nd verses). The wise concealed themselves and their deeds, and devils achieved their heart's desire (3rd verse). Virtue was despised and magic applauded, justice hid itself away while evil flourished (4th verse). Demons rejoiced in their wickedness, while goodness was spoken of only in secret (5th verse)" (Davis 51)”.

To visualise these verses, I employed the Cymatics: Speaker Dish experiment (Stanford).9 Specifically, I attached a round pot saucer to a box speaker dish using watercolour masking tape, filled it with vodka10, and then vibrated the dish by playing Nazeri’s music, Avazkhani. Through this Cymatics experiment, the verses from the original poem were translated into animated abstract forms, which were video recorded and became part of the animation.

Next, the recorded footage from the Cymatics experiment were combined with 2D digital animations, using a minimal colour palette of black and white to reflect the dark, shadowy mood of the story and its main character. The piece employs abstract forms influenced by Islamic patterns, Persian typography, and kinetic textures animated by music to depict a mandala or a mystic universe11 when the light was ruling. However, darkness unleashes an evil soul into the mandala, a snake that contaminates and multiplies within the cosmos. The devil swallows the light and awakens Zahhak, the Serpent King. Ultimately, Zahhak's hideous soul takes over the world, unleashing wickedness and evil.

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Figure 3: Still frames from The Emergence of Zahhak (Monireh Astani, 2020)

Expressive, Explorative, and Sensory Storytelling

One of the potentials of abstraction in reimagining ancient and canonical narratives like Shahnameh is its ability to enhance traditional storytelling through an evocative and multi-sensory experience. In Rostam & Esfandiar (2020) and The Emergence of Zahhak (2020), the characters, their world, and the story events are abstracted into simple graphics and motions. While these abstract animations offer viewers associative references (such as the films' titles, a brief introductory text, subtitles, music, and culturally loaded symbols) to signify the exploration of a specific story and narrative space, the abstraction yet remains dominant. Here, the visual and kinetic elements are not merely illustrative but become the narrative itself, influencing the narration style. Rather than simply telling the story, the intended meanings are echoed, expressed, and evoked through a rich visual and tactile experience. For example, the use of bubble-like textures12 in The Emergence of Zahhak (2020) evokes boiling imageries and tactile sensations, suggesting the start of a revolution by Zahhak as he declares a new ideology and order (Samadi).

In abstract animation, meanings emerge from the interplay of movements, shapes, colours, textures, and sounds (Heider and Simmel). For instance, in Rostam & Esfandiar (2020), viewers engage with design elements, such as pure forms, colours, motions, and design principles, including harmony, balance, and contrasts (Turner). These elements and principles allow for the exploration of concepts like balance and imbalance, harmony, and a lack of it, mirroring the narrative's themes (Turner). The expressive and perceptual storytelling qualities inherent in abstract animation enable spectators to delve into the narrative not just through its content but through its form as well.

Abstract animation not only offers a distinctive method for retelling and experiencing a narrative through its expressive and evocative formal qualities, but it can also engage the viewer’s visual and tactile senses. The immediacy of these perceptual experiences is heightened when the design components of an abstract film are further purified (Turner). This purity in abstract visualisation can invoke a direct and more immediate sensory connection, inducing enjoyable tactile sensations and reminding us of touch (Turner). For example, pure complementary colours, primal shapes, and moving patterns can instantly echo certain moods, emotions, or sensations. Therefore, while non-literal characteristics of abstract animation might situate this form as an unconventional approach to reinterpreting ancient narratives, it remains an innovative avenue for multifold explorations and sensory experiences of such texts.

The Viewers' Dominant Touch in Meaning Making and Necessity of Freedom

This study investigated how viewers of varying familiarity with Shahnameh interpret its adaptations when represented in abstract animation forms. During the interviews, viewers unfamiliar with Shahnameh decoded meanings such as universal concepts, the story's essence and big picture, emotional meanings, certain moods, and fundamental ideas. For instance, some participants construed Rostam & Esfandiar (2020) as an embodiment of conflict, contrast, progression, escalation, and evaporation, reflecting a dynamic interplay and an inherent ambiguity (Rall; Hannibal). Another individual perceived the animation as a visual exposition of complementary colours and themes of balance and disbalance, harmony and disharmony, evoking the idea that there is no hierarchy, no good and evil until something alien (the black triangle) changes this dynamic (Turner). 

In The Emergence of Zahhak (2020), viewers unacquainted with the narrative perceived a cosmic sense, a notion of world-building, a universe in flux, and the interplay of forms and concepts constructing and dissolving within the circle, a form (circle) often evoking a holistic sense and community (Rall; Hannibal). The animation induced the idea of a world coming to be in constant change and movement. Due to the Evil spirit's interference, something precious (light) in the middle of this universe is swallowed and disappears, culminating in the rise of darkness (Turner; Hannibal). Moreover, these spectators drew parallels between the ideas of these animations and stories and symbolism from other cultures with which they were familiar. In a way, they complemented these abstract animations with their cultural and individual-loaded meanings. For example, in The Emergence of Zahhak, the snake was perceived as an emblematic representation of evil, evoking the biblical serpent from the Garden of Eden (Turner; Hannibal).

On the other hand, when talking to spectators familiar with Shahnameh, the outcomes involved more detailed answers. Besides interpreting the universal and archetypical themes presented in the two animations, these viewers also identified more precise elements related to the adapted stories, Shahnameh, and its historical, literary, mythological, and cultural background. Their knowledge of Shahnameh and the cultural context associated with this text permitted them to perceive the abstract space of these animations with national and culturally loaded references, particularly those concepts they personally found fascinating. While some of these ideas were information associated with the adapted narratives and Shahnameh, they were brought to the narrative space of Rostam & Esfandiar (2020) and The Emergence of Zahhak (2020) by these audiences as new interpretations.

For instance, some of the knowledgeable viewers understood Rostam & Esfandiar (2020) as a universal tale of confrontation, balance, and imbalance, an encounter of dualistic forces such as day and night, symbolising the nuanced complexity of mythological entities and their inherent duality (Samadi; Rahgozar). The visualisation of the cycle reminded them of the lion-bull iconography in the ancient capital city Persepolis (Samadi) (see Figure 4). This motif dates back to the Achaemenid period, suggesting different "astronomical meanings, seasonal events, and a representation of a diurnal cycle, with the lion symbolising the sun and bull, the night" (Sathe 75). One of the viewers familiar with Shahnameh discerned the animation as depicting two similar forces with an ominous destiny (Samadi). They confront one another, and when one defeats and destroys the other, it simultaneously orchestrates its own downfall. The black triangle, coming from an ancient external source, makes the narrative profoundly mythical, and what unfolds is a destined sequence of balance, imbalance, and eventual restoration (Samadi).

In The Emergence of Zahhak (2020), one familiar viewer interpreted the background texture of bubbles inside a circle as evocative of boiling imagery, symbolising the inception of a revolution by Zahhak (Samadi). The moving abstract forms suggested a sense of roaring and excitement where the birth of a disaster is starting and happening. The snake was perceived as a metaphor for evil and deceit, and a snake swallowing an abstract shape as the symbol of brain-eating by Zahhak, who is bringing a new ideology and order (Samadi). Additionally, the use of fire imagery was connected to Aži Dahāka, the dragon form of Zahhak in Zoroastrian texts, and the overlay of small triangles across the scene was pointed as the notion of Zahhak's domination (Samadi). It was also proposed that The Emergence of Zahhak (2020) could serve as an allegorical interpretation of Iran's subjugation by a group with sacrificing ideologies (Samadi). Another knowledgeable viewer perceived The Emergence of Zahhak (2020) as the story of how Zahhak became who he was (Rahgozar). A tale of becoming, from the beginning when he was only a gem, a human, and a pure soul (neither good nor bad), his character arc was shaped by external influences and personal choices, ultimately culminating in his transformation into an evil entity (Rahgozar).

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Figure 4: Lion-bull motif in Persepolis (Sathe 76)

The collected responses suggested that both familiar and unfamiliar experts could grasp the core meanings these abstract animations convey to varying degrees while contributing their own subjective and diverse interpretations. The viewers perceived or imagined cultural concepts, some linked to Shahnameh and others related to their own backgrounds, knowledge, and interests, simply from abstracted moving forms and pure colours. The interpretations of both familiar and unfamiliar interviewees involved an abundance of personal freedom and were mainly as if they were exploring the story’s details as holistic concepts from a spatial and mental distance (Durkin et al.) in evocative, emotional, and imaginative manners. These perspectives added a novel dimension to the experience and comprehension of the adaptations and the original text. In this way, abstraction facilitated the emergence of new interpretative layers within the narrative space of Shahnameh in its own unique way. It enabled audiences to integrate their knowledge and personal fascinations into the experience, thereby stretching and exploring the narrative scope of Shahnameh from multiple angles, an enjoyable way of exploring a narrative and extracting meanings simply from abstracted moving graphics and colours. Such engagements underscored the significance of abstract animation as a moving visual form that grants spectators a unique visual and story-telling experience, and broader latitude to assess and construct ideas.

The liberty intrinsic to abstraction is not only one of its features but is also a vital element in fostering a positive interaction with the medium. This idea was outlined during the interviews conducted for this study, highlighting the necessity of maintaining the openness and ambiguity of abstract animation when re-envisioning narratives. Regardless of the audience's levels of affinity with Shahnameh, all viewers appreciated the non-representational nature of the animations based on this ancient narrative, which permitted an open exploration of the stories through moving abstract forms. In each artwork, when the viewers felt that excessive information or references from the original text (Shahnameh) were given, their scope of interpretation was limited, resulting in some criticism. Viewers generally welcomed the integration of referential elements such as music, imagery, and texts that evoked cultural resonance. However, some posited that the inclusion of longer texts, such as the brief introductory segment13 in Rostam & Esfandiar (2020), can inadvertently overload the viewer with information (Samadi; Rall; Rahgozar; Hannibal). Premature conclusions or overly clear ideas have the potential to limit the viewers' interpretive freedom. Therefore, to avoid negative impacts on audience engagement with abstract adaptations, it is essential to keep the story space abstracted and somewhat open by refraining from spelling out the concepts too explicitly.

An Open Space for Spectators' Investments, Projections, and Access

As explained earlier, abstract animation represents an open-ended approach to storytelling and narrative interpretation, wherein the subjectivity of both the artists and the viewers is embraced. It constitutes a unique visual language that departs from representational tendencies (Rall). Employing abstracted imageries that are loaded with cultural symbols can evoke some familiar ideas in the viewer's mind leading them to imagine various connections and stories. The possibilities of meanings in abstract animation can be as varied as its audience, allowing each person to uncover individual ideas from the same piece of animation (Rahgozar). In this way, abstract animation gives the creator and the audiences greater liberty in creating and interpreting stories, in contrast to representational and figurative animation styles. But what is the value of such freedom?

In pure abstraction, where concrete imagery is not presented, the gap between the text and its visualisation is more open (Rall). Here, viewers can navigate the narrative landscape with greater imaginative freedom. The abstract stylisation thus offers more room for the audiences to invest and project their thoughts, to bring new layers of meaning to an artistic experience and make this engagement multifold. Essentially, this approach empowers the viewers' inner cinema, where the audiences can craft more sub-stories, resulting in unpredicted, versatile outcomes (Rall).

Abstraction extends another possibility: its accessibility and capacity for inclusion. Abstract animation becomes a place of inclusion, where the viewers are free from identifying with specific characters (Turner). In representational arts, if the characters are not what the spectators imagined, this can divorce them from the story and create a sense of alienation (Turner). Whereas, within abstract art devoid of representational constraints, characters and themes remain malleable to the viewers' imagination. This openness invites the audience to participate and can liberate them, thus promoting inclusion (Turner). In this way, abstract forms circumvent alienation, fostering accessibility, universality, and a platform for subjective interpretations.

A closer examination of Rostam & Esfandiar (2020) and The Emergence of Zahhak (2020) reveals that these abstract animations facilitate engagement through diverse dialogues: between the artist and the medium, the artist and the audiences, and the audiences and the adapted work (Rahgozar). The authenticity of these abstracted animations is due to their interactivity, as they provoke thought, prompt questions, and present challenges by avoiding definitive answers and accommodating multiple interpretations (Rahgozar). This interactivity can not only engage the audience but also encourage them to explore and interpret the artwork in a personal and meaningful way.

The degree of viewers' engagement with abstract artworks can vary according to their visual knowledge and interests. It must be acknowledged that not everyone would engage with abstract art. Abstract animations can be complex to watch, particularly for a long time (Turner). When looking at abstract artwork, audiences engage in a manner distinct from their interactions with representational styles, often working slightly more (Turner). Some may struggle to read and make sense of the film; at some point, they may disengage with the experience (Turner). Viewing and understanding abstract art can demand considerable time and energy (Samadi). Today's audiences may have little time and patience to see these abstract animations and investigate the related source of adaptation afterwards (Samadi). However, whether the spectators pick up the intended meanings and engage with the work or not does not diminish the value of the abstract work (Hannibal). Abstract animation represents a stylistic approach that provides a space for viewers' investment, involvement, and interpretation, offering a novel means of experiencing narratives, such as those adapted from Shahnameh in this research. It is then the spectator's choice as to what manner and extent engages with the whole process and interacts with the work.

Deeper Understanding of a Cultural-National Narrative and Preserving Its Essence

Looking at the creative works of some animators reveals that abstract animation has been employed as an innovative method to reimagine universally well-known stories. The examples are All the World's a Stage (2016) by Hannes Rall, based on a popular monologue from As You Like It by William Shakespeare (Rall 224) and Mythos by Stephen Kelleher and Chris Guyot, a contemporary retelling of Greek myths, focusing on figures such as Sisyphus, Icarus, Persephone, Narcissus, Midas, and Theseus (Guyot). When considering the animated adaptations of Shahnameh created between 1971 and 2019, which have all adhered to representational approaches, one pivotal question arose: Is abstract animation an appropriate medium for the adaptations of Shahnameh, a text that may not possess the same level of popularity or universality as Shakespeare's work or Greek myths? Moreover, does the absence of such examples indicate a possible incompatibility of the text with, or a local disinterest in, abstract animation as a stylistic choice for reinterpreting Shahnameh? These questions were integral to this research in examining the potential for meaning-making and audience engagement through abstract animation, thereby setting the stage for the subsequent discussion on how abstract animation can potentially enhance the understanding of a cultural-national narrative, as proposed by experts with differing levels of familiarity.

Samadi and Rahgozar posit that literary narratives such as Shahnameh inherently possess an abstract quality. These narratives have been shaped and reshaped across centuries, imagined differently through generations, and ultimately encapsulated in their current form (Rahgozar). For example, the opening segment of Shahnameh condensed centuries of mythical kingdoms and historical periods into a few lines or pages (Samadi). As an ancient text, carrying multiple tales and coming together through centuries of re-creations, Shahnameh is constructed upon various symbolic and abstract concepts (Parnian and Bahmani; Zand). These characteristics render this epic suitable for reinterpretation within the medium of abstract animation.

By using abstract animation, one can look closer at the symbolic ideas of Shahnameh and convey meaning in their purest and summarised version. Here, embodying only a symbol can evoke multiple meanings. The application of abstract animation serves not merely as a potential approach for reinterpreting Shahnameh; it is also a way to have a better understanding of it. To abstract Shahnameh, one needs to initially symbolise its stories, which, in turn, can lead to exploring the text's underlying layers, grasping the writers' deeper intentions, and getting closer to the core and spirit of the narratives (Rahgozar). Such creative examination can result in a deeper and new understanding of Shahnameh, a literary work rooted in Iranian national identity and culture. Consequently, the forms and style can offer some sort of impact beyond mere entertainment or aesthetic pleasure (Rahgozar).

While abstract animation can offer a deeper understanding of a cultural narrative such as Shahnameh for the familiar spectators, it can also provide unfamiliar viewers with an accessible version of the local text. As previously noted, employing abstract forms can facilitate audiences to understand the broader aspects of a narrative and its universal concepts. Given the many commonalities shared across cultures, unfamiliar viewers can identify concepts within these stories that overlap with narratives worldwide. For instance, the snake in The Emergence of Zahhak (2020) can evoke the images of the serpent in the Garden of Eden or represent a universal symbol of evil (Hannibal). The Rostam & Esfandiar (2020) animation can remind one of a similar tale in German folklore, wherein a father must kill his son (Rall). Therefore, depending on their curiosity, abstract animation can provide a space for unfamiliar audiences to explore and untangle the narrative using their archetypical knowledge, enabling them to attain a certain level of insight and appreciation.

Lastly, the opportunity to recreate Shahnameh through the medium of abstract animations offers a chance to transcend popular readings, expectations, and customary forms of this ancient poem, thereby reconstructing it within contemporary visual and conceptual methods and language (Rahgozar). Rostam & Esfandiar (2020) and The Emergence of Zahhak (2020) both acknowledge the historical aspects of their source material while establishing a critical distance from it (Hannibal). This approach demonstrates the potential of abstract animation styles, which can preserve the essence of a text yet set it free within a space open to novel interpretations and creative reimagining.

The openness of abstract animation can contribute to the renewal of the text, making this classic narrative more relevant and interesting, particularly for contemporary audiences who may not identify with some of its ancient values or standpoints (Hannibal). It is a way of questioning, untangling, and understanding these concepts anew. This interaction between the audience’s imagination and the artwork can foster a connection to the narrative, transforming it into a living, evolving entity rather than a static historical artefact.

Conclusion

This research explored the possibilities of abstract animation as an untouched stylistic approach in recreating and reinterpreting Shahnameh, the Iranian national epic poem and a canonical work of world literature. It presented two abstract animations based on this epic poem and examined how these adaptations are engaged with and interpreted by viewers based on interviews with several animation experts.

The result of this study suggested that the openness and ambiguity of abstract animation can enhance the accessibility of the text for audiences regardless of their levels of affinity with an adapted narrative and offer unconventional, unexpected, and novel perspectives for explorations, where the spectators significantly impact the meaning-making process. These can lead to a deeper understanding of a cultural text and more interpretive, sensory, and open ways of engaging with its narrative space. On this basis, the formalistic choices made in animation design should be taken into account when reconstructing a cultural narrative, since such possibilities can help the adaptation process by amplifying the understanding of the narrative’s meanings and providing creative spaces to experience it anew.

While using expert viewers offered critical and operational insights for the questions of this study, it also counts as its limitation. This area can benefit from a focus and comprehensive future audience research with larger groups of viewers who have different levels of visual literacy (e.g., non-expert public spectators). Such studies can offer additional information on how similar creative approaches can invite new readings of and engagements with ancient texts such as Shahnameh.

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank my supervisors, Dr Jeneen Naji and Dr Anne O'Brien, for their guidance. Special thanks to the expert interviewees—Hannes Rall, Pamela Turner, Ashkan Rahgozar, Moin Samadi, and Carmen Hannibal—and to the anonymous reviewers, as well as Dr Mihaela Mihailova, for their constructive comments which led to the current version of this article.

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Notes