Hermeneutic theory and criticism are one of the important theories and criticisms of art and literature. The term hermeneutics or the science of interpretation and interpretation has entered the field of visual arts from the field of literature. The polysemous of this word indicates the types of uses that this word has been used for. Hermeneutics is defined as an attitude, knowledge, method and art that deals with the understanding of the world, human and text. Texts and works of art are open to interpretation, and the goal of interpreting and understanding works is to reach their true meaning. The science of hermeneutics was first used in the interpretation of the holy books and then entered the literary and artistic fields. From the point of view of this science, understanding and interpretation of phenomena are inseparable from each other, texts and works of art are opened in interpretations and their hidden aspects are revealed by interpretation. The purpose of interpretation is to understand the works and obtain its true meaning; Therefore, achieving meaning is associated with the process of understanding.
As an interpretive creature, man also tries to communicate with phenomena by understanding and interpreting them. (These phenomena can be the holy texts of the books of the prophets or books of philosophers or works of art.) But in reality, what is the ultimate goal in interpretation and hermeneutics is to achieve the true meaning of the phenomena. Shapes, images, signs, social customs and in general any phenomenon that is made by nature or man are placed in the position of interpretation and understanding. For understanding the world made up of forms and colors that are constantly changing, transforming, giving birth, expanding and transforming, man gives meaning to them or he discovers their meaning. So, the act of interpretation is done with the significance of the phenomena. The meaning is hidden in the text and the work, and the interpreter is required to find the hidden meaning in the work. The works and texts guide the commentators to understand the interpretation methods.
Therefore, the text and artwork have always been the subject of interpretation; And man as an interpreter is always interpreting the phenomena around him; But due to the existence of different understandings in a person, there have always been multiple interpretations of a work. Therefore, the important question raised here is what is the position of the text or the work of art or even the creator of the work in hermeneutic science? Are the interpretations as countless as the number of people, and it is the audience of the work of art that determines the meaning of the work? Or that the author or the artist is the main pillar in the interpretation and the interpretation is formed based on their thinking. Can the text or artwork determine which interpretation is valid and which is not? What is the validity of these valid and invalid interpretations? Is it possible to determine a certain basis for the interpretation of works of art by summarizing the opinions of different thinkers during different centuries and classifying them? Therefore, the purpose of compiling this research is a critical and analytical reflection on the opinions of hermeneutic thinkers and the bases of achieving the true meaning of the work.
The purpose of this research is a critical and analytical reflection on the opinions of thinkers about hermeneutics, its role and place in the interpretation of phenomena and especially works of art. Therefore, firstly, the works and ideas of the first thinkers in the field of hermeneutics are investigated and a brief history of hermeneutics and its types are introduced. Then, by dividing hermeneutics into two historical periods, classic and modern, the theorists have been categorized. Hermeneutics has been examined in terms of the subject and its types, and by summarizing the opinions of theorists, an attempt has been made to reach a certain basis in hermeneutic criticism, so that with its help, a criticism appropriate to the work can be presented. After summarizing and classifying the opinions of thinkers and examining the science of hermeneutics in the world of art, it has been tried to present specific models of hermeneutics and its criticism in the field of visual arts. Research shows that hermeneutics, as a knowledge in obtaining the meaning of phenomena, always plays an important role in determining the meaning of works of art. But paying only to each aspect of the author, the audience and the text in hermeneutics reveals only a part of the meaning of the work; Therefore, despite the modern hermeneutics that determines the meaning only in the interpretation horizon of the interpreter, the text and the author also have a central role in determining the meaning of the work.