Modern and Postmodern in Turkey
MODERN AND BEYOND 1950-2000 (Modern ve Ötesi 1950-2000)
by Fulya Erdemci, Semra Germaner, Orhan Koçak
Istanbul Bilgi University Press, 499 pp., 2008, ISBN: 978-605-399-039-0
Galer’ists, The Art Environment of the 70’s (Galer’istler, 70’lerin Sanat Ortamı)
by Meldâ Kaptana
Kanat Books, İlhan Koman Culture and Art Foundation, 279 pp., 2008, ISBN: 978-9944-5151-1-5
Postmodern Transformations or Deconstruction of the Modern
(Sanatta Postmodern Kırılmalar ya da Modernin Yapıbozumu )
by Rıfat Şahiner
Yeni İnsan Publishing, 224 pp., 2008, ISBN: 978-605-5895-06-8
Image of the Child in European Painting
(Avrupa Resminde Çocuk İmgesi)
by Semra Daşçı
Bağlam, 216 pp., 2008, ISBN: 978-975-8803-89-7
Throughout history ‘art movements’ have served a historical account, in spite of occasional uses of misleading or simplifying labels. In this context the term ‘modern art’ immediately raises a number of questions as to what ‘modern’ means, whether it is simply a chronological designation or whether it is a set of ideological conceptions. Endeavours to avoid the misuse of ‘modern’ involve a great deal of periodization and analysis of the meaning and content, as well as an attempt to formulate how the ‘modern’ can be identified pictorially and/or stylistically. Compared to previous centuries, twentieth century art movements are characterized by immense diversity, complexity, and richness. It is therefore important to note that there is not one but many ‘concepts’ of twentieth century art.
The roots of modernism date back to the middle of the nineteenth century, to the Impressionists who were probably the first to challenge the already established art canons and principles. Social, political, and economic changes in this century paralleled philosophical and technological developments associated with the aftermath of the Industrial Revolution and brought about the questioning and rejection of traditional systems. Late nineteenth and early twentieth-century Western art hence became a liberating force against established values and authoritative hierarchies of the past.
It is important to note here that the birth of modern art is believed to be marked by Edouard Manet and his scandalous Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe exhibited in Paris in 1863.
Just like poets, painters also respond to an inner vision and search for representational styles of portraying that vision. Goethe stated that ‘Art is called Art precisely because it is not Nature’. Although this notion does not preclude the artist’s reference to nature, he is never content to take nature at face value but rather transforms, redoes, and distils from nature something which is more truthful than what one ordinarily sees. Modern art is characterized by a tendency toward abstraction; one can say that it involves a breakdown of the existing decorum that previously connected the appearance of works of art to the appearance of the natural world. This breakdown is manifested in a tendency for shapes, colours, and materials to form unusual combinations with distorted or exaggerated versions of the natural, sometimes even without any connection to the visual appearance of an ordinary object.
Three years after the opening of Istanbul Modern (2004) which is the first museum of modern art, ‘Santralistanbul’ was launched into the cultural milieu of the city as a new platform for culture, education and art. The building, which was formerly the Silahtarağa Power Plant that produced electricity until 1983, underwent an extensive transformation process carried out by Istanbul Bilgi University and is now serving as an interdisciplinary, international platform within an environment of intercultural dialogue and debate.
Modern and Beyond: 1950-2000 is a comprehensive catalogue prepared for the ‘outset exhibition’ held at this institution between 8 September, 2007-15 June, 2008 to mark its opening. Realised under the same title, the show was a pioneering attempt to exhibit contemporary artistic production in Turkey and create an opportunity to discuss the transformations and arguments around Turkish modern art. The exhibition brought together more than 100 artists and almost 500 works spanning a period of nearly half a century. This second edition of the catalogue printed in June 2008 also includes images from the exhibition along with the visuals of the works of art displayed.
The first part of the volume dedicated to ‘Modern Art’ opens with an enlightening article entitled ‘Modernisation of Turkish Art: 1950-1990’ by Semra Germaner, who was also one of the three curators of the ‘Modern Section’ in the exhibition. Germaner is a professor of Art History at Mimar Sinan University, Istanbul and in her writing she presents the process of modernisation in Turkish art and the particular course that artistic thought has followed in Turkey. Her chronological analysis sheds light on the artists, materials, art movements, art education and criticism during that period.
The following article ‘50 Years of Modern Art’ is written by Orhan Koçak, a critic, editor and publisher. He draws attention to the similarities and differences between the present exhibition and the 1937 show held at the Istanbul Fine Arts Academy entitled ‘50 years of Turkish Art’. He attempts to draw a portrait of the ‘modernist’ through the eyes of a critic, elucidating on the dilemma around historicisation, definition and the principles of ‘modernism’ in Turkey. ‘Our aim in the “Modern and Beyond” exhibit,’ he says, ‘has been to present the founding dynamics and most important turning points in this fifty-year development.’ The catalogue continues with a brief biography of each participating artist, accompanied by images of their work.
Fulya Erdemci, curator of the ‘Contemporary Section’ (1970-2000) of the exhibit, wrote the article ‘Breaking the Spell, Re-routing’ as an introduction to the second half of the catalogue which is devoted to contemporary Turkish artists participating in the show. She writes about artistic circles and the art market after the 1980’s starting with an art historical account and supports her periodization with concurrent art movements in Turkey. Erdemci focuses on concepts like the museum, institutionalisation, and commercialisation of art, as well as social and political issues, globalization, popular culture, interdisciplinary approaches and multiculturalism.
Printed by Istanbul Bilgi University Press, Modern and Beyond: 1950-2000 is a bilingual account of one of the most comprehensive art exhibitions in Turkey. Presented in a beautifully designed hardcover volume and lavishly illustrated, it is the product of a close, harmonious teamwork and an indispensable reference on modern and contemporary Turkish art.
Meldâ Kaptana’s Galer’ists, The Art Environment of the 70’s is the story of the legendary Meldâ Kaptana Gallery in Istanbul, through which a recent history of the artistic milieu of the city is recounted. Opened in Nişantaşı in 1971, the gallery can be considered the first professional institution in this field and a pioneering force that introduced and presented modern art to the art-loving audience of Istanbul.
The book is a compilation of Kaptana’s memoirs of the exhibitions she organised, her encounters with the artists; and a rich collection of documents like photographs, letters, notes, sketches, invitations, magazine and newspaper clippings, and price lists. Kaptana talks about a number of prominent artists like Avni Arbaş, Aliye Berger, Cihat Burak, Muhibbe Darga, Bedri Rahmi, Orhan Peker, Burhan Uygur and many others. The art environment of the 1970’s is narrated in an earnest style in her writings that provide important insights into the appreciation of art during that period, as well as artist-gallery-audience relations.
The final section of the book that consists of artists’ letters recounting their own views and memoirs of the gallery not only enriches Kaptana’s work but also portrays the social and economic environment of the 70’s through the art circles.
Printed in October 2008, Galer’ists, The Art Environment of the 70’s is an important addition to the understudied, yet very interesting history of Turkish art galleries.
In the mid-1970’s a new term, ‘Postmodernism’ gained currency in western art as a reaction against certain trends of modernism, signalling that important changes were taking place in artistic spheres. As it became fashionable to make large scale splashy paintings, representations of the human figure made a comeback. Traditional art critics welcomed this change as a return to common sense, while others who considered ‘modernism’ to represent all that is progressive and experimental, disdained it. The early version of postmodernism was associated with an obsession with the past; old styles and techniques were brought up and artists started to refer to earlier works. The importance of meaning and content were reconsidered and traditional themes reappeared. Although abstract art was still pursued it had a more ironic, even sarcastic tone; art became more playful and entertaining. Postmodernism had an eclectic character and artists were making use of new technology, industrial materials and pop culture imagery.
Rıfat Şahiner’s recently published Postmodern Transformations or Deconstruction of the Modern is a collection of a series of articles that the author wrote during his endeavour to analyse the concepts and issues in association with the art of post-1960’s. He brings together a number of names who took the stage while post-modern transformations took place, yet does not follow a chronological pattern in doing so. While expounding on the multi-faceted, multi-lingual concepts relating to post-modern art, he makes reference to Walter Benjamin, Foucault, Deleuze, Derrida and Barthes.
The first part of the book focuses on prominent artists such as Andy Warhol, Nam June Paik, Joseph Beuys, Anselm Kiefer, Jeff Koons and Sherrie Levine, whose works and styles have in some way or another shaped contemporary art. The second part is devoted to the arguments raised around contemporary art and theoretical texts questioning post-Duchampien aesthetics.
Rıfat Şahiner is an artist and currently Associate Professor of Combined Arts at the Faculty of Art and Design at Yıldız Technical University, Istanbul. He is mainly focused on contemporary art, technology and art, post-modernism, popular culture, avant-gardism and appropriation/copy art. His works have been exhibited in many solo and group shows since 1993, throughout the country and abroad. He has submitted papers in a number of symposiums, congresses, conferences and panels, while his articles have been published in various art journals and newspapers.
Postmodern Transformations, authored by an academician who is also an artist, invites the reader to set sail through the process of paradigm change after modern art and is an illuminating piece of work for both scholars and those interested in contemporary art.
Image of the Child in European Painting is based on the M.A. Thesis of Semra Daşçı, who studied Art History at Istanbul University. She is currently teaching courses on European Art in the Department of Western and Contemporary Art at Ege University and has published writings on the Renaissance, 19th century European Art and Orientalism.
Historians refer to many types of documents in their writings and in this context images can serve as important historical evidence along with library texts and oral testimonies. In this study Daşçı is mainly concerned with the image of the child in painting as a document or a ‘source’ for the historian. She analyses the changing process that the concepts of ‘child’ and ‘childhood’ have undergone in Western society; and how the image of the child in painting parallels this change. She has meticulously researched both written and visual or pictorial documents as evidence and her study is enriched by excerpts from literary works, poetry, and historiography.
Renowned art historian Prof. Gül İrepoğlu states in the preface that Daşçı has taken the child from the middle ages until the 20th century and has thoroughly studied its image in painting, while probing into her analysis from various dimensions of the subject, such as family, education, health, clothing and games. Published in February 2008 by Bağlam Publication, Daşçı’s work offers an enlightening journey through European art history.
