Calligraphy, a pillar of Turkish culture
In the Christian religion, God having become incarnate in man, the image that represents him is part of the cult. In Islam, Allah manifested himself through the word, and writing replaces the image. Hence the essential place in the Muslim world of calligraphy, a major art dedicated to the word, reproducing indefinitely the suras of the Koran or the sayings of the Prophet. The Ottomans, more rigorous on the question of image than other contemporary Muslim civilizations, developed calligraphy to the point that it became, along with architecture, the Ottoman art par excellence.
Calligraphers write with a calamus, a reed pen whose size determines the style of writing. As for the ink, it is made with the soot deposited by the smoke of candles in openings made in the top of the walls of the imperial mosques. The scribe corrects mistakes with the tip of his tongue (hence the Turkish expression "ink licker", which still designates the intellectual today) and dries his work with fine sand that he keeps in his writing case. Ottoman calligraphers excel in both Celi and Gubari writing. The former, engraved in stone and wood or fired in ceramics, adorns monumental architecture, the latter, as fine as grains of dust, is used to calligraphy tiny Korans, known as "banner Korans", used during battles. The three great masters of Ottoman calligraphy are Sheikh Hamdullah (1429-1520), Ahmed Karahisarı (1470-1556) and Hafiz Osman (1642-1698).
The miniature, at the heart of Ottoman history
A dominant form of Ottoman pictorial art from the fifteenth to the eighteenth century, miniatures have been studied extensively for what they tell us about the socio-historical contexts and aesthetic concerns of the past. But they are also fascinating from a pictorial point of view, with a specific way of framing and modes of reading. Miniatures are divided into two categories: decorative (vegetation motifs or geometric shapes) and illustrative (portraits, battle scenes, etc.). This art reached its peak in the sixteenth century, particularly under Suleiman the Magnificent (who himself commissioned many of them), and was then characterized by its great realism. Turkish miniatures are not as famous as Persian miniatures, although they are also of remarkable quality, with more vivid colors and great attention to detail.
The art ebru
Ebru, or marbled paper, is an art practiced in Turkey since the Ottoman Empire. Mineral and vegetable dyes are deposited drop by drop on water thickened with fatty substances, on which a sheet of paper is then laid to create unique, almost psychedelic patterns. Ebru art was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2014. Today, this art form remains very popular. This know-how and the philosophy behind it are transmitted orally and through a two-year apprenticeship with a master. This practice is accessible to all regardless of age, gender or ethnicity and plays an important role in strengthening social ties between communities and empowering women.
The Meerschaum sculpture
Meerschaum (or Lületasi) is a mineral substance found in Turkey, used to carve ornaments since the early 18th century. Its scientific name is hydrated magnesium silicate, it is found from 10 to 300 meters below the surface of the Earth, especially in the province of Eskisehir (between Istanbul and Ankara). Both resistant and porous, it is a very light and easy to handle material. Above all, it has a natural absorption capacity that allows, for example, to filter nicotine, hence its popularity for the manufacture of pipes and its nickname of "white gold" (although its color varies between white, yellowish, gray and reddish). The carver examines each piece of the mineral, calculating the cleavage lines along which to carve it. Split and soaked in water for 15 to 30 minutes until it reaches the consistency of hard cheese, Meerschaum becomes a very workable material once softened. It then goes through a high-temperature oven, a process that removes all moisture. After meticulous polishing, the piece is dipped in wax a number of times, which gives it a special coloring.
Turkish painting, between East and West
During the 19th century, miniature painting gradually lost its popularity in favor of Western-inspired oil painting. The beginning of Turkish painting, in the Western sense of the term, is associated with the foundation in 1884 of the Academy of Fine Arts (or Mimar Sinan University) by Osman Hamdi Bey, the first important figure in Turkish painting. Numerous exchanges with Europe took place at the time, whether students were sent to France or Italy, or, conversely, painters were invited to transmit their skills to Turkey. The great Ottoman painters, such as Osman Hamdi Bey, Seker Ahmet Pasha, Hoca Ali Riza, Ahmet Ziya and Halil Pasha, devoted themselves mainly to landscape, with few portraits.
After the First World War, Impressionism had a major influence on Turkish artists. Young Ottoman artists who had gone to study art in Europe were forced to return home at the beginning of the First World War, hence their nickname "the 1914 generation". Among them were renowned painters such as İbrahim Çallı, Nazmi Ziya, Feyhaman Duran, and Hikmet Onat, who played an important role in the dissemination of genres such as landscape and still life in their country. Almost all of them teach at the Academy of Fine Arts and thus actively participate in the training of the next generations. Some of their paintings can be seen in the Ankara Museum of Fine Arts.
The other major group that marked Turkish painting in the first part of the twentieth century is called "the Independents" and brings together the fathers of modern Turkish art. This association, officially founded in 1929, was the first society of artists created after the foundation of the Turkish Republic in 1923. In reaction to the style of the 1914 generation, the Independents lost interest in impressionism and turned to abstract art, expressionism or cubism. The most famous artists of this movement are Refik Fazıl Epikman, Cevat Dereli, Hale Asaf, Ali Avni Çelebi, Zeki Kocamemi or Muhittin Sebati. Their work can be seen at the comprehensive Istanbul Museum of Modern Art.
Photography, a symbol of the country's modernization
Photography has contributed greatly to the modernization of Turkey since the 19th century. The first photography studio was established in 1845 in Istanbul by the Italian brothers Carlo and Giovanni Naya. In the 1860s, the number of these studios increased considerably in the capital. Sultan Abdülhamid II (1876-1909) was particularly interested in this medium, himself an amateur photographer in his spare time. During his reign, the art of photography develops considerably, and this in the whole Ottoman Empire. The Sultan commissioned photographers to document the events, monuments and major institutions of the country. In 1893, he sent dozens of photo albums to the Library of Congress in the United States and the British Museum in England, in order to promote his empire. These pictures show schools, railroads, hospitals, monuments and scenes of life in Aleppo, Damascus, Baghdad, Thessaloniki, Izmir or Istanbul. A large part of them can be seen in the library of the University of Istanbul.
After the creation of the Republic, photography was still widely used as a means of propaganda. Until the 1970s, it was mainly used for documentary, advertising or journalistic purposes, while amateur photography developed exponentially. The first generation of contemporary photographers emerged in the 1980s, with the first graduates of photography departments. Among the most renowned are Nazif Topçuoğlu, Ahmet Ertuğ, Arif Aşçı, Ahmet Elhan, Sıtkı Kösemen or Ani Çelik Arevyan. From the late 1990s and early 2000s, art diversified with a new generation of photographers supported by specialized venues such as the Elipsis Gallery. One of the most beautiful collections of the country is exposed in Istanbul in the Ara Güler Museum, pioneer of Turkish documentary photography, nicknamed the "Eye of Istanbul".
A contemporary art in full expansion
Since the 1980s, and especially in recent years, contemporary art has exploded in Turkey, to the point of making Istanbul a true artistic hub, with numerous galleries, museums and cultural events that now attract an international audience. In this boom, it is impossible not to mention the Istanbul Biennial, considered as a catalyst event, one of the most important world events in terms of contemporary art, having brought behind it the creation of other events such as the Istanbul Contemporary Festival, Art International, the Design Biennial, without forgetting the essential institutions such as Salt and Arter. Very diverse, sometimes provocative, Turkish contemporary art is both globalized and attentive to local histories and traditions of the region, whether Greek, Roman, Byzantine or Islamic. To name just two artists from this new scene, one thinks of the mysterious representations of women by Kezban Arca Batibeki, who explores the question of women's empowerment in Turkey, or the hyper-realistic paintings of Taner Ceylan, who depicts homosexual eroticism by taking up the codes of Orientalist paintings.
Street art, a means of political expression
Street art has been very popular for several years in Turkey, especially in Istanbul. It can be found in most of the important districts of the city: Taksim, Besiktas, Kadiköy, Sisli of Istanbul, Kaliay of Ankara, Tunali Hilmi, Alsancak and Izova of Izmir. While the first murals appeared in the 1990s, it wasn't until 2013, with the Gezi events, that they really became widespread. Their popularity was such following the protests that the Pera Museum organized in 2014 an exhibition dedicated to them, entitled "Language of the wall" and in which twenty internationally renowned artists participated.
The HQ of the Istanbul graffiti artists is Istiklal Avenue, which starts from Taksim Square, in the heart of the city. Many surprises await you in the surroundings. For example, head to the Mimar Sinan Academy of Fine Arts to admire the works of its students. On the other side of the city, it is the district of Kadiköy which draws its pinnacle in terms of street-art. This form is fully supported by the local administration, which organizes the Mural Istanbul festival every summer, during which the city's streets are literally transformed into an open-air museum. Thanks to international artists such as Kripoe, 1UP and Dome, or local artists such as Leo Lunatic, Nuka and Esk Reyn, the walls of the city are transfigured and visitors flock to enjoy them.
