Atatürk's Promotion of Sculpture

 

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of the Turkish Republic, gave priority to reforms in education and art so that Turkish art, long influenced by Arab and Persian civilizations and later by the west, would at last create its own original forms. Ataturk believed in the arts as a powerful moral force, essential to the new nation's health. He attached a special significance to the fine arts. After the establishment of the Republic, the following measures were taken to promote sculpture:

1. Architectural studies were expanded under the guidance of the Turkish Historical Association.

New discoveries unearthed in the course of excavations expanded the horizons of the sculptors and other artists. Excavations led to the discovery of numerous new archaeological sites in Turkey, some dating back to 8000 B.C. The sites in the Yasemic region are especially compelling in regards to sculpture. Statues in this region bear strong evidence of specialization and a high degree of skill. Workshops dating back to 2000 B.C. in Alacahoyuk, Kalin Kaya, Bogazkoy and Tilmen, excavated by Von der Ostein in1926, indicate a highly developed form of sculpture.

2. Students were sent abroad to foreign sculpturing centres in Paris, Munich, and other cities.

First to travel abroad were Ratip Asir, A. Hadi Bara, Zuhtu Muridoglu and Nusret Suman. Simultaneously, the services of foreign sculptors were used. In 1937, Belling came to Turkey to escape from Hitler's Nazi Germany. His students included Huseyin Ozkan, Hakki Atamulu,Yavuz Gorey, Rahmi Artimex, Illan Koman, Zerrin Bolukbasi, Huseyin Geizer, Turgut Pura, Sadi Clik.

3. A more artistic environment was created.

'Art awareness' articles published in various newspapers and magazines increased communication between sculptors and the public and heightened interest in this art form. Ataturk instituted various awards for sculpture and opened new art schools, training institutes, museums, state exhibitions and galleries.

History of Sculpture in Turkey

Historically, sculpture in Turkey consisted mainly of examples of schematic mass plasticity and stylized reliefs. The Ottomans did not produce figurative or monumental sculpture. Sculpture gained importance only following the proclamation of the Republic (See Ataturk's promotion of sculpture). The first monument commissioned by the Republic was erected in 1925 in Gulhane Park, Istanbul. This was followed by the Republican Monument in Takism in 1928. In the 1930s, Turkish artists such as Resit Asir Acudoglu, Zuhtu Muridoglu and Kenan Yontac contributed their individual styles to monumental sculpture.

In the 1950's, artists such as Sadi Calik, Turgut Pura and Kuzgun Acar created original works that stretched the limits of the concept of abstract art. The leading figures of more recent years are Ali Teoman Germaner, Hakki Baha Cavusgil, Semahat Acuner, Gurdel Duynar, Tamer Basoglu, Namik Denizhan, Saim Bugay and Koray Aris. Known as artists of the "intermediary generation," they created new rules for a more contemporary sculpture.