Between the Past and Present, Hasan Şahbaz

Hasan is a Turkish artist and university teacher inspired by ancient cultures. These cultures can provide connection between the past, present and future through the terracotta!

How would you introduce your artwork in general?

Long time ago, maybe 3,000 years ago people here but also worldwide used bricks as building material. This is the reason why I chose bricks for my sculptures. I have been to an archaeological site with a 2.5m hole and each layer of earth had a different culture in it. The deeper you dig, the more cultures you discover. My sculptures show the meaning of past cultures found underneath the ground. Most of the things found on an archaeological site are bricks or ceramics. So I am making my sculpture with these cultures in mind.

What inspires you to create this kind of art?

The cultures that are revealed by the archaeologists are step by step becoming more interesting with each layer. The culture is growing like a tree, it starts small and gets bigger, better and that’s why the culture is so important to me. When I go to the site, I can touch a piece of pottery that someone made 3,000 years ago, it doesn’t matter if it was as an art or for a use. I touch it the same way it was touched  long time ago. It’s like a connection between the past and present. 

Why did you choose terracotta?

I began as a child by playing with the mud, after it rained. I liked the material. Terracotta and ceramics is a similar material before it is put to oven. Now I am teaching at Anadolu University and some of the students helping here today are my students.

What are your future plans?

I am a teacher here at the University but I am also studying to become a professor. Of course I will continue with my own art work. This Symposium is the beginning of the international life. We are now in the world’s eye, so I hope that I can improove and maybe the other Symposiums or different art events across the world will invite me. All the worlds art is here with many famous artists from different cultures so many people across the world will be interested in this Symposium. I hope that it will open doors for me.

Do you find this symposium beneficial for other artists or students?

I am very happy to be invited to this Symposium. Being able to participate at this symposium means also that your work is recognized as a good art. These Symposiums started 12 years ago when I was a student here in the same university, as now my students. My first internship was here and later I had a personal exhibition here. This year I am an artist at the Symposium so just like the culture, step by step it’s getting better so I am very happy.

Also, in the world you can get an education in ceramics over 3 or 4 years but when you are here its two weeks or 15 days. In 15 days you can learn about all the other things  that you can’t learn theoretically. There are also international artists, everyone has a different style so you can see the worlds art all in one place. This is very important for me.

Never Give up on Painting, Nazan Sonmez

A very well known Turkish artist, Sonmez Nazan, graduated from the Painting Department of Istanbul's State Academy of Fine Arts, where she had studied under the famous artist and poet Bedri Rahmi Eyuboglu. She is currently teaching as a professor at the faculty of the Applied Arts Department at the Hacettepe University School of Fine Arts.  She has had 20 private exhibitions but joined also many others. Her professional art carrier is celebrating 40 years now!

Could you intoduce your art in general?

I am not a ceramic artist, I`m a painter. I use traditional Turkish motives, from turkish culure.

Nature and trees are common motives in Nazans` works

What kind of art are you working on here on symposium?

I`m painting tiles. Normally, I do more traditional motives but my project for symposium has certain characteristics of graffiti. It will be a ceramic painting that will look like a special Turkish carpet with Turkish motives.

Where will you display your final work?

In a public park  named after Hayrettin Karaca, where there are many ceramic statues. 

How did you start with art? What were your beginnings with art?

I started from childhood, drawing. But I have been working professionaly in art for exactly 40 years.

What are your plans for future, after symposim?

I am a head of department of ceramics art at the Hacettepe University. I am always busy.  I like opening exhibitions and galleries are very open for cooperation.

Do you like the symposium so far?

The symposium is so good! Many artists come here and they are doing modern, high quality art. Students are very lucky that they can see them, help them and learn from them new techniques. For artists it is also beneficial to see what is happening in art worldwide. There is the mixture of sculpture, painting and ceramics!
Often, when you do the painting, you sell it and ends in the house. But these art works ends at public places. Parks, cancellaries, public buildings. That is also a big benefit of this symposium.
Very important is also the fact that this event is public. People can come and join, ask the questions, or try to make something themselves.

Read more also here

DNA Bridge Between Art and Science, Bingül Başarır

A Turkish ceramic artist combining art and science. For this symposium, Bingul Basarir will make a surface wall telling you about DNA and Anatolian history. She is always trying to make artwork from different materials. 

How would you introduce your artwork?

Normally, I make massive ceramics art work. My artwork was supposed to be a big DNA construction. However, it was canceled, it would be too big. My first plan was to be put on a big hill, step by step. Like a bridge that would be made out of pieces of brick. At the end of the bridge you would see art which tells you about culture. For the new project I still don’t know where I will put it, but for sure I will put it outside.

What is your artwork here, at the symposium?

For now, I will make a surface wall, again with DNA but also mixed up with Anatolian history using small pieces. You will see a different story in each of the surfaces. The big theme for the design are the bodies of genetics.

What inspires you to make this kind of art?

My inspiration is Science and Art. They go the same way. I think both of them are so important. Without art, there is no science and without science there is no art. For me, history of culture is made from art and science.

I am trying to make something by mixing different materials. For example, Lignite coal and glass. When I looked for this kind of art on the internet, I couldn’t find any other artists who had done projects with those materials.

How did you start with art?

I started as any other child does, play with clay and paint. My first ambition was to become a famous painter. However, 50 years ago I saw an exhibition of ceramics by the famous ceramic artist Füreza. At that moment I fell in love with ceramics. I started working with her. At the beginning she told me that she didn’t need a student, just needed an assistant. She told me that I needed to learn by myself because she would never teach me anything.

While I was working with her, we joined an International exhibition at Czechoslovakia. She got 4 gold medals for that exhibition, the first medal was achieved by my teacher, Füreza. The second was achieved by the department of ceramics at the university. I got the third medal. Afterwards, she told me: “It’s enough; you can choose and go your own way. Make your own studio and make the story for your own artwork, a professional artist’s life”.

What do you think about the benefits of the symposium for the artists or students?

It is very important, this place unites people. Artists, students, visitors and journalists are all here together with art. The symposium should keep going on in this way, get improove through living art. I am very happy to be part of this symposium.

What are your plans for future?

In 2010, it was my 50^th anniversary of being a professional artist. I hope I can make something for my 60^th, maybe an exhibition would be nice. For now, I am rarely doing exhibition for myself. I rather cooperate with other artist from different countries for mixed exhibitions. There is one luxury hotel in Izmir which invited me to make an exhibition for the opening next year. They will give me a space for a gallery to put all of my artwork inside, not a really big one but still nice. This exhibition will be showing the Hitit civilization. I love the story behind Hetits and so do, hopefully, many others!

"I take only art pictures", Ibrahim Demirel

The photographer and artist, Ibrahim Demirel is very well known in Turkey for his organising skills and contribution to art awarness. He used to be a teacher for 40 years, teaching communication and photography at the university. He has written 16 books about making art pictures and is also a founder of „Sanatyapım Plastic Arts Workshop and Gallery“. Everyone doing something about art in Turkey needs him!

How would you present yourself to our readers?         

I was born in central Turkey, Malatya in 1941. I finished university of graphic art, photography. I  have won several photography competitions but I am working with different arts now. Graphics, photography, ceramics - I`m working in various fields of art.

Nowadays I live in Ankara, where I have been doing art for 40 years. I was a teacher at the university and I wrote 16 books about artful pictures.   
I have a gallery with two collections. One of them is a collection of historical and etnographical  excavations, another one consists of art pieces from various artists. I have already many art pieces. They are mainly paintings, sculptures and statues. If you want to be famous in Turkey it is important to promote your art.  My ambition and dream is to open a museum. I am travelling and collecting art all round the world. However, it is not easy to make one big building for all of them.

What is your work here on symposium?

I have been taking not only the pictures from all the Terra Cotta symposiums so far, but also helping with organising. I give new ideas to the Mayor as well.

When you take pictures, it is a job, but my job is responsibility for art. I take pictures of various subjects but I don`t  take simple pictures, I take only art pictures. Symposiums invite me for lectures of how to make more spiritual artful photos.

I have been on every Terra Cotta symposium since the first one. I have done all the books of Tera Cotta symposium. I have  been also in India at the teracotta style symposium. However, Eskişehir symposium is better because it is more diverse, multidisciplinal. People can improve their skills easily. You can learn from many various artists, teachers. There are many styles of ceramics. This symposium is beautiful fbecause of the national and international art. Most important thing is that the teamleader is Bilgeham Uzuner. He is a head of our finance faculty as well. He does a lot of organising and creating.

How do you like the work of volunteers?

You work hard and have the discipline. I am happy about your work.

The mythology of Eskişehir, Semih Kaplan

Semih Kaplan is a lecturer at the local University. He has been interested in art since childhood and worked it to the doctorate in painting. His symposium artwork is inspired by Greek and Turkish mythology.

Can you introduce your art for our readers? What is the idea behind it?

I am making three different figures for this Symposium. They indicate Marsyas from Greek Mythology and also Turkish Mythology, Apolyon, a fine arts God. The last one is King Midas.  My art shows the story between them. I chose this subject because it belongs to this area; it’s the Mythology of Eskisehir. For example, a long time ago Phrygians lived in Eskisehir and Midas was King of them.

How did you get into this kind of art?

I have graduated from a ceramic department and my high school education is also ceramic but my doctorate is in painting, so I use different techniques. Paint making, water colour, acrylic oil – I can use all materials and I want to use them during the Symposium. I am mixing my techniques with print making and ceramics. Every time I make something, I use a different technique, different techniques for different projects.

When did your interest in art start?

I began to draw in my primary school, my teachers liked my drawings and they supported me. Afterwards, my father sent me to a fine arts high school, so that I had the best chance to be surrounded by art and I could improve.

Do you think these symposiums are useful for other artists or students?

Yes, here is the best place for students to learn something new because they can see various techniques here. There are lots of artists here and each of them is working with different techniques. I am a lecturer at the university but you cannot see these techniques at the university like you can see them here.

What about your future plans, after symposium?

After this symposium I have an exhibition in Ankara, two months later. So I am preparing for this exhibition. I have also made a big relief wall for the Berlin Embassy and after the Symposium I will go to Berlin to put it into its place.

Maro Kerasioti's Forest of Fire

A Greek novelist and ceramic artist that uses symbolism of forest becoming alive through the fire, in this symposium. Maro Kerasioti has also been teaching ceramic art in prisons, she believes you can reach freedom through artwork. This is already her 8th symposium in Turkey!

Maro with the Mayor, Ahmet Ataç

Could you introduce your artwork?

I have always been working with projects about mythology and our tradition. For the last 15 years, I have been working on a forest project. I am making a forest that cannot burn. I also have another project which is called “The Sea”. For my last exhibition with the Sea, I was showing fish and mermaids, and now with seashells and sea flowers. So, ceramics is very important to me, but I am a novelist as well. Through that I can express myself in another way. Because ceramics is a silent language, but I need to speak louder of things that I have in my mind

Where do your inspirations come from?

I am interested with the forest issue because in Greece we have problems about this and it happened to a  forest near our house. When I saw the dead logs standing, black from burning, I decided to make a forest that will come alive through fire. So, that is the opposite thing. Through fire my forest becomes nice and brown and this is the ecological message to everybody, because whenever the forest is destroyed, another must come up.

What is the work you have brought for this symposium?

Maro`s tree trunk

My self. My self as an ambassador to show what we believe in Greece. I have been coming for several years to Turkey, I started 15 years ago, there was a symposium between Turks and Greeks. Through art we were uniting the nations separately from political pressures. We formed friendships which can only be from individuals, politics cannot do it. And this is my 8th symposium now in Turkey.

How did you start with art?

I have been in ceramics for 52 years now, maybe in the last 15 years, I have been workıng on the project about forests. I have been spending my life teaching prisoners on the voluntary basis, which I did for 19 years. And I thought that you can find freedom through art if you are in prison. That was also an important lesson for me and also the prisoners are very happy to be able to express themselves, even sell the pieces and get some money. That gave me a lot of confidence to watch what I can do on a voluntary basis.

What do you think about the benefits of the symposium for the artists or students?

I think it's very useful for all of us, artist and student, because ceramics is such a multi-faced thing, so many expressions and this is interesting to see so many people doing different things. This is a very interesting part of doing ceramics. Also it is very intriguing because sometimes your eye catches something that after a while, it thinks that it was its own idea, you know… there is nothing new, other people have done it before you and it just continue with this circle.

What is your plan for your future?

We have had an organisation in China which comes from around the world, for 4 years already. We form the organisation above political and monetary reasons. For next December, we will go to India. I have been travelling a lot through ceramics, I feel blessed. Sometime I feel cursed because I can't do without it. I see both sides. I have 6 grandchildren which need some attention, maybe some guiding not parenting. I want to make a friendship with them. They have parents to give them some advice; so they need a crazy grandparent for a friend. This is another pleasantry for me.

Perspectives of Everyday, Branko Milanovic

Branko Milanovic is a young artist coming from Serbia. Before finishing faculty of applied arts, in Belegrade he studied for a machine technician. This experience is also his source of inspiration, he brings you uncommon perspectives of common objects!

What are you working on in the symposium?

I started to work on this piece 3 years ago.  It is about objects around us that we use every day. I would like to make people see things in a different way. What is it that we expect from objects? I am playing with perspectives. The final piece is composition. This is one of my bigger works, however, I would like to make big pieces of art!

How did you get to know about the symposium?

I was working for some projects, one of them was also Teratorija project. I`ve been working there for 4 years. People from symposium have conntacted us. I was expecting young people but It is good to work with people that have experience! It is pretty much like workshop here,  really different to what we are used to in European galleries. I`ll give 100 % of myself for the final piece!

You seem to enjoy this!

It is nice atmosphere.  This is my first time in Turkey and I did not expect so many people. It is some kind of fair. From the beginning, I thought, how am I goint to function with all these people around? But It is very nice! We have this help from academy, university students. It would be much slower for me to finish my piece. So the credit goes to them too!

Inspired by Branko

How is the situation in Serbia with art?

There is no real market for art, it might be general problem . There are some projects and workshops and also support from outside. That is good. 

Do you have some plans for future?

I have plans of what Im going to create next. This year Im starting to work as an assistant on department of sculpture. I like working with young people.  To try to get involved, give them some experience and learn from them as well.