18.03.2021
Focusing on the skills and cultural richness of certain craftsmen who are the present representatives of our ancient tradition, it tells 30 different arts and crafts in detail and hosts those craftsmen and their works.
Its principle of ‘growing with our values’, Kuveyt Türk continues to publish new books on culture and arts to leave reference sources to the future generations. Kuveyt Türk’s new prestigious book published to promote the cultural heritage of our ancient tradition is ‘Sanatın ve Sanatkarın İzinde’. Written by the researcher and writer İbrahim Ethem Gören, this book contains over 240 interviews and articles made and written by Gören with and on a group of artists and craftsmen, to be issued in the Special Banking culture and art portal of Kuvey Türk.
The Ahi culture and guild ethics
Published by the publishing house of Kuveyt Türk, the book contains original information about 30 art and craft genres reflecting our ancient tradition. The book contains interviews with a group of craftsmen aiming to leave their knowledge and cultural richness to the future by means of the works they created and the students they taught, and their unique works. Leafing through the book, lovers of art witness the lives, skills, cultural richness and works of certain craftsmen who are the present representatives of our ancient tradition. Booklovers also find an opportunity to observe how these craftsmen transfer the principles of the Ahi culture and guild ethics they carry in their heart to their students by using their special language.
“Valuable works are created through the filter of the art”
Ufuk Uyan, Managing Director of Kuveyt Türk, commented as follows about the book: “Art is the epitome of efforts spent to transfer a feeling, design and beauty to other people. Art may be defined as the transfer of aesthetical sensitivity, a form of thought and intelligence, ranging from calligraphy, ornament, water marbling and miniature to tile art, hand drawing, music and literature, to other people through talent. Many valuable work used by Moslem societies at home, mosque, library and religious school were created through the filter of the art. Books written in calligraphy contain water marbling to protect them from bookworms and to make them more aesthetical, ornaments on the margins of their pages to ornament tem, and bookbinding to preserve their pages and integrity. In order to support the artists reviving a tradition going back to centuries, we should make those arts part of our lives, ensure the arts and the artists’ pains to be continued, to beautify our lives through aesthetics, and to transfer these values to the future generations.”
“We consider it important to ensure our art genres to be deep rooted”
Pointing out that they consider it important that the art and craft genres originated in our ancient tradition and lasting until today should be improved, deep rooted, widespread and take more place in our daily lives, Ufuk Uyan said: “For this purpose we present ‘Sanatın ve Sanatkarın İzinde’ to the world of culture and art. This book carries 30 art and craft genres reflecting our ancient tradition to the present generation. I would like to thank to all of the people who contributed to the creation of this book, especially İbrahim Ethem Gören who wrote it by pursuing the arts and artists with meticulous care. I am happy to share with booklovers that this outstanding work is available in e-book format in Kuveyt Türk’s website, and I hope all culture and art lovers would find it fascinating.”
A work presenting the world of art to readers’ attention
The 408-page voluminous ‘Sanatın ve Sanatkârın İzinde’ contains a chapter entitled “Two Masters from Yesterday to Today” dedicated to the art, aesthetics and works of both the gilt artist Fatma Rikkat Kunt who is a master of the art of ornament and Prof. Dr. Ali Arpaslan who is the gentleman of the art of calligraphy. The chapter entitled “Two Masters from Today to Tomorrow” focuses on Dr. Hüseyin Gündüz who is both a lay and academic master of the art of calligraphy, considered a teacher’s teacher, and Ahmet Çoktan who represents the arts of water marbling and ornament in the best way at both domestic and international level.
The basic theme of the book are the following genres of art: fine calligraphy (Mahmut Şahin), ornament (Faruk Taşkale), miniature (Gülçin Anmaç), water marbling (Alparslan Babaoğlu), bookbinding (Gürcan Mavili), katı (Ersin Yıldızhan), hand drawing (Semih İrteş), Turkish Religious Music (Ahmet Hakkı Turabi), tile art (Ayşe Özkan), ceramics (Meryem Uguz Kaplan), prayer beads (Eymen Gürtan), naht (Mesut Dikel), wood carving (Bekir Uslu), kündekârî (Şehmuz Okur), mother of pearl inlaid (Sinan Çiftci), copper inlaid (Ebubekir İnan), jewelry designing and ornamentation (Uğur Karataş), stained glass (Mustafa Topaloğlu), hot glass art (Etem Geyik), glass ornamentation (Rengin Alkın), dival / Maraş artwork (İlkay Dilibağlı), wire/Bartın artwork (Meral Döngel), Bosnian carpet art (Amila Smajovic), handkerchief hand-painting (Didem Öz), felting cloth artwork (Emel Oğuz), walking stick craft (Refa Gökbulak), calligraphy (Bünyamin Kınacı), traditional silk weaving (Yılmaz Büyükaşık), adragant doll artwork (Naciye Aksakaloğlu), leaf carving (İsmail Erdem). The chapters dedicated to their arts and handcrafts give examples of these masters’ understanding of art, efforts, mastery and works.
Also contributed by such major people as Prof. Dr. Faruk Taşkale who is chairman of the Ornamental Art Program, Traditional Turkish Arts Department, Mimar Sinan University of Fine Arts, Dr. Seyfettin Kurt, general coordinator Dr. Bekir Cantemir, editor Sibel Cantemir, designer Yüksel Yücel, calligrapher Bünyamin Kınacı, photographer Ahmet Bilal Arslan and Dr. Ebubekir İnan, the book ‘Sanatın ve Sanatkârın İzinde’ is available in both hardcopy and e-book format in Kuveyt Türk’s website.
‘Sanatın ve Sanatkârın İzinde’ is available in e-book format in: https://www.kuveytturk.com.tr/hakkimizda/degerlerimizle-buyuyoruz/kuveyt-turk-kitap-koleksiyonu/sanatin-ve-sanatkarin-izinde
e-book page of Kuveyt Türk Publishing House: