Be on the Trail of Tradition: The Calligrapher Hüseyin Kutlu’s Life and His Art

Year 2018, Volume: 3 Issue: 2, 225 - 257, 31.12.2018

Salime Bera Kemikli

https://doi.org/10.20486/imad.445927

Abstract

Abstract

Hüseyin Kutlu is one of our significant hattat
(calligrapher) and he is the most important representatives of the hüsn-i hat school
(the İslamic calligraphy) in 21th century. Kutlu has born into a intellectual
family and grown in a lore milieu. After his philosophy education he has worked
as imam and he served for twenty-six years. During this time, with the
understanding of “İslâm is a civilization and the center of this
civilization is mosque” he put efford on invigorating the mosque which has
lost its function and he has combined mosque with art.

Kutlu, who quite productive hattat (calligrapher),
emphasizes a lot about relations between architecture and the hat/lettering. He
have identified the contemporary problems between art of hüsn-i hat
(calligraphy) and architectural structure. When he performs his works, his
measure always been principles of İslamic civilization. He pays attention to
the meaning, effects of stain, right of pen and functionality in order to be
eligible of condition in works. It is crucial to state that, his mentality of
art is not only limited by works also he is a calligrapher who practices what
he thinks about his works. Also he is a calligrapher who efforts to reflect his
works to scientific studies. Articles were made in accordance with interviews
belongs to Hattat (calligrapher) Hüseyin Kutlu.

Summary

Uğur Derman
says, in XVIII. century, as in other traditional arts, there has been no change
and transformation in the art of calligraphy. This is due to the fact that the
art of calligraphy does not have an equivalent in the West, the art of
calligraphy is transferred from generation to generation with the
master-apprentice method and the art of calligraphy has the ability to
regenerate within its own structure. But then, a century later, there were
difficulties at the point of the maintenance of calligraphy. These difficulties
were primarily due to economic problems in the period. The cultural and social
change brought about by modernization and the structural transformations
experienced in every aspect of social life, not only negatively affected the
traditional arts and cultural life but also created obstacles that hard to
overcome in the presence of calligraphy. In the XIX century, the traditional
dynamics of the social structure and economy of the Ottoman Empire was
transformed and undergone significant changes. As a result of a series of
battles that began with the Crimean War, continued with Balkan Wars and the
First World War, the country suffered greatly in financial damage. In the face
of this economic collapse, the situation of state and the society which was
struggling with the entity also were reflected in art: the development of
traditional arts has been naturally interrupted. Even in financial
difficulties, there have been attempts to stimulate the art of calligraphy. In
1892, as a part of Divân-ı Hümâyun, Tâ’lim-i Hat was established by grand
vizier Ahmed Cevdet Pasha. Unfortunately, after the death of Cevdet Pasha, the
institution lost its importance and closed in a short time. Another attempt to
cultivate calligrapher, to maintain this art and to ensure the spread of it,
was the opening of “Calligrapher school”, in another name Medresetü’l-Hattâtîn,
within the body of Museum of Islamic Foundations. However, the Medresetül
Hattâtîn was closed as a result of the letter revolution. As a natural
consequence of this, the art of calligraphy was pushed back into the
background. The fact that the art of calligraphy is in the background is also
related to the understanding of the art of that period. Because the Republican
Government's understanding of art is quite different from the Ottoman state's
perspective of art. It is known that the Republican Government has made a great
transformation in the arts and cultural environment since its foundation. The
support of modernity by the government has led to rejection of tradition and
the emergence of an art environment open to innovations. These changes in the
artistic and intellectual environment did not change of art calligraphy in a
technical sense, but pushed it back into the background. Ultimately, the art of
calligraphy in Turkey went through a difficult process as a result of financial
troubles, letter revolution and the conception of the art of that period.
However, the art of calligraphy has reached the present day with the efforts of
altruistic figures. One of these figures is Huseyin Kutlu. He received a
certificate of qualification from his master Hamit Aytac to continue his art
and became one of the most important calligraphers who follows in tradition’s
footsteps. When he was studying Philosophy at Istanbul University, Kutlu
started to practice with Hamit Aytaç. In 1968, Kutlu noted that many people
believed that the art of calligraphy had expired and some artists mentioned
that this art would end with Calligrapher Hâmid Aytaç's passing away. In such a
time, in 1974 he received ratification of sülüs-nesih from Hamit Aytac. He also
practiced ta’lik with Ugur Derman. Kutlu tried to revive the civilization of
the mosque as much as he could through his art. While he performing his art, he
puts Islamic Civilization to its center. He also worries about the situatiton
of the Islamic Ummah because according to him there are many problems. We
understand from the interviews with him that in the contemporary mosque
architecturethere is no integrity between the place of writing and the meaning
of it. There are also situations in which the meaning is pushed into the
background and aesthetics and meaning do not match. Kutlu has identified these
problems and has tried to solve them by investigating previous calligraphers
works of art. He has realized the fact that the most important characteristic
of Islamic civilization is to make everything meaningful. According to verses
of the Quran, there is surely understanding of wisdom behind every single
thing. And as reported by Kutlu, this understanding is reflected in art,
architecture and science. In this manner, He performs works in which the
meaning, function and aesthetics are combined. But first of all, in the process
of creating his works, he asks questions such as “what should be prioritize?“
and ”what should we keep ahead?“ and looks for answers. While performing his
art there are some points that Huseyin Kutlu cares about. First of all, he
indicates that a calligrapher must recognize and understand the place. The most
important point is the compliance between place to be written and inscription.
Another one is the harmony between architectural construction elements and
writing. Kutlu pays attention to the effect of stain in the place where the
writing will take place. He also attached importance to harmony by using many
factors such as the colour of the place and the effect of other traditional
arts. These attitudes which Kutlu pays attention while he performing his art
shows that he follows traditional line rather than contemporary art criteria.
He reflects his imagination to his pieces. Another important base we learned
about calligraphy from Hüseyin Kutlu is: He is aware that Islamic civilization
does not consist of nostalgia. The Art of Islam is a dynamic and universal art
due to it feeds directly from the Quran and from life. In this regard he
realizes the fact that tradition and Islamic civilization are always alive.

Keywords

Hattat Hüseyin Kutlu, The art of hüsn-i hat of contemporary world (calligraphy), Hâmid Aytaç, Hüsn-i Hat, İstanbul

GELENEĞİN İZİNİ SÜRMEK: HATTAT HÜSEYİN KUTLU’NUN HAYATI VE SANATI

Abstract

Hüseyin Kutlu, yaşayan en önemli hattatlarımızdan birisi ve
XXI. yüzyılın hat sanatı ekollerinin en önemli temsilcilerindendir. Âlim
şahısların mensûb olduğu bir ailede dünyaya gelen Kutlu, ilmî bir muhitte
yetişmiştir. Felsefe eğitiminden sonra, İmam-Hatipliği tercih eden Hattat Hüseyin
Kutlu 33 sene vazife yapmıştır. Bu süre zarfında “İslâm bir medeniyet
dinidir. Bu medeniyetin merkezi de câmidir” anlayışı üzerine, fonksiyonunu
kaybeden câmiyi ihya etme gayreti içerisine girmiş ve câmi ile sanatı
buluşturmuştur.

Hattat Hüseyin Kutlu ile yapılan sözlü mülakatlar
neticesinde gerçekleştirilen bu makaleden anlaşılıyor ki; oldukça velûd bir
hattat olan Kutlu, mimarî ile yazı arasındaki ilişkiye çok önem vermiştir.
Günümüzdeki hüsn-i hat sanatı ile mimarî yapı arasındaki problemlerin tespitini
yapmıştır. Eserlerini icra ederken ölçüsü hep İslâm Medeniyeti’nin ilkeleri
olmuştur. Eserlerinde muktezâ-i hâle muvâfık olması için mânaya, leke etkisine,
kalem hakkına, diğer sanatlarla uyumuna ve fonksiyonlu olmasına dikkat
etmektedir. Şunu belirtmek gerekir ki; Hüseyin Kutlu’nun sanat telakkisi sadece
söz ile sınırlı değildir, o tahayyül ettiklerini icraata da geçiren bir sanat
adamıdır. Keza icra ettiklerini ilmî çalışmalara da aktarma gayretinde bulunan
bir hattattır. Yazılar, Hattat Hüseyin Kutlu ile yapılan sözlü mülakatlar
neticesinde gerçekleştirilmiştir. 

Keywords

Hattat Hüseyin Kutlu, Günümüz Dünyası Hat Sanatı, Hâmid Aytaç, Hüsn-i Hat, İstanbul

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