Birçok günümüz sanatçısı sanatsal pratiklerinde, ait oldukları coğrafyaların veya kendi kültürlerine uzak kültürlerin tarihsel ve düşünsel birikimlerinden ve bu birikimlerin sanatsal-plastik yansımalarından beslenmektedir. Sanatçının referans alarak yeni bir bağlama taşıdığı kültürel deneyimler toplamı, insanlığın geçmişinden bugüne uzanan büyük mirası temsil eder. Sanatçıların, tarihi ve kültürel verilere dayanan yapıtlarında farklı üretim metotlarına ve yaklaşımlarına sahip oldukları görülmektedir. Bazı sanatçılar tarihsel yapıtların sembolleşmiş biçimsel-dekoratif ögelerini ana unsur olarak ele alıp dönüştürürken, bir grup sanatçı, tarihsel olanın kavramsal alt yapısına odaklanarak sosyolojik ve politik bir bakış açısı geliştirir. Bu çalışmanın temel amacı, tarihsel referanslardan beslenen günümüz seramik sanatçılarının eserleri üzerinden “geçmiş”in biçimsel ve düşünsel olarak günümüze nasıl ve hangi yollar aracılığıyla yansıdığını tespit etmektir. Benzeşik örnekleme yöntemiyle belirlenen sanatçıların seçiminde, incelenen yapıtlarda yoğunluklu olarak seramiğin ana malzeme olarak kullanılması, seçilen sanatçıların farklı coğrafyalara ve kültürel kimliklere ait olmaları, yapıtların tümünde geleneksel ve antik seramiklere ait tarihi niteliklerin biçimsel etkilenmelerin dışında, günümüz kavramsal bağlamlarına taşınabilmiş olması gibi kriterler dikkate alınmıştır. Çalışmada, sekiz bireysel sanatçı ve bir sanatçı ikilisinin eserleri, karşılaştırmalı analiz ve ikonografik çözümleme yöntemleri kullanılarak incelenerek; araştırmada, tarihsel-kültürel verilerin çağdaş sanatta seramik malzemesine yansımaları ve yaratıcı süreçlerin gelişimi üzerine odaklanmıştır. Çalışma sonucunda, tarihsel formların sanatçılar tarafından dönüştürülerek yeniden ele alınmasında yalınlaştırma, soyutlama, stilizasyon ve yapıbozum gibi farklı biçimsel eğilimlerin belirginleştiği; kavramsal olarak ise kültürel değişim ve dönüşüm, kimlik ve aidiyet, mitler ve edebi anlatımlar, zanaat-sanat-endüstri karşılaştırması, kadın hakları ve feminizm, göç-yerinden edilme gibi politik içeriklerin yapıtlarda önemli birer temsil olarak öne çıktığı tespit edilmiştir.
Many contemporary artists derive inspiration from the historical and intellectual accumulation of cultures that are distant from their own or from the geographical regions they belong to, as well as from the artistic-plastic manifestations of these accumulations. The sum of cultural experiences referenced and recontextualized by the artist represents the great heritage extending from humanity’s past to the present. The artist’s engagement with the past and to the historical aspects can be seen as an effort to transpose past ways of life and experiences into the intellectual context of their own temporal plane. It is observed that artists employ different production methods and approaches in their works based on historical and cultural references. While some artists focus on transforming the symbolized formal-decorative elements of historical works as the main elements, another group of artists develop a sociological and political perspective by focusing on the conceptual underpinnings of the historical aspect. The main aim of this study is to determine how the “past” is reflected in contemporary ceramic artworks through formal and conceptual means, and by what means it is mediated to the present. In the study, the works of eight individual artists and one artist duo, who stand out in contemporary ceramic art, were examined using the comparative analysis method and iconographic interpretation method. The focus is on the reflections of historical-cultural data on ceramic materials, which are increasingly used in contemporary art, and the development of creative processes. The samples selected in the research were determined by the homogeneous sampling method. The examined works were subjected to a detailed comparison in terms of technical, aesthetic, and conceptual contexts, and an attempt to determine the modern-day equivalent of the historical data was made. It was observed that in the ceramic works discussed in the study, traditional elements were combined with contemporary perspectives and transformed into a new means of transmission rather than just a formal reminder of the past. The evolutionary movement of art has been achieved through pushing and transforming traditional boundaries, paving the way for creating a new language in art. Historical data, sometimes embedded and sometimes openly shown in the work, enable the viewer to be positioned in the present and provide exploration opportunities regarding cultural belonging. It is observed that ceramic as a material, which carries meaning with reference to the past and tradition, is increasingly included and accepted in contemporary art. This specific context of ceramic material has both an original and striking conceptualization feature when it comes to artistic expression. At this point, in today’s ceramic practices, the historical memory of clay as a material is used as a notable transfer tool by artists. As a result of the study, it was seen that artists from different cultures, focused on different qualities of the historical themes in their ceramic works that established strong relationships with historical references. In these works, different formal tendencies such as simplification, abstraction, stylization, and deconstruction become evident in the transformation and reconsideration of historical forms by artists; from a conceptual perspective, it has been determined that political contents such as cultural change and transformation, identity and belonging, myths and literary expressions, craft-art-industry comparison, women’s rights and feminism, migration-displacement, stand out as important representations in the works.
Contemporary ceramics Historical data Collective memory Cultural data Tradition Ceramics Contemporary art
Primary Language | Turkish |
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Subjects | Art History, Art History, Theory and Criticism (Other) |
Journal Section | RESEARCH |
Authors | |
Publication Date | August 22, 2024 |
Submission Date | December 15, 2023 |
Acceptance Date | July 11, 2024 |
Published in Issue | Year 2024 |