Art in Turkey: a Sociological Perspective

Course content

A sociological perspective on the last 150 years (1850-2000) of the art of painting in the Ottoman Empire and Turkey. Emphasis on master pieces and/ or the omitted pieces of each period with regards to social, cultural, political, economic, geographical and historical conditions leading to their creation. Putting artists background, education and relations under a magnifying glass. Highlighting questions such as how and why art changes and looking for answers in relation to the history of modernization in Turkey. Revisiting Orientalism/ Occidentalism, rethinking evolution in art and the appropriation/ translation of Western art movements in Turkey.