Bird dies. Remember the flight.’
Forugh Farrokhzad
‘Birds’ by Kuzgun Acar
Istanbulites almost always had an uneasy relationship with sculptures. I have a tendency to tie this to our Islamic tradition that has forbidden visual arts. Unlike Europe, Turks have little contact with sculptures when they are growing up. This limits Istanbulites’ capacity to appreciate sculptures and enjoy their presence across the city. Atatürk -founder of the Modern Turkish Republic- wanted to break this tradition of aversion towards sculptures and visual arts in general. He was keen on supporting art and artists in the country.
And Kuzgun Acar was the ‘child’ of modern Turkey. He was born in 1928 in Istanbul and dedicated his short lived life of 48 years to sculpting. He was an exceptionally talented artist who created abstract sculptures for the city.
He had the honour of receiving an award from the hands of the world famous Giacometti in the Paris Biennale in 1961.
It is so sad to think that most of his sculptures had either been destroyed or have vanished throughout the years. But, we have one beautiful iconic sculpture that has stood the test of time and that is the ‘Birds’ on the wall of the Istanbul Textiles Bazaar in Unkapanı, close to the Roman Aqueduct constructed by Valens in the 4th Century AD. The sculpture was commissioned especially for this building in 1967.
If you get a chance to pass by this building, pay attention to the abstract ‘Birds’ of Kuzgun Acar as a reminder of this talented artist and his legacy that is still with us today.
Sakıp Sabancı Museum has commissioned another sculpture that has taken its inspiration from the Birds of Kuzgun Acar and it stands dignified overlooking the Bosphorus as an echo of the original birds.
Istanbul Modern Museum hosts few of Acar’s sculptures and I recommend you visit Istanbul Modern to pay tribute to the artist who dedicated his life to art.
