Mehmet Aksoy (sculptor)
{{short description|Turkish sculptor (born 1939)}}
{{expand Turkish|topic=bio|otherarticle=|date=July 2016}}
{{Infobox artist
| name = Mehmet Aksoy
| image = Mehmet Aksoy - 14.3.12.jpg
| image_size =
| caption = Aksoy during an event in Bilkent University, March 2012.
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1939|05|15}}
| death_date =
| death_place =
| nationality = Turkish
| known_for = Sculpture
| training = Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Hochschule der Künste in Berlin
| movement =
| notable_works = Memorial to the Deserter, Potsdam, Germany
Statue of Humanity, Kars, Turkey
| patrons =
| awards =
}}
Mehmet Aksoy (born 15 May 1939[https://books.google.com/books?id=GAS6AAAAIAAJ&q=Mehmet+Aksoy+May+15+,+1939 Profile of Mehmet Aksoy]) is a Turkish sculptor. His sculptures often contain sensual figurative elements, but he is strongly rooted in a modernist sensibility with strong conceptual and abstract elements in his work. He works primarily in stone but also incorporates other material, fusing metal or differing stones in a single sculpture. He presently resides and works in a studio of his own dramatic design on the outskirts of Istanbul.{{citation needed|date=May 2011}}
Early life
He was born 1939 in Kessab, a town in northwestern Syria close to the Turkish border{{cite news | title = Monument to symbolize peace, unity | publisher = Turkish Daily News | date = 2008-04-10 | url =http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/h.php?news=monument-to-symbolize-peace-unity-2008-04-10 | accessdate = 2011-01-29 }} to a family of Turkmen origin.{{cite book |last1=Erkayhan |first1=Şafak |title=1960 Sonrası Almanya'da Türk Sanatçılar: Göç ve Kültürel Kimlik |date=2011 |page=211 |publisher=Lulu.com |isbn=9781447897187 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lzxvAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA211 |access-date=7 June 2023 |language=tr}} After completing his primary education in Yayladağı in Hatay Province, Tarsus, Mersin and Antalya, he enrolled 1960 in Istanbul Academy of Fine Arts (today Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University) to study painting. Later, Aksoy switched over to sculpture section, where he was educated by Prof. Şadi Çalık between 1961 and 1967. Following his military service, he served at the same academy as an assistant in 1969/1970. He went in 1970 to London after having received a state-granted scholarship for further studies. Aksoy moved to Germany to study at the Hochschule der Künste in Berlin, from where he obtained a master's degree in 1977. He returned in 1978 to Turkey and served until 1980 as an instructor at his alma mater.
Works
=''Statue of Humanity''=
{{main|Statue of Humanity}}
Image:Monument to Humanity by Mehmet Aksoy in Kars, Turkey.jpg]]
Statue of Humanity ({{langx|tr|İnsanlık Anıtı}}, {{langx|hy|Մարդկության հուշարձան}}) was a statue under construction in Kars, Turkey created by Mehmet Aksoy. The monument, depicting two human figures reaching out hands to each other, stood {{convert|30|m|ft|abbr=on}} high on Kazıktepe Hill across from the ancient Castle of Kars outside of the city and would have been visible from neighboring Armenia when completed. It was commissioned by {{Interlanguage link multi|Naif Alibeyoğlu|tr}}, the former mayor of Kars, as a gesture of reconciliation in Armenia–Turkey relations following a 2009 accord to establish formal diplomatic recognition between the two.{{cite news |title=Turkey-Armenia friendship symbol being demolished |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13199787 |date=26 April 2011 |accessdate=27 July 2016}}{{cite news |title=İnsanlık Anıtı yıkılacak |newspaper=Hurriyet |url=http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/16720109.asp |date=9 January 2011 |accessdate=30 April 2011 |language=tr}}
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan described the monument as a "freak" ({{langx|tr|ucube|links=no}}) during a visit to Kars in January 2011. In spite of protests, the city authority decided to remove the statue. In April 2011, works began to demolish it. Erdoğan insists that this was merely a question of aesthetics, yet according to The Economist the demolition could have been an attempt to appeal to nationalist sentiment ahead of the 2011 general election.{{cite news |title=Two vast and ugly blocks of stone |newspaper=The Economist |url=http://www.economist.com/node/17905911 |date=13 January 2011}} As a response to Erdoğan's comments, Aksoy filed a lawsuit against Erdoğan for insulting him. In March 2015, a court fined Erdoğan 10,000 Turkish lira for calling the work a "freak". Erdoğan's lawyer claimed it was a critique rather than an insult.{{cite news |author=Umut Erdem |title=Artist 'to party with' Erdoğan's money |work=Hurriyet Daily News |url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/artist-to-party-with-erdogans-money.aspx?pageID=238&nID=79207&NewsCatID=341 |date=5 March 2015 |accessdate=5 March 2015}} However local court later on overturned that verdict.{{cite web | url=https://bianet.org/english/human-rights/210408-constitutional-court-demolition-of-monument-of-humanity-a-right-violation | title=Constitutional Court: Demolition of 'Monument of Humanity' a Right Violation }}
=Memorial to the Deserter=
File:Memorial to the Unknown Deserter by Mehmet Aksoy.jpg]]
Memorial to the Deserter ({{langx|tr|İnsanlık Anıtı}}) is a statue in Unity Square, Potsdam, Germany created by Mehmet Aksoy.{{citation needed|date=May 2011}} The figure in this memorial, which honors those who refuse to fight in unjust wars, is carved in negative relief, a technique that Aksoy employed in later work.
File:İlhan Selçuk veTürk Aydınlanmasını Yaratanlar Heykeli.JPG, front view]]
Personal life
Aksoy lost his brother, sister-in-law, and nibling in 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquake.{{cite news |title=Mehmet Aksoy'un yakınları enkaz altında hayatını kaybetti |url=https://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/kultur-sanat/mehmet-aksoyun-yakinlari-enkaz-altinda-hayatini-kaybetti-2051213 |access-date=7 June 2023 |agency=Cumhuriyet}}
References
External links
- [http://www.nude-hall.com/info_mehmetaksoy.htm Mehmet AKSOY Biography]
- [http://fotoanaliz.hurriyet.com.tr/galeridetay.aspx?cid=44273&rid=4369 Image gallery of his works]
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Category:Turkish male sculptors
Category:20th-century Turkish sculptors
Category:Academy of Fine Arts in Istanbul alumni
Category:Academic staff of Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University