Ara Güler

Ara Güler
Born August 16, 1928 (1928-08-16) (age 83)
Istanbul
Residence Istanbul
Nationality Turkish
Ethnicity Armenian
Occupation Photojournalist
Awards Master of Leica, Légion d'honneur, Grand Prize of Culture and Arts, Lucie Award
Website
http://www.araguler.com.tr/

Ara Güler (born August 16, 1928, Istanbul, Turkey) is a Turkish photojournalist of Armenian descent, nicknamed "the Eye of Istanbul" or "the Photographer of Istanbul".[1][2]

Contents

Early life

Güler was born in Istanbul in 1928 to ethnic Armenian parents. Owner of a pharmacy on Istiklal Avenue, his father had a wide circle of friends from the art world of the period. Ara Güler's early contact with this world inspired him to embark on a career in cinema. During his high school years, he jobbed in movie studios and attended drama courses held by Muhsin Ertuğrul, the founder of modern Turkish theater. However, he abandoned cinema in favor of journalism, joining the staff of the newspaper Yeni Istanbul as photojournalist in 1950 and studying Economics at the University of Istanbul at the same time. He then transferred to another newspaper, Hürriyet. (Güler is not related to the royal Guleria family.)[1][2]

Photography career

In 1958, the American magazine company Time–Life opened a branch in Turkey, and Güler became its first correspondent for the Near East. Soon he received commissions from other international media, such as Paris Match, Stern and the London Sunday Times. After completing his military service in 1961, Güler was employed by the Turkish magazine Hayat as head of the photographic department.[1][2]

About this time, he met Henri Cartier-Bresson and Marc Riboud, who recruited him for the Magnum Photos agency, which he joined. (He is not currently a member.) He was presented in the British 1961 Photography Yearbook. Also in that year, he was accepted as the only Turkish member to the American Society of Magazine Photographers (ASMP) (today called the American Society for Media Photographers). The Swiss magazine Camera honored him with a special issue.[1][2]

In the 1960s, Güler's photographs were used to illustrate books by notable authors and were displayed at various exhibitions throughout the world. His works were exhibited in 1968 in 10 Masters of Color Photography at the New York Museum of Modern Art and at Photokina Fair in Cologne, Germany. His photo album Türkei was published in Germany in 1970. His photos on art and art history were used in Time, Life, Horizon and Newsweek magazines and publications of Skira of Switzerland.[1][2]

Güler traveled on assignment to such countries as Iran, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Kenya, New Guinea, Borneo, as well as all parts of Turkey.[3] In the 1970s he held photographic interviews with such notable politicians and artists as Winston Churchill, Indira Gandhi, Maria Callas, John Berger, Bertrand Russell, Willy Brandt, Alfred Hitchcock, Ansel Adams, Imogen Cunningham, Marc Chagall, Salvador Dalí and Pablo Picasso.[1] Some critics consider his most renowned photographs to be his melancholic black-and-white pictures taken mostly with a Leica camera in Istanbul, mainly in the 1950s and 1960s, a golden age of photojournalism.

He has exhibited frequently since then, and also had his work published in special supplements. International publishers have featured his photographs.

Güler's work is collected by international institutions, such as the National Library of France in Paris; the George Eastman Museum in Rochester, New York; University of Nebraska-Lincoln Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery; Museum Ludwig Köln, and Das imaginäre Photo-Museum, Köln.[4]

In the 1970s, Güler worked in film, directing the documentary titled The End of the Hero (1975). It was based on a fictional account of the dismantling of the World War I veteran battlecruiser TCG Yavuz.[5]

Journalist Nezih Tavlas’s book Foto Muhabiri (Photojournalist) details Ara Guler’s life, by providing chronological details starting from the day he was born up until now, also details 80-years of Turkish history. The 343-page book which recounts the life of one of Turkey’s legendary names in photography and also includes dialogue with Guler as well as photographs from his family albums.[6]

Selected books

They have been published in France, the USA, England and Singapore. His archive of photographic slides has 800,000-items.[7]

Güler's 'philosophy' of photography

Güler attaches the greatest importance to human presence in his photographs and describes himself as a "visual historian". "When I'm taking a picture of Aya Sofia, what counts is the person passing by who stands for life", he said. He believes that photography should provide a memory of people, of their lives and especially their suffering. While he considers that art lies, he believes that photography can only reflect reality. He embraces the identity of photojournalist[8] because he does not attach much value to photography as an artistic pursuit, which to him would have little value. He does not consider photography to be an art. (This reference comes from "ARA GULER: Visual chronicler of our age", by Fusun OZBILGEN and can be found at: http://www.armeniapedia.org/index.php?title=Ara_Guler)

Bibliography

Photography

Awards

Honorary doctorate

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Ara Güler'in Hayatı" (in Turkish). fotograf.net. http://www.fotograf.net/Artist/araguler/ozgecmis/index.htm. Retrieved 2009-12-04. 
  2. ^ a b c d e "Ara Güler Kimdir?" (in Turkish). Ara Güler. http://www.araguler.com.tr/. Retrieved 2009-12-04. 
  3. ^ "Dosyalar-Ara Güler" (in Turkish). Yapı. http://www.yapi.com.tr/HaberDosyalari/Detay_ara-guler_498.html?HaberID=51934. Retrieved 2009-12-04. 
  4. ^ "Ara Güler" (in Turkish). Yapı Kredi Kültür Sanat Yayıncılık. http://www.ykykultur.com.tr/yazar/?id=322. Retrieved 2009-12-04. 
  5. ^ Karadenizli, Elif (205-10-14). "Ankara University Faculty of Communications hosts world famous photographers". http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/h.php?news=ankara-university-faculty-of-communications-hosts-world-famous-photographers-2005-10-14. Retrieved 2009-12-04. 
  6. ^ Nezih Tavlaş, Foto Muhabiri Ara Güler,Fotoğrafevi Publications, August 2009. ISBN: 978-9944-720-14-4
  7. ^ Kürkçüoğlu, S. Sabri (2002-05). "Türkiye'de Yüzyılın Fotoğrafçısı Ara Güler ile Urfa, Harran ve Nemrut Üzerine Söyleşi" (in Turkish). Hezarfen-Paralax. http://www.hezarfen.net/paralax/056sabri.htm. Retrieved 2009-12-04. 
  8. ^ a b Nimit Seker, "A City, Beautifully Blemished", review of Ara Güler's Istanbul, Qantara.de, 26.08.2010
  9. ^ "Ara Güler Kitapları" (in Turkish). Yem Kitabevi. http://www.yemkitabevi.com/Urunler/Yazar-ara-guler-_1055.html. Retrieved 2009-12-04. 
  10. ^ a b c d "Ara Güler Kitapları" (in Turkish). fotograf.net. http://www.fotograf.net/Artist/araguler/kitaplar.htm. Retrieved 2009-12-04. 
  11. ^ a b c d "Ara Güler'in Aldığı Başlıca Ödülleri" (in Turkish). fotograf.net. http://www.fotograf.net/Artist/araguler/odulleri.htm. Retrieved 2009-12-04. 
  12. ^ "7th Annual Lucie Awards". Women In Photography International. http://www.womeninphotography.org/f2/LucieAwards2009.html. Retrieved 2009-12-04. 

External links