Fotoğrafçı Arşivleri Nasıl Olmalı? (≈What Should Photographers’ Archives Be Like?)

Refik Akyüz, Serdar Darendeliler

IstanbulArtNews, January 2016, Issue 27

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"The name Ara Güler is remembered in Turkey—and, to some extent, in photographic circles abroad—primarily for his black-and-white photographs of Istanbul dating from the middle of the last century. Yet Güler’s work extends far beyond these images. Through his portraits of such prominent figures of the period as Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí and Alfred Hitchcock; his photo essays on Aphrodisias and Noah’s Ark; and his photographs documenting social events such as the 6–7 September pogroms, Güler’s name has become associated with a visual record of an era. In recent years, however, his name has been appearing in the news more frequently for different reasons.

Reports in previous years that Güler wanted a museum of his own to be established were followed, more recently, by news that the Güler Apartment Building in Galatasaray, inherited from his family, and the archive preserved there had been sold to the Doğuş Group. Just as these reports of the sale were becoming a major topic of discussion in the photography world, they were soon followed by new reports claiming that the deal had fallen through. Finally, in an interview given in early December on the occasion of an exhibition of his photographs at the opening of a restored building by the Beyoğlu Municipality, Güler stated that the agreement had not been cancelled and that the process was still ongoing.

It is also possible to argue that much of the confusion surrounding the sale resulted from reports based on incomplete information. In the articles announcing the sale agreement, lawyer Fikret İlkiz was identified as the Doğuş Group’s attorney and was described as having played an important role in reaching the agreement. However, in a telephone conversation with us, İlkiz stated that he was neither the attorney for Doğuş Publishing Group nor Ara Güler, and that he had no connection whatsoever with the sale agreement. He also made a point of noting that we were the first to contact him to obtain information about the matter."

(Translation of the excerpt from the article)

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[Click here to view and download the full article in Turkish as the original PDF.]