UK showing of Turkish photographer’s work draws crowds

By Vakkas Dogantekin

ANKARA (AA) – Art enthusiasts have been flocking to London’s famed Saatchi Gallery, which has been showcasing works by the late Turkish photographer Ara Guler in an exhibition that runs until May 5.

Curated by the Turkish Presidency, the "Ara Guler Photography Exhibition" includes Guler’s famous Istanbul photographs and portraits of prominent British figures such as former Prime Minister Winston Churchill, film director Alfred Hitchcock and philosopher Bertrand Russell.

A Turkish citizen of Armenian descent, Guler was born in Istanbul in 1928 and passed away on Oct. 17, 2018 at the age of 90.

Throughout his life, he was a prominent global representative of Turkey's creative photography.

The first Turkish member of the American Society of Magazine Photographers (ASMP), Guler was awarded the Master of Leica title in Germany in 1962 and was featured in a special issue of Swiss Camera, one of the world's leading photography publications.

Besides receiving many awards in Turkey, he was awarded "the Légion d'honneur: Officier des Arts et des Lettres" in 2002 by the French government and the "La Médaille de la Ville de Paris" by the Paris Municipality in 2009.

"The Ara Güler exhibition opened at the Saatchi Gallery on Tuesday under the auspices of the Turkish Presidency," Turkish Presidential Communications Director Fahrettin Altun said Friday on Twitter.

"According to Condé Nast Traveller [magazine], it is one of the top 10 things to do in London this weekend," Altun added.

Following the London event, Guler's work will be exhibited in Paris, Kyoto, New York, Rome and Mogadishu, according to Saatchi Gallery’s website.

The Dogus Group and the Ara Guler Museum, Archives and Research Center have collaborated in the project.

Guler always regarded photography as a very human experience.

"If the best camera took the best picture, then the person who owned the best typewriter would write the best novel," he once quipped sarcastically.

Besides his trailblazing photography, Guler was a proud citizen of Turkey who always defended the country and its elected leaders.

In one of his interviews in 2018, Guler told reporters why he thinks Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is a "big leader".

"We have had so many presidents in Turkey. None of them has defied the world [imperialism]. Erdogan has. Why wouldn't he? We all come from the Ottomans [Ottoman State]," he said.