Kuzgun Acar

Kuzgun Acar
Bust of Kuzgun Acar by Gürdal Duyar, at the Akat Artists' Park (Akat Sanatçılar Parkı) in Beşiktaş, Istanbul
Born	Abdülahet Kuzgun Çetin Acar 28 February 1928 Istanbul, Turkey
Died	4 February 1976(1976-02-04) (aged 47) Istanbul, Turkey
Resting place	Zincirlikuyu Cemetery
Nationality	Turkish
Alma mater	Academy of Fine Arts, Istanbul
Known for	Sculpture
Notable work	Kuşlar (1967)

Abdülahet Kuzgun Çetin Acar (28 February 1928 – 4 February 1976) was an

Kuzgun Acar was born to Nazmi Acar of Libyan (Ottoman Tripolitania) descent, and his wife Ayşe Zehra of Ethiopian origin, in Istanbul, Turkey, on 28 February 1928.^[4] Despite the wealth of his father Nazmi Acar, who initially refused him due to his darker-than-expected skin color (giving him the name Kuzgun, meaning "Raven" in Turkish), he and his mother (who soon afterwards divorced) lived in poverty during his childhood and youth. He finished high school at İstanbul Sultanahmet Ticaret Lisesi, and in 1948 joined the sculpture department of the Academy of Fine Arts (now Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University). He was a student of Rudolf Belling (1886–1972). In his academy years, influenced by Hadi Bara (1906–1971), he leaned towards more abstract figures. In 1953, he graduated from the academy. He married Münire Abdusef in 1955. In 1965, he married Bige Berker, who bore him a son named Yunus in 1966. He married for a third time in 1971 to Fersa Pulhan.^[5]

Acar died on 4 February 1976, aged 47, from intracerebral hemorrhage, following his fall from a ladder while he was working on a wall relief. He was interred at the Zincirlikuyu Cemetery.^[5]

Career

He worked with wire mesh, making sculptures reminiscent of Naum Gabo (1890–1977). He taught painting at Istanbul Atatürk High School and painting-sculpturing at the high school he finished. He displayed his sculpture works in wire at a personal exhibition in the American news Center in 1957. Between 1958 and 1960, he experimented making various forms with wire, nails, metal bars and scrap by gas welding. He performed experiments in enameling.

His work, created with nails, was awarded the first prize at the

After returning to Turkey, he won the first prize with his iron sculpture at the 23rd State Painting and Sculpture Exhibition in 1962. He took part at the Museum of modern art in Le Havre and Galerie Lacloche in Paris with his private exhibitions in 1962 and 1963. His next exhibitions were for his paintings at the Deutsches Kulturzentrum in Istanbul, and for his sculptures at the Musée Rodin in Paris in 1966.

In 1966, he created his well-known public works Kuşlar ("The Birds") in Istanbul and Türkiye ("Turkey") in Ankara.^[5][6]

In 1968, he produced masks for street theater artists. In 1975, he accompanied the Turkish theater company to Paris and created the masks for the play The Caucasian Chalk Circle. The 140 masks made of steel and rubber used in World War II are among his important works.^[5]

Politics

After Acar joined the socialist

Acar made 140 masks for the Kafkas Tebeşir Dairesi.[11]

Some of Acar's works at public places caused controversy, and were removed and put in storage. His large-scale metal sculpture crafted in 1966 and titled "Türkiye", which stood in front of the

On February 28, 2021, Google celebrated his 93rd birthday with a Google Doodle.^[12]

References

External links

• Kuzgunun Kuşları