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Title: Unique-Visual Narratives

Unique-Visual Narratives

The Evolution of Art and Literature in Turkey

by Asya Sakine Uçar (Author)
Monographs 90 Pages
English Studies

Summary

Art inspires art. The visual and the verbal as two forms of expression often influence each other’s evolution begetting painted stories or canvases of words. In visual narratives, the images or visual elements like paintings, pictures are key to the storytelling and it finds such a correlation in literature that they become integral to the narrative complementing or enhancing the text. Accordingly, this book aims to explore the intersection between visual arts and literature, a field often characterized by its capacity to generate unique and immersive experiences; delving into contemporary Turkish novels like Murat Gülsoy’s　Painter Vasıf’s　History of　Secret Loves　and Gündüz Vassaf’s　Painter’s Rebellion. With this book, as far as Turkish art and literature scene is concerned, I hope to present a confluence of brush and pen uncovering how art shapes writing skills and visual journeys are important and effective tools of storytelling within a historical, cultural and artistic context. This book has a great potential to contribute not only to literary studies but also to the broader discourse on the creative process, and the cognitive aspects of creative writing by recognizing and appreciating the role of visual thinking.

Table Of Contents

  • Title page
  • Copyright Page
  • Table of Contents
  • Foreword
  • Notes for the Reader
  • Introduction
  • Chapter 1: Art and Literature in Turkey
  • Historical Roots of Art
  • The Art of Painting-Ottoman Miniature Art
  • Poet-Painters in Turkish Literature
  • Orhan Pamuk’s My Name is Red and The Naive and Sentimental Novelist
  • Chapter 2: Painter Vasif’s History of Secret Loves by Murat Gülsoy
  • Creative Writing
  • Who Is Painter Vasıf?
  • Group D Painters in Turkey
  • Art, Politics and Women
  • Chapter 3: Painter’s Rebellion by Gündüz Vassaf
  • Burial of Saint Lucy
  • Death, Decapitation and Violence
  • Why Caravaggio?
  • Tracing Caravaggio in Paris, London, Florence and Rome
  • Who Killed Caravaggio?
  • Concluding Remarks
  • Works Cited
  • One Final Note for the Reader
  • Back Cover

Foreword

Thanks to my enthusiasm for art and painting in particular, I have taken on many journeys, both imaginatively and literally. I hope this book becomes a testament not only to my passion but it also inspires readers to embark on their own journeys while discovering the intricate connections between visual arts and literature in Turkish context. I now realize that as the years go by, we grow older, see more, read more, travel more, but the most precious peace and happiness is found when you retreat into your own shell and become smaller. I believe in hard times we need a narrative to hold onto, and I found mine in our “village house” that gave me the space to translate my painting skills from canvases to walls and even to pots I found in the trash. In full recognition of how life is short and art is long, I would like to dedicate this book to my dear mother and beloved late father as in his valuable memory I wish to keep my promise and make a painting “Highland” depicting the changing aspects of the seasons…

May 25, 2024

Notes for the Reader

Unless, otherwise stated, the translations from Turkish sources including the novels belong to me. As art and literature have been two parallel themes steering my academic studies, just as exciting as writing the book was designing the cover picture which is largely inspired by shamanism and early cave paintings as a token of my gratitude to the origins of art itself.

“The feeling of being one! That is the essence of art. The interesting thing is that, that is also the essence of being human. To be unique, to be like no other.” (Gülsoy 86)

Introduction

The seeds of writing this book were planted when I consecutively read two fascinating novels; Murat Gülsoy’s Painter Vasıf’s History of Secret Loves and Gündüz Vassaf’s Painter’s Rebellion, both published in 2023. The idea of building a connection between art and literature with a focus on contemporary Turkish novels that predominantly feature art, paintings, and painters has its deep roots both in a strong desire to engage creatively with visual arts and take my literary awareness a step further after studying the correlation between visual arts and verbal representations, ekphrasis in A. S. Byatt’s The Frederica Quartet in my Ph.D. dissertation in 2019. With this study, I want to take a different perspective and show visual narratives are not merely limited with the situation that an artwork inspires a textual work but the transfer of images from the writers to the readers and visual thinking perform major parts in creative writing. This study enlightens the experiences of composing novels about visual arts and the ways in which this was impacted not only by creative imagination and the skill of the writer but also personal practices and modern narrative tools which could be a pivotal universal aspect for the book.

Details

Pages
90
ISBN (PDF)
9783631931356
ISBN (ePUB)
9783631931363
ISBN (Softcover)
9783631919149
DOI
10.3726/b22594
Language
English
Publication date
2025 (April)
Keywords
Climate Finance Green Finance Green Projects Sustainable Accounting Sustainable Future Art literature contemporary Turkish literature creative writing Asya Sakine Uçar
Published
Berlin, Bruxelles, Chennai, Lausanne, New York, Oxford, 2025. 90 pp.
Product Safety
Peter Lang Group AG

Biographical notes

Asya Sakine Uçar (Author)

Asya Sakine Uçar is an Assist. Prof. Dr. at Western Languages and Literature/ English Language and Literature Department of Iğdır University, Turkey. She completed her PhD at Ankara University in 2019 with a thesis entitled "Tracing Ekphrasis in A.S. Byatt’s The Frederica Quartet". Her research interests lie primarily in visual arts in literature, ekphrasis, English novel and modern literature. She has an overwhelming interest in painting, and hopes to maintain that passion alongside her academic career.

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Title: Unique-Visual Narratives