A Hidden Gem In Abstract Art: Burhan Doğançay

By Deniz Bora

Burhan Doğançay, a Turkish artist, managed to see the beauty in the run-down.

Deniz is a Senior majoring in Art History and minoring in Archaeology. She plans on becoming a curator in a museum specializing in Global Contemporary Art.

In addition to writing about the art world, Deniz experiments with art using different mediums such as collage, watercolor, and pastel. With a special interest in Photography, Deniz is always taking photos and editing them in black and white; she enjoys their gloomy vibe and feel most photographs I showcase personally resonate with her.

Have you heard of the Turkish artist Burhan Doğançay?

Born in Istanbul in 1929, Doğançay did not initially set out to be an artist. Before starting his career in art, he earned a law degree from the University of Ankara and a Doctorate of economics from the University of Paris. At the University of Paris, Doğançay took art classes in his free time[1]. 

Doğançay’s style is difficult to describe because he works with a wide range of mediums: collage, abstraction, painting, photography, and calligraphy. One particular event, however, contributed to Doğançay’s classic “wall art” style. 

While walking on 86th street in Manhattan, he claims he saw “the most beautiful abstract painting”[2], which he described as a wall with remnants of “marks made by rain and mud.” These remnants gave Doğançay a vision, inspiring him to create a series of paintings inspired by urban walls covered with torn posters and graffiti. 

Having grown up in Istanbul, where deteriorated walls are so common, I have walked past countless walls with ripped posters and remnants of old graffiti. However, I was never drawn to them for their aesthetic quality and never paid attention to them. 

Doğançay, on the other hand, manages to look past the ugliness of these surfaces and instead uses them as his muse. He transforms these seemingly mundane urban walls into abstract works of art. He uses very bright colors, creates a layered composition of different shapes and motifs, and sometimes even adds photographs. Thus, his ability to transform such ordinary things into valuable artworks defines him as an artist, not me. 

Doğançay began creating his art in the 60s and 70s in New York and Istanbul, both politically charged cities, so he must have encountered political posters frequently.  This gives his style a Pop Art aspect, but there is nothing in his art that suggests a political stance or a criticism of society; his art is devoid of any such interpretations. Instead, Doğançay is interested in preserving the human imprint on urban walls, for he believes they communicate the experiences of humans that populated the streets of that city. This reminds me of the famous saying, “if these walls could talk,” which is also a famous idiom in the Turkish language.

Doğançay’s works are in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Guggenheim Museum in New York, but they are never on display. The main reason for this is because he is a non-Western artist who is not well known by the general public, which is a paradox in itself. Unless museums display artists like him, it is impossible for them to get recognition. 

One of the greatest struggles of the museum field today is to diversify their collections and exhibitions. This is crucial to transform museums into environments where visitors not only enjoy art but also experience different cultures and their perspectives. This also counters the stereotypical notion that holds Western art above others. This is especially the case in specific styles in the history of art that are considered dominated by Western artists, such as Abstract Art. 

This also explains the absence of Doğançay from Abstract Art exhibitions since Turkish art is never really associated with any modern art styles. Instead, it is more closely associated with Ottoman and Islamic Art, qualities that differentiate it from Western art. Thus, it is this attempt to marginalize certain cultures that prevent the artists from these cultures from excelling in modern art styles. Many artists from similar cultures are doomed to be considered from a marginalizing perspective and the interpretation of their works is limited to their cultures, even though their talents are of international value. 

Nevertheless, by looking at the works of Doğançay, one can clearly see the unfairness of the museum world in not giving the spotlight to artists like him when it comes to Abstract Art. Doğançay’s art allows us to peel the layers of a wall and discover the colorful history and experiences hidden underneath. 

Hundreds of artists whose art transcends their nationalities and becomes a shared experience for everyone are waiting to be recognized and celebrated by the Western audience. 

Next time you go to a museum, think about how many non-Western artists are represented in their exhibitions.

Also, next time you go out for a walk, take a second look at the walls you walk past.

References

[1] Arslanbenzer, Hakan. “Burhan Doğançay: Urban and avant-garde painter.” Daily Sabah, January 14, 2020. https://www.dailysabah.com/arts-culture/2020/01/09/burhan-dogancay-urban-and-avant-garde-painter

[2] Arslanbenzer, “Burhan Doğançay: Urban and avant-garde painter.”

Must Be This Old To Ride: Reconciling Queer Desire And Age

By Hilary Hagen

Samantha Nye, a Philadelphian artist, talks about sex and aging in an interview with Hilary Hagen (BU ‘24)

Hilary is a junior majoring in international relations with a double minor in film and art history. As a wise woman once said, mix it all together and you get the best of both worlds. She has worked with film, painting, photography, and proudly presents this piece featuring the talented Samantha Nye.

A Rainy Day At The Museum Of Modern Art

By Emma Shearburn

What makes the Museum of Modern Art a must on any New York itinerary

Emma Shearburn is a junior at Boston University Majoring in Art History with a minor in Business. She enjoys writing and exploring all facets of the art world.

Emma spent the summer of 2022 in New York City where she frequented the Museum of Modern Art. This inspired her article for the Resurrection Issue of Squinch.

This past summer I stepped into the crowded scene of the Museum of Modern Art on a rainy Friday afternoon to see visitors frantically closing umbrellas and drying their shoes, excited to join thousands of artworks lining the walls. I am always fascinated with the sheer number of art fans that descend upon MOMA on any given day. After a few hours of wandering and observing, I picked my five favorite pieces: some well-known to the average museum-goer, others less so. Nevertheless, all five works are undeniably striking and bring pleasure to any viewer like myself.

one

Vincent Van Gogh, The Starry Night, 1889. Oil on canvas, 29.01 in × 36.26 in.

Vincent Van Gogh’s iconic painting The Starry Night was the first to catch my eye. If not for the emulating emotion and riveting texture, the enormous crowd oohing and aahing was enough to draw me toward the work without hesitation. A large swarm of people surrounded the image, raising their cameras in the hope of capturing the legendary work. Although one can argue the presence of such a large crowd takes something away from the intimacy of witnessing a work of art up close, this experience clearly illustrates the immense impact The Starry Night holds for any museum goer. 

After having cut off some of his ear, Van Gogh painted The Starry Night over a series of days and nights while in an asylum in the south of France. The description of the piece that the museum offers explains that it is both “an exercise in observation and a clear departure from it.” While examining the work in the flesh the image displays a July night with the moon and stars, there are noticeably daytime features involved. After researching the work, I learned Van Gogh drew inspiration from daytime imagery. Additionally, many aspects of the painting were captured from his imagination, like the quaint village below, which did not exist outside of his asylum window. 

After seeing The Starry Night with my own eyes, I now understand why the painting garners so much attention. The magnified moon and stars, the suspended morning light, and the silence found in the silhouette of the village, all reflect Van Gogh’s own mental state. A strange sense of comfort is instilled in the viewer.

TWO

Pablo Picasso, Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, 1907. Oil on canvas, 96 in × 92 in.

Next up: Pablo Picasso’s Les Demoiselles D'Avignon (another prominent piece and fan favorite at MOMA). Upon seeing the work in the museum I was awe-struck. The magnitude, size, and fascinating composition is very moving up-close and in-person. The choice of shapes and motion is inspiring, and a still-life of a lemon can be seen at the bottom of the work. The crowd surrounding Picasso’s piece was almost as large as the one viewing Van Gogh’s A Starry Night.

Les Demoiselles d'Avignon is thought to be ahead of its time. In fact, Picasso kept the work in his studio for 20 years after completing it “as if he knew how radically ahead of time it was,” according to the curator. The work depicts geometric looking women with knife-like contours. I found this striking. I later learned that Picasso intended to depict a brothel – a world that he knew very well – in this painting. Being one of the masterworks of 20th century art, Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, continues to stun the thousands of viewers that walk past the work at MOMA each day

FOUR

Roy Lichtenstein, Girl with Ball, 1961. Oil on canvas, 60 in × 36.2 in.

Another favorite artwork of mine is Roy Lichtenstein’s, Girl with Ball. Inspired by a 1960 advertisement for a hotel in the Poconos, the work depicts a girl carrying a red and white volleyball above her head. As one of Lichtenstein’s first pop-art pieces, the work channels the pop art approach through a reference to ordinary and commercialized objects. Subject matter was drastically changing during this time. Abstract Expressionism was on the wane and young artists were experimenting with a new language of painting. Some critiqued this new concept, while others in the art world felt it was fresh and exciting. I find the Pop movement brought a refreshing, new light into the art world. 

The piece holds a simplicity that is inviting. Upon standing in front of the artwork I felt it emulated the carefree feeling associated with a beach vacation – it is the perfect piece to admire during a summer adventure to MOMA.