“Don’t try to prove intelligence though art; you will end up with neither.”
COVER STORY: FINE ARTS ISSUE
Duygu Aytaç started taking photographs at RC, and never stopped. She is currently compiling her recent work under the title Bonkör.
Duygu Aytaç RC L12 03
Why do you prefer photography as your medium?
I think photography lends itself to complexities and ambiguity so well, and you’re still grounded by a semblance of the real world that stops you from being only in your own head.
What inspires you, and what are the main themes of your work?
Tension, warmth, and color inspire me. Memories, too. When I lived in Turkey, one major theme was the presence of men. My impression is that Turkish and American societies both have a real faith in the beauty and honesty of men. Sometimes I think it’s due to militarism, which ironically is very cruel to men and anything but honest. Nowadays my eye wanders more to group dynamics, and the need to be part of a society, as well as its difficulties.
How has RC influenced you in your art?
In so many ways! Aydın Ungan’s photography club. Contemporary artists like Gül Ilgaz, Can Maden and Neriman Polat being our high school art teachers - what a privilege. Listening to Ayla Kartal’s tangents about life, literature and Alzheimer’s or watching a movie in the AV Center for an elective run by Jennifer Sertel. And most of all, meeting a small group of impossibly smart, art-loving peers who for some reason agreed to be my friends.
Y en los montes, monte soy, 2018
Published February 2021
