Mehmet Aksoy (born 1939) is a Turkish

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

. His sculptures often contain sensual figurative elements, but he is strongly rooted in a modernist sensibility with strong conceptual and abstract elements in his work. He works primarily in stone but also incorporates other material, fusing metal or differing stones in a single sculpture. He presently resides and works in a studio of his own dramatic design on the outskirts of Istanbul.

Early life

He was born 1939 in

Hatay Province Hatay Province ( tr, Hatay ili, ) is the southernmost province of Turkey. It is situated almost entirely outside Anatolia, along the eastern coast of the Levantine Sea. The province borders Syria to its south and east, the Turkish province of A ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. After completing his primary education in

Yayladağı Yayladağı (), formerly Ordu, ( ar, اوردو, translit=ʾŪrdū; ) is a town and district of Hatay Province in southern Turkey, on the border between Turkey and Syria, south of the city of Antakya. History The district has a long history ...

Tarsus, Mersin Tarsus (Hittite language, Hittite: 𒋫𒅈𒊭 ; grc, Ταρσός, label=Ancient Greek, Greek ; xcl, Տարսոն, label=Old Armenian, Armenian ; ar, طَرسُوس ) is a historic city in south-central Turkey, inland from the Mediterranea ...

and

Antalya Antalya () is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, fifth-most populous city in Turkey as well as the capital of Antalya Province. Located on Anatolia's southwest coast bordered by the Taurus Mountains, Antalya is the largest Turkish cit ...

, he enrolled 1960 in Istanbul Academy of Fine Arts (today Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University) to study painting. Later, Aksoy switched over to sculpture section, where he was educated by Prof. Şadi Çalık between 1961 and 1967. Following his military service, he served at the same academy as an assistant in 1969/1970. He went in 1970 to London after having received a state-granted scholarship for further studies. Aksoy moved to Germany to study at the Hochschule der Künste in Berlin, from where he obtained a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in 1977. He returned in 1978 to Turkey and served until 1980 as an instructor at his alma mater.

Works

''Statue of Humanity''

''Statue of Humanity'' ( tr, İnsanlık Anıtı, hy, Մարդկության հուշարձան) was a

statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size; a sculpture t ...

under construction in

Kars Kars (; ku, Qers; ) is a city in northeast Turkey and the capital of Kars Province. Its population is 73,836 in 2011. Kars was in the ancient region known as ''Chorzene'', (in Greek Χορζηνή) in classical historiography ( Strabo), part of ...

created by Mehmet Aksoy. The monument, depicting two human figures reaching out hands to each other, stood high on Kazıktepe Hill across from the ancient Castle of Kars outside of the city and would have been visible from neighboring

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

when completed. It was commissioned by , the former mayor of Kars, as a gesture of reconciliation in Armenia–Turkey relations following a 2009 accord to establish formal diplomatic recognition between the two. Turkish Prime Minister

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician serving as the List of presidents of Turkey, 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as prime minister of Turkey from 2003 to 2014 and as Lis ...

described the monument as a "freak" ( tr, ucube, links=no) during a visit to Kars in January 2011. In spite of protests, the city authority decided to remove the statue. In April 2011, works began to demolish it. Erdoğan insists that this was merely a question of aesthetics, yet according to ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...

'' the demolition could have been an attempt to appeal to nationalist sentiment ahead of the 2011 general election. As a response to Erdoğan's comments, Aksoy filed a lawsuit against Erdoğan for insulting him. In March 2015, a court fined Erdoğan 10,000

Turkish lira The lira ( tr, Türk lirası; sign: ₺; ISO 4217 code: TRY; abbreviation: TL) is the official currency of Turkey and Northern Cyprus. One lira is divided into one hundred ''kuruş''. History Ottoman lira (1844–1923) The lira, along with t ...

for calling the work a "freak". Erdoğan's lawyer claimed it was a critique rather than an insult.

Memorial to the Deserter

Memorial to the Unknown Deserter by Mehmet Aksoy

Memorial to the Deserter ( tr, İnsanlık Anıtı) is a

in Unity Square,

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

created by Mehmet Aksoy. The figure in this memorial, which honors those who refuse to fight in unjust wars, is carved in negative relief, a technique that Aksoy employed in later work.

References

External links

Mehmet AKSOY BiographyImage gallery of his works
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aksoy, Mehmet Turkish male sculptors People from Yayladağı 1939 births Living people Academy of Fine Arts in Istanbul alumni Academic staff of Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University Berlin University of the Arts alumni