https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0478-7333
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Abstract
ABSTRACT Furniture design has traditionally taken second place to architecture in historiography, especially in Turkey. The consequent limited furniture-related academic publications, original material, and documentation make it necessary to probe further into Turkey’s modern furniture history. The DATUMM (Documenting and Archiving Turkish Modern Furniture) Project (datumm.org) (2013–) was initiated to help fill this gap in the history of modern furniture design in Turkey between 1930 and 1975. Other than highlighting furniture, the documentary aimed to initiate an oral history project that has not been conducted in the design realm before in Turkey. Oral history interviews were conducted with thirteen contributors, including designers, artisans, and producers, who have significantly influenced Turkish modern furniture design. This method gave a voice to those who have not been able to contribute to Turkey’s design history and reveals individual stories to construct a more comprehensive narrative. These interviews thus provide valuable opportunities to grasp what is hidden in the written history, and understand the shared stories, experiences, and struggles of designers to create a flourishing discipline from almost nothing.
Disclosure Statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Notes
1 Modern design in East Asia was also rooted in the 1920s. Although quite different from Turkey in political context due to imperialism and its colonial past, the close relationship of design with politics in East Asia was similar in that the design histories of the region necessitated a variety of perspectives and analysis of different levels (Kikuchi and Lee Citation2014).
2 Üçler Apartments by renowned architect Seyfi Arkan is regarded as one of the finest representatives of modern architectural approach in Turkey in the 1930s.
3 Numerous books and articles dwell on this subject, such as Eldem (Citation1984), Küçükerman (Citation2007), Şumnu (Citation2013), and Bektaş (Citation2018).
4 These works include Özkaraman (Citation2004), Yılmaz (Citation2005), Turan (Citation2010), Uzunarslan (Citation2002), and Gürel (Citation2016).
5 Leading sources in this area include Gürel (Citation2009), Karakuş (Citation2011), and Küçükerman (Citation2015).
6 Although the project covers 1930–75, this study limits its analysis to the 1950s to 1975 (datumm.org). The DATUMM Project was initiated by five design academics. The project aimed to propose a historiographical approach and methodology for presenting, archiving, and analyzing the collected data about modern furniture produced in Turkey and initiate the first phase of a larger academic study to construct a grander history of the work. The approach from academy side aimed at increasing awareness about the preservation of the seemingly ephemeral modern furniture and provide discussion platforms, where mid-century modern furniture in Turkey could be valued.
7 “Artisan/producer” term is employed to refer to the craftsmen of the period.
8 Portelli identifies six elements that make oral history different from other historical sources: orality, narrative, subjectivity, credibility, objectivity, and authorship. Many theorists add performativity, mutability, and collaboration to Portelli’s list (e.g. Abrams Citation2010).
9 Other components of the project included “Exhibition,” “Colloquium,” “Book,” and “Digital Archive.”
10 The overall profile was twelve because, for Metin Atabey Ata, both his son and grandson were interviewed.
11 Yavuz Irmak (1950–) graduated from the State Applied Fine Arts High School in the Department of Furniture-Interior Architecture and received a master’s degree from Milano Scuola Politecnica di Design School in 1977. He worked as a faculty member at the State Applied Fine Arts High School in the Department of Interior Architecture before founding the State Applied Fine Arts High School at Marmara University in the Faculty of Fine Arts in 1982.
12 Danyal Çiper (1932–2008) graduated from Istanbul Technical University in 1956.
13 Sadi Öziş (1923–2012) graduated from the Decorative Arts Department, Fashion Atelier of the State Academy of Fine Arts. After returning to Turkey in 1952, he was appointed as a faculty member to the State Academy of Fine Arts, where he founded the Department of Theatre Setting and Costume with Erdoğan Aksel in 1962. He founded the metal workshop Kare Metal with well-known sculptor İlhan Koman in 1953. The two artists started to produce metal furniture for the first time in Turkey.
14 Baki Aktar (1920–1978) graduated from the State Academy of Fine Arts, Interior Architecture Department. He continued his studies at Moderno Design Office, which he founded with Architect Fazıl Aysu in İstanbul in 1953. Moderno is considered as one of the pioneers in Turkish design history for its furniture production and project services.
15 Bediz Koz (1936–) is an interior architect who graduated from İstanbul Fine Arts Academy. In 1959, she founded MPD (Mobilya Proje Dekorasyon: Furniture Project Decoration; formerly Butik A) in Ankara with her husband, Azmi Koz. It quickly became known for its contemporary furniture.
16 Önder Küçükerman (1939–) graduated from Istanbul State Academy of Fine Arts. He was the Dean of the Faculty of Architecture in Mimar Sinan University (1987–1993) and later the head of the Industrial Design Department (1971–2006).
17 Babür Kerim İncedayı (1945–) graduated from Istanbul State Academy of Fine Arts (1969) before studying industrial design in Rome and Milan (1969–1974). He worked as a lecturer in Istanbul UESYO in the Department of Industrial Design (1975–1979), the Department of Industrial Design in Mimar Sinan University (1979–2000), and the Departments of Interior Architecture and Industrial Design in Yeditepe University (1998), where he founded the Department of Arts and Design.
18 Fikret Tan (1937–2000), an Interior Architect, graduated from the Department of Interior Architecture at the State Academy of Fine Arts. Thinking that there would be opportunities in the furniture sector in Izmir, Tan returned there in 1967 to establish a workshop called Form Dekorasyon [Form Decoration]. The firm employed 200–300 people and produced more than 300 pieces until he passed away in 2000.
19 Sadun Ersin (1930–) graduated from Istanbul Fine Arts Academy in 1950 before studying at Rome Fine Arts Academy between 1953 and 1954. Starting as an assistant in 1955, he worked at the Academy, received his professor degree in 1963, became Head of the Department of Decorative Arts and worked as Dean of the Faculty of Industrial Arts (1978–1982).
20 Yıldırım Kocacıklıoğlu (1937–2015), founded the firm Interno with his partner Turhan Uncuoğlu after graduating from the State Academy of Fine Arts. Interno laid the foundations for both a modern space understanding and a modern furniture industry in Turkey by adopting a style well ahead of its time.
21 Metin Atabey Ata (1934–2018), the founder of ERSA firm, produced iconic furniture that exemplified the modern character of the 1950s, using water pipes and other simple materials to compensate for the lack of other materials. Under an agreement with the State Supply Office (DMO), ESRA’s furniture was distributed throughout Turkey.
22 Mehmet İrfan Dolgun (1928–2019) graduated from Ödemiş Boys’ School of Art in Ankara in 1953. He started his first furniture workshop in Ödemiş in 1955, where he founded SIM Furniture firm, which started portable mass production in 1957.
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Notes on contributors
Zeynep Tuna Ultav
Zeynep Tuna Ultav received her bachelor’s degree in architecture from Middle East Technical University, Department of Architecture in 1999, her graduate degree in architecture from the same department in 2002, and her PhD degree from Gazi University, Department of Architecture in 2008. She is currently Department Head at Yaşar University, Faculty of Architecture, Department of Interior Architecture and Environmental Design. Her research interests include history and theory of architecture/interior architecture, architecture and ideology-utopia, modern architecture and furniture design in turkey, architecture and fiction, and tourism architecture.
Deniz Hasirci
Born in Reading-England, Deniz Hasirci received her PhD from Bilkent University, Interior Architecture and Environmental Design. She studies Turkish modern furniture and environment-behavior as a Professor at Izmir University of Economics. She is a Fulbright scholar, member of The Chamber of Interior Architects in Turkey, DOCOMOMO ISC-ID and Tr-Interiors committee member, and a project coordinator of DATUMM: Documenting and Archiving Turkish Modern Furniture.
Hande Atmaca
Hande Atmaca completed her undergraduate studies in 2010 in Landscape Architecture at Istanbul Technical University. Subsequently, she pursued her master’s degree in Design Studies at Izmir University of Economics and Interior Design at the Università degli Studi di Firenze, Italy. In 2019, she earned her PhD in Architectural History from Istanbul Technical University. Her research focus lies in the history and theory of interior design. Presently, she is a faculty member at Istanbul Beykent University in the Department of Interior Architecture.