The Rupture in Visual Language

The shift of arts from conventional forms of canvas- painting and sculpture to collage, ready-mades, installations and performances as it had occurred in the history of western art follow a linear and natural unfolding in parallel with sociopolitical evolvements. In the case of Turkish visual arts, this kind of a transformation projects between 1960s to 1990s where the face of arts change not smoothly but rather in the form of a 'rupture' as new tendencies are embraced, practiced, applauded and exhibited; substituting the traditional forms of art- making in Turkey. The hypothesis, while seeking the possibility of naming this transformation as a 'rupture', runs in order to single out the contributions of significant women artists of the period, Füsun Onur, Ayse Erkmen, Canan Beykal, Gülsün Karamustafa and Nur Koçak; whose visibility, active participation, production and unique artistic style happens to conquer the scene. As the most remarkable figures active between 1970 and 1980, they help move fine arts in Turkey out of the canvas into 'conceptuality' as new subject matters, forms and concepts are integrated within the artistic representation and composition.