TURHAN SELÇUK BIOGRAPHY
Turhan Selçuk (1922, Milas-Muğla / 2010, Etiler-İstanbul)
Turhan Selçuk’s first drawings appeared in 1941, in the journal Türk Sözü (The Turkish Word) in Adana, then in Kırmızı-Beyaz (Red-White) and Şut (Kick) in Istanbul. He was part of the staff of journals and newspapers like Tasvir (Description), Şaka (Joke), Akbaba (Vulture) and Aydede (Man on the Moon) in 1948.
The following year he started working for the Yeni Istanbul (New Istanbul) newspaper as chief illustrator and adopted a style that was predominantly inspired by the “humour in lines” approach of the American illustrator Saul Steinberg (1914-99). While penning articles on the history of cartooning in the same paper, he defended the position that graphic art was a universal form of narration.
The research he undertook on master illustrators and their work during 1950-1953 resulted in a change in his artistic style.
His first exhibition opened in 1951. In 1952, he published the first graphic publication by the 50’s Generation, 41 Buçuk (41 and a Half), after which in 1953, he took up the publication of Karikatür (Cartoon) (which later became Taş-Karikatür/Stone-Cartoon after the two magazines merged).
In 1954 he published his first book, Karikatür Albümü (Album of Comics), after which he moved on to the national daily Milliyet, as chief illustrator.
In 1957, he began illustrating the adventures of his famous comic character Abdülcanbaz in Milliyet. In 1959, he published a collection of his more recent works in his book 140 Karikatür (140 Cartoons). In the 1960’s, he joined the Italian humour magazine Il Travaso (Extravasation) and in 1961, began to draw in Yön (Direction). In 1962, he published Turhan 62; two years later he published Hiyeroglif (Hieroglyph), considered to be one of his masterpieces. In 1969, he published Hal ve Gidiş (Comportment).
“The Adventures of Abdülcanbaz” was first published in 12 volumes during 1972-3, followed by 23 volumes in 1980-81, and another 20 volumes in 1999-2001.
In 1979, Selçuk published his encyclopaedic album Söz Çizginin (The Line has the Floor).
In 1992, Turhan Selçuk celebrated his 50th year in the world of art with an exhibition. Between 1993-1997, his graphic art exhibition, “İnsan Hakları” (Human Rights) visited major cities of the World, and in 2005, a selection of his original prints were exhibited in various cities in Germany.
