Ara Guler - Photographer

Not only is Ara Guler, "The Istanbul Photographer", one of the masters of Turkish photography but also he carries a special place in the history of world photography. He is the most important representative of creative photography in international environments.

He was born in Istanbul in 1928. His father owned a pharmacy on Istiklal Caddesi, Beyoğlu and had a wide circle of friends from the art world of the period. Ara Güler's early contact with Istanbul's art world motivated him to embark on a career in cinema. At first he worked in film studios and attended drama courses taught by Muhsin Ertoğrul, the founder of modern Turkish theater. Then he abandoned cinema in favor of journalism, joining the staff of the Yeni Istanbul newspaper in 1950 while attending university at the same time.

In 1958 he did his first overseas commissions for Time-Life, Paris Match and Stern. He became the head of the photo section of Hayat Magazine in 1961 and, upon meeting Henri Cartier Bresnon, he joined the Paris Magnum Agency. He was listed among the world's seven best photographers in English Photography Annual Anthology published in Britain.

In the same year he was accepted to ASMP (American Magazine Photographers Association), being the only Turkish member. In 1962 he was awarded the title of Master of Leica, which is very rarely given to photographers. Camera Magazine of Switzerland published a special issue for Ara Güler. His photographs were exhibited in the New York Museum of Modern Art "10 Masters of Color Photography" and at Fotokina Fair in Cologne. His photo album "Türkei" was published in Germany in 1970. His photos on art and art history were used in Time-Life, Horizon and Newsweek magazines and Skira Publishing of Switzerland.

Ara Güler traveled to all corners of the world which are difficult to reach and to such countries as Iran, Kenya, Kazakhstan, New Guinea, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Borneo and all parts of Turkey. He held photographic interviews with such famous personalities as Winston Churchill, Indira Gandhi, John Berger, Bertrand Russel, Bill Brandt, Alfred Hitchcock, Ansel Adams, Imogen Cunningham, Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso.

Since then, he has received countless awards, his work has been the subject of exhibitions and special supplements, and the world's most famous publishers have featured his photographs.

He also produced a film entitled "The End of the Hero" in 1975, based on a fictional account of the dismantling of the Yavuz Battleship.

"Ara Güler's Creative Americans", "Ara Güler: Photographs", "Ara Güler's Movie Directors", "Sinan: Architect of Süleyman the Magnificent", and "Living in Turkey" are among the books of Güler's works published in France, the USA, England and Singapore. He also has a 800-piece slide archive.

Most of these photographs are in museums and libraries abroad such as the Paris National Library, the George Eastman Museum, Nebraska University Sheldon Collection, Köln Museum Ludwig, and Das Imaginare Photo Museum.

Ara Güler lives in Istanbul and continues to take photographs.

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• Ara Guler

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