Journals / İslam Medeniyeti Araştırmaları Dergisi / 2018 / Cilt: 3 - Sayı: 2
Be on the Trail of Tradition: The Calligrapher Hüseyin Kutlu’s Life and His Art
- Pages
- 225–257
- DOI
- —
Abstract
AbstractHüseyin Kutlu is one of our significant hattat (calligrapher) and he is the most important representatives of the hüsn-i hat school (the İslamic calligraphy) in 21th century. Kutlu has born into a intellectual family and grown in a lore milieu. After his philosophy education he has worked as imam and he served for twenty-six years. During this time, with the understanding of “İslâm is a civilization and the center of this civilization is mosque” he put efford on invigorating the mosque which has lost its function and he has combined mosque with art. Kutlu, who quite productive hattat (calligrapher), emphasizes a lot about relations between architecture and the hat/lettering. He have identified the contemporary problems between art of hüsn-i hat (calligraphy) and architectural structure. When he performs his works, his measure always been principles of İslamic civilization. He pays attention to the meaning, effects of stain, right of pen and functionality in order to be eligible of condition in works. It is crucial to state that, his mentality of art is not only limited by works also he is a calligrapher who practices what he thinks about his works. Also he is a calligrapher who efforts to reflect his works to scientific studies. Articles were made in accordance with interviews belongs to Hattat (calligrapher) Hüseyin Kutlu.Summary Uğur Derman says, in XVIII. century, as in other traditional arts, there has been no change and transformation in the art of calligraphy. This is due to the fact that the art of calligraphy does not have an equivalent in the West, the art of calligraphy is transferred from generation to generation with the master-apprentice method and the art of calligraphy has the ability to regenerate within its own structure. But then, a century later, there were difficulties at the point of the maintenance of calligraphy. These difficulties were primarily due to economic problems in the period. The cultural and social change brought about by modernization and the structural transformations experienced in every aspect of social life, not only negatively affected the traditional arts and cultural life but also created obstacles that hard to overcome in the presence of calligraphy. In the XIX century, the traditional dynamics of the social structure and economy of the Ottoman Empire was transformed and undergone significant changes. As a result of a series of battles that began with the Crimean War, continued with Balkan Wars and the First World War, the country suffered greatly in financial damage. In the face of this economic collapse, the situation of state and the society which was struggling with the entity also were reflected in art: the development of traditional arts has been naturally interrupted. Even in financial difficulties, there have been attempts to stimulate the art of calligraphy. In 1892, as a part of Divân-ı Hümâyun, Tâ’lim-i Hat was established by grand vizier Ahmed Cevdet Pasha. Unfortunately, after the death of Cevdet Pasha, the institution lost its importance and closed in a short time. Another attempt to cultivate calligrapher, to maintain this art and to ensure the spread of it, was the opening of “Calligrapher school”, in another name Medresetü’l-Hattâtîn, within the body of Museum of Islamic Foundations. However, the Medresetül Hattâtîn was closed as a result of the letter revolution. As a natural consequence of this, the art of calligraphy was pushed back into the background. The fact that the art of calligraphy is in the background is also related to the understanding of the art of that period. Because the Republican Government's understanding of art is quite different from the Ottoman state's perspective of art. It is known that the Republican Government has made a great transformation in the arts and cultural environment since its foundation. The support of modernity by the government has led to rejection of tradition and the emergence of an art environment open to innovations. These changes in the artistic and intellectual environment did not change of art calligraphy in a technical sense, but pushed it back into the background. Ultimately, the art of calligraphy in Turkey went through a difficult process as a result of financial troubles, letter revolution and the conception of the art of that period. However, the art of calligraphy has reached the present day with the efforts of altruistic figures. One of these figures is Huseyin Kutlu. He received a certificate of qualification from his master Hamit Aytac to continue his art and became one of the most important calligraphers who follows in tradition’s footsteps. When he was studying Philosophy at Istanbul University, Kutlu started to practice with Hamit Aytaç. In 1968, Kutlu noted that many people believed that the art of calligraphy had expired and some artists mentioned that this art would end with Calligrapher Hâmid Aytaç's passing away. In such a time, in 1974 he received ratification of sülüs-nesih from Hamit Aytac. He also practiced ta’lik with Ugur Derman. Kutlu tried to revive the civilization of the mosque as much as he could through his art. While he performing his art, he puts Islamic Civilization to its center. He also worries about the situatiton of the Islamic Ummah because according to him there are many problems. We understand from the interviews with him that in the contemporary mosque architecturethere is no integrity between the place of writing and the meaning of it. There are also situations in which the meaning is pushed into the background and aesthetics and meaning do not match. Kutlu has identified these problems and has tried to solve them by investigating previous calligraphers works of art. He has realized the fact that the most important characteristic of Islamic civilization is to make everything meaningful. According to verses of the Quran, there is surely understanding of wisdom behind every single thing. And as reported by Kutlu, this understanding is
Özet
Hüseyin Kutlu, yaşayan en önemli hattatlarımızdan birisi ve XXI. yüzyılın hat sanatı ekollerinin en önemli temsilcilerindendir. Âlim şahısların mensûb olduğu bir ailede dünyaya gelen Kutlu, ilmî bir muhitte yetişmiştir. Felsefe eğitiminden sonra, İmam-Hatipliği tercih eden Hattat Hüseyin Kutlu 33 sene vazife yapmıştır. Bu süre zarfında “İslâm bir medeniyet dinidir. Bu medeniyetin merkezi de câmidir” anlayışı üzerine, fonksiyonunu kaybeden câmiyi ihya etme gayreti içerisine girmiş ve câmi ile sanatı buluşturmuştur. Hattat Hüseyin Kutlu ile yapılan sözlü mülakatlar neticesinde gerçekleştirilen bu makaleden anlaşılıyor ki; oldukça velûd bir hattat olan Kutlu, mimarî ile yazı arasındaki ilişkiye çok önem vermiştir. Günümüzdeki hüsn-i hat sanatı ile mimarî yapı arasındaki problemlerin tespitini yapmıştır. Eserlerini icra ederken ölçüsü hep İslâm Medeniyeti’nin ilkeleri olmuştur. Eserlerinde muktezâ-i hâle muvâfık olması için mânaya, leke etkisine, kalem hakkına, diğer sanatlarla uyumuna ve fonksiyonlu olmasına dikkat etmektedir. Şunu belirtmek gerekir ki; Hüseyin Kutlu’nun sanat telakkisi sadece söz ile sınırlı değildir, o tahayyül ettiklerini icraata da geçiren bir sanat adamıdır. Keza icra ettiklerini ilmî çalışmalara da aktarma gayretinde bulunan bir hattattır. Yazılar, Hattat Hüseyin Kutlu ile yapılan sözlü mülakatlar neticesinde gerçekleştirilmiştir.