IHAP HULUSI GOREY: A prolific Turkish artist who became a national treasure in the 20th Century through his commercial work

IHAP HULUSI GOREY (1898-1986) --image taken of exhibit photo by Hallelujah Truth at the Marmara University Republican Museum, June 2013.

Hallelujah for ARTISTS! Hallelujah for Ihap Hulusi Gorey, a Turkish treasure! When my Chiboogamoo and I were visiting Istanbul, Turkey, at the end of June 2013, we happened upon a retrospective of Ihap Hulusi Gorey's work. Displayed on two levels of the Marmara University Republican Museum located in the Sultanahmet, the "old" part of this large cosmopolitan city, it was a fantastic find for me, the LOVER OF CREATIVE SOULS!

LIFE'S WORK ON DISPLAY. Here my Chiboogamoo (aka Tony Martin) looks at the lower level of Ihap Hulusi Gorey's work completed later in life. See the dazzling light illuminating the museum? Who needs artificial lighting? (photo by Hallelujah Truth)

Born in Cairo, Egypt, to a "prominent" father architect, Ihap Hulusi Gorey had the good fortune to grow up in a creative family. According to the information provided at the exhibit, one brother, Yavuz, was a sculptor and the other, Nihat, became "Egypt's most famous museum curator."

 In addition to being in a home that cultivated the arts, Ihap Hulusi's family provided him with a wonderful education in British schools there in Cairo and was supported to continue his art education in Germany.

The part of Ihap Hulusi's story that catches my attention is that he always knew he wanted to make art. Even as a child living in Cairo, he took art correspondence lessons from Germany before finally going there as a young man to study.

When he left Germany after completing his formal education and working in an important studio in Munich, he moved to Turkey, where he turned down a desirable government position in order to continue making art.

After being employed by other workshops, he established his own and developed a career in the commercial arts making posters and eventually became the "pioneer of Turkish poster art." 

Ihap Hulusi was treasured by the Turkish people so much that Ataturk asked him to design the cover page for the Turkish alphabet. In addition to making posters for the Turkish National Lottery for 45 years, he also worked for the Turkish Tobacco and Alcohol Company for 35 years and became well known internationally.

In his later years, he created modernized calligraphy and water colored. He died in Istanbul in 1986.

To conclude this celebration of Ihap Hulusi, I, Hallelujah Truth, a visionary artist from Atlanta, Georgia, United States, want to say that his images fascinate me. They result from his desire to make a living from his artistic vision and talent. The exhibit information speak of his dedication to his ART:

"Adamant that he would make a living from his art, Ihap Hulusi arrived in Munich, Germany, in 1920 and thereon every day for two whole years he painted models at the Heimann Schule."

Ihap Hulusi is quoted saying:

"I wanted to make a living from art that's why I thought it would be better to get involved in commercial painting, namely newspaper and poster drawings knowing that these would likely be able to generate  some income..."

That's Coffee with Hallelujah! SOUL BLOG with me and tell me what you think of Ihap Hulusi Gorey's work! For me, I delight dwelling in the work of other ARTISTS, seeing their interpretation of the world. Especially, I am fascinated by the way an ARTIST bridges the world of CREATIVITY to that of every day necessity, paying for food and lodging. Ihap Hulusi had clarity about his path for living a life of CREATIVITY!

AN EXAMPLE OF MODERNIZED CALLIGRAPHY.  As you can see because of the glass, it was difficult to take photos of Ihap Hulusi's work. However, I am posting this image here so you can see a close up of this intriguing work. I would love for one of my blog reader's to tell me what it says. I am pictured in the reflection.

HALLELUJAH FOR IHAP HULUSI GOREY! In Ihap Hulusi's later years he worked on modernized calligraphy. Here I am standing in front of examples of his calligraphy work. (photo by Chiboogamoo)