Ara Güler

Ara Güler was born in Istanbul in 1928. During his high school times, Güler worked in movie studios and attended drama courses which were held by Muhsin Ertuğrul, the founder of modern Turkish theater. However he abandoned cinema in favor of journalism and started working at Yeni Istanbul newspaper as a photo journalist in 1950 when he studied Economics at Istanbul University. He then transferred to Hürriyet newspaper. In 1958, Güler served as a correspondent for the Near East in the magazines such as Time-Life, Paris-Match, Der Stern and Sunday Times. In 1953, he met Henri Cartier Bresson and participated in Paris Magnum Agency. Güler was recognized in the “Photography Annual Anthology” as one of the best 7 photographers in the world. In the same year he was accepted as the only Turkish member to the ASMP (American Society of Media Photographers). In 1954, he began working as a Chief of Photographic Department at the Hayat Magazine. After completing his military service in 1961, he was employed by the Hayat Magazine as a head of the Photographic Department. In 1962, Güler won the title of “Master of Leica” in Germany. The Swiss magazine Camera honored Güler with a special issue. In 1964,his photographs were used for works of Mariana Noris, which was published in “Young Turkey” in the US. In 1967, he published a series of photographs with Richard Avedon in the “Photography of the World” anthology in Japan. In the same year, Güler exhibited his photographs in the exhibition of “People’s View of the Wrld” in Canada (1967); “10 Msters of Clor Potography” at the New York Museum of Modern Art (1968); and Fotokina fair in Cologne in Germany (1968).  Güler published a photograph album “Türkei” in Germany in 1970. His photographs on art and art history were used in magazines such as Time-Life, Horizon and Newsweek books in the US; and used by Skira Publishing House in Switzerland. In 1971, he shot for a book “Hagia Sophia” which was published by Lord Kinross. He also interviewed Picasso and took his photographs for the book “Picasso Metamorphose et unite”, which was published by Skira Publishing House on the occasion of Picasso’s 90th birthday. That exhibition was held in Paris National Bookstore in 1972.  In 1975, Güler was invited to America and took many famous Americans photographs. Later he had an exhibition entitled “Creative Americans” in all over the world. In the same year, he shot a documentary film entitled “The End of the Hero”, based on a fictional account of the dismantling of the World War I veteran battle cruiser TCG Yavuz. In 1979, he received the first prize in the section of photo journalist of Turkish Journalist Society. In 1980, a part of his photographs were published in the book of “Photographs” by Karacan Publish House. In 1986, Güler took photographs for the book “Mimar Sinan”, which was written by Prof. Dr. Abdullah Kuran and published by Hürriyet Foundation. In 1987 it was published in English by Institute of Turkish Studies. The book “Ara Güler’in Sinemaciları” was published in 1989. In 1991, Güler took photographs for the book “The Sixth Continent” on Halikanas Fishermen (Cevat Şakir Kabaağaçlı) for the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Güler traveled all over the world and made photo interviews. He shared them with Magnum Agency and displayed them all over the world. He interviewed with famous people as: İsmet İnönü, Winston Churchill, Indira Gandi, John Berger, Bertrand Rusell, Bill Brandt, Alfred Hitchcock, Ansel Adams, Imogen Cunningham, Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso, and took their photographs. In 1992 his work on the architecture of Mimar Sinan was published as “Sinan, Architect of Suleiman the Magnificent” in the US and France. In the same year his book “Living Turkey” was also published in England and the US; and in Singapore with the title of “Turkish Style”; and in France with the title of “Demeures Ottomanes de Turquie”. Güler has an 800,000 piece photographic slide archive. Most of these photographs are in museums and libraries abroad such as the National Library of France in Paris, the George Eastman Museum in Rochester, New York, the University of Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery, Museum Ludwig Köln and Das imaginare Photo Museum Köln. Güler attaches the greatest importance to human presence in his photographs and describes himself as a "visual historian".

References: wikipedia.com; images.google.com.tr; 3ayak.com