Ara Güler (; 16 August 1928 – 17 October 2018) was a Turkish

photojournalist Photojournalism is journalism that uses images to tell a news story. It usually only refers to still images, but can also refer to video used in broadcast journalism. Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography (suc ...

of Armenian descent, nicknamed "the Eye of Istanbul" or "the Photographer of Istanbul". He was "one of Turkey's few internationally known photographers".

Early life

Güler was born in

Beyoğlu Beyoğlu (; ) is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Istanbul Province, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 9 km2, and its population is 225,920 (2022). It is on the European side of Istanbul, Turkey, separated from the o ...

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, in 1928 to

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

parents. Before

Surname Law (Turkey) The Surname Law () of the Republic of Turkey is a law adopted on 21 June 1934, requiring all citizens of Turkey to adopt the use of fixed, hereditary surnames. Prior to 1934, Turkish families in the major urban centres had names by which they were ...

, their family name was Derderian (Derderyan). He studied at the local

Getronagan Armenian High School Getronagan is an Armenian minority high school in the Karaköy district of Istanbul, Turkey, The school is attached to the Saint Gregory the Illuminator Church. Establishment With the sponsorship of Archbishop Nerses Varjabetyan, Getronagan H ...

. Owner of a

pharmacy Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medication, medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it ...

on Istiklal Avenue, his father had a wide circle of friends from the art world of the period. Ara Güler's early contact with this world inspired him to embark on a career in cinema. During his high school years, he worked in movie studios and attended drama courses held by

Muhsin Ertuğrul Muhsin Ertuğrul (28 February 1892 – 29 April 1979), also known as Ertuğrul Muhsin Bey, was a Turkish actor and director. Life His mother, Fatma Dilruh Verdrich is of German descent. His father is Hüseyin Hüsnü Paşa. Muhsin Ertuğrul, ...

, the founder of modern Turkish theater. However, he abandoned cinema in favor of journalism, joining the staff of the newspaper ''Yeni Istanbul'' as

in 1950 and studying economics at the

University of Istanbul Istanbul University, also known as University of Istanbul (), is a public research university located in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded by Mehmed II on May 30, 1453, a day after the conquest of Constantinople by the Turks, it was reformed as the fi ...

at the same time. He then transferred to another newspaper, ''

Hürriyet ''Hürriyet'' (, ''Liberty'') is a major List of newspapers in Turkey, Turkish newspaper, founded in 1948. it had the highest circulation of any newspaper in Turkey at around 319,000. ''Hürriyet'' combines entertainment with news coverage and ...

''. (Güler is not related to the royal Guleria family.)

Photography career

In 1958, the American magazine company ''

Time–Life Time Life, Inc. (also habitually represented with a hyphen as Time-Life, Inc., even by the company itself) was an American multi-media conglomerate company formerly known as a prolific production/publishing company and direct marketeer seller ...

'' opened a branch in Turkey, and Güler became its first correspondent for the

Near East The Near East () is a transcontinental region around the Eastern Mediterranean encompassing the historical Fertile Crescent, the Levant, Anatolia, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and coastal areas of the Arabian Peninsula. The term was invented in the 20th ...

. Soon he received commissions from ''

Paris Match ''Paris Match'' () is a French-language weekly gossip magazine. It covers major national and international news along with celebrity lifestyle features. ''Paris Match'' has been considered "one of the world's best outlets for photojournalism". ...

Stern The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. O ...

,'' and ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

in London.'' After completing his military service in 1961, Güler was employed by the Turkish magazine ''Hayat'' as head of its photographic department. About this time, he met

Henri Cartier-Bresson Henri Cartier-Bresson (; 22 August 1908 – 3 August 2004) was a French artist and Humanist photography, humanist photographer considered a master of candid photography, and an early user of 135 film, 35mm film. He pioneered the genre of street ...

and

Marc Riboud Marc Riboud (; 24 June 1923 – 30 August 2016) was a French photographer, best known for his extensive reports on the Far East: ''The Three Banners of China'', ''Face of North Vietnam'', ''Visions of China'', and ''In China''. Early life and e ...

, who recruited him for the

Magnum Photos Magnum Photos is an international photographic cooperative owned by its photographer-members, with offices in Paris, New York City, London and Tokyo. It was founded in 1947 in Paris by photographers Robert Capa, David Seymour (photographer), Davi ...

agency, which he joined (though later withdrew from). He was presented in the British ''1961 Photography Yearbook.'' Also in that year, he was accepted as the only Turkish member to the American Society of Magazine Photographers (ASMP) (today called the

American Society of Media Photographers The American Society of Media Photographers, abbreviated ASMP, is a professional association of imaging professionals, including photojournalism, photojournalists, architectural photographers, architectural, underwater photographers, underwater, f ...

). The

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

magazine ''

Camera A camera is an instrument used to capture and store images and videos, either digitally via an electronic image sensor, or chemically via a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. As a pivotal technology in the fields of photograp ...

'' honored him with a special issue. In the 1960s, Güler's photographs were used to illustrate books by notable authors and were displayed at various exhibitions throughout the world. His works were exhibited in 1968 in ''10 Masters of Color Photography'' at the New York

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

and at

Photokina Photokina is a trade fair held in Europe for the photographic and imaging industries. It is the world's largest such trade fair. The first Photokina was held in Cologne, Germany, in 1950, and since 1966 it has been held biennially in Septemb ...

Fair in

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, Germany. His book ''Türkei'' was published in Germany in 1970. His photos on art and art history were used in ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

,'' ''

Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

,'' ''

Horizon The horizon is the apparent curve that separates the surface of a celestial body from its sky when viewed from the perspective of an observer on or near the surface of the relevant body. This curve divides all viewing directions based on whethe ...

'' and ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

'' and publications of Skira of Switzerland. Güler traveled on assignment to

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...

, as well as all parts of Turkey. In the 1970s he photographed politicians and artists such as

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and stateswoman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 un ...

Maria Callas Maria Callas (born Maria Anna Cecilia Sophia Kalogeropoulos; December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano and one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century. Many critics praised ...

John Berger John Peter Berger ( ; 5 November 1926 – 2 January 2017) was an English art critic, novelist, painter and poet. His novel '' G.'' won the 1972 Booker Prize, and his essay on art criticism '' Ways of Seeing'', written as an accompaniment to t ...

Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, and public intellectual. He had influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, and various areas of analytic ...

Willy Brandt Willy Brandt (; born Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm; 18 December 1913 – 8 October 1992) was a German politician and statesman who was leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) from 1964 to 1987 and concurrently served as the Chancellor ...

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...

Ansel Adams Ansel Easton Adams (February 20, 1902 – April 22, 1984) was an American landscape photographer and environmentalist known for his Monochrome photography, black-and-white images of the American West. He helped found Group f/64, an association ...

Imogen Cunningham Imogen Cunningham (; April 12, 1883 – June 23, 1976) was an American photographer known for her botanical photography, nude photography, nudes, and industrial landscapes. Cunningham was a member of the California-based Group f/64, known for its ...

Marc Chagall Marc Chagall (born Moishe Shagal; – 28 March 1985) was a Russian and French artist. An early modernism, modernist, he was associated with the School of Paris, École de Paris, as well as several major art movement, artistic styles and created ...

Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (11 May 190423 January 1989), known as Salvador Dalí ( ; ; ), was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, ...

and

Pablo Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

. Some critics consider his most renowned photographs to be his melancholic black and white pictures taken mostly with a Leica camera in Istanbul, mainly in the 1950s and 1960s. He has exhibited frequently since then, and also had his work published in special supplements. International publishers have featured his photographs. Güler's work is collected by the

National Library of France National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

; the

George Eastman Museum The George Eastman Museum, also referred to as George Eastman House and the International Museum of Photography and Film, is a photography museum in Rochester, New York. Opened to the public in 1949, is the oldest museum dedicated to photography ...

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

;

University of Nebraska-Lincoln A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery; Museum Ludwig Köln, and Das imaginäre Photo-Museum,

Köln Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

. In the 1970s, Güler worked in film, directing the

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

''The End of the Hero'' (1975). It was based on a fictional account of the dismantling of the

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

veteran

battlecruiser The battlecruiser (also written as battle cruiser or battle-cruiser) was a type of capital ship of the first half of the 20th century. These were similar in displacement, armament and cost to battleships, but differed in form and balance of att ...

'' TCG Yavuz.'' Güler's archive contains some 800,000 photographic slides.

Güler's 'philosophy' of photography

Güler attached the greatest importance to human presence in his photographs and described himself as a "visual historian". "''When I'm taking a picture of Aya Sofia, what counts is the person passing by who stands for life''", he said. He believed that photography should provide a memory of people, of their lives and especially their suffering. While he considers that art lies, he believes that photography can only reflect reality. He embraced the identity of a photojournalist because he did not attach much value to photography as an artistic pursuit, which to him would have little value. He did not consider photography to be an art.

Death

Güler died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

on 17 October 2018. He had been suffering from kidney failure and was being treated with

dialysis Dialysis may refer to: * Dialysis (chemistry), a process of separating molecules in solution **Electrodialysis, used to transport salt ions from one solution to another through an ion-exchange membrane under the influence of an applied electric po ...

Legacy

Photographs of Ara Güler were collected in an archive, and are exhihibited in the

Ara Güler Museum Ara Güler Museum () is a photography museum in Istanbul, Turkey, exhibiting photographs taken by the photojournalist Ara Güler. Established in 2018, the museum also houses an archive of his work. Ara Güler (16 August 1928 – 17 October 2018) ...

. In the

Şişli Şişli () is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Istanbul Province, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 10 km2, and its population is 276,528 (2022). Located on the European side of the city, it is bordered by Beşiktaş ...

district of Istanbul, the museum was established on 16 August 2018.

Publications

* ''Ara Güler's Creative Americans.'' * ''Ara Güler: Photographs.'' * ''Ara Güler's Movie Directors.'' * ''Sinan: Architect of Süleyman the Magnificent.'' * ''Living in Turkey.''

Bibliography

* ''Öster om Eufrat, I Kurdernas Land'' (Swedish) by Barbro Karabuda, Tidens Förlag, Stockholm, Sweden (1960) 102pp * Marianna Norris, ''Young Turkey, Children of Turkey at work and at play'', (English), New York: Dodd, Mead, (1964) * ''Topkapı Sarayı - Sultan Portreleri'', (Turkish) Doğan Kardeş Yayınları, Istanbul, Turkey (1967) * ''Turkei'', (German) Terra Magica, Munich, Germany (1970) * ''Hagia Sophia'', (English) by Lord Kinross, New York: Newsweek Books, 1972 * ''The Splendor of Islamic Calligraphy'', (English) Thames & Hudson, London, UK (1976) * ''Harems'', (English) Chene & Hudson, London, UK (1976) * ''Fotoğraflar'', (Turkish) Milliyet Yayınları, Istanbul, Turkey (1980) * Turan Erol, ''Fikret Mualla'', (Turkish), Cem Yayınları, Istanbul, Turkey (1980) * Turan Erol, ''Bedri Rahmi'', (Turkish), Cem Yayınları, Istanbul, Turkey (1984) *

Aptullah Kuran Aptullah Kuran (4 December 1927 – 1 April 2002) was a Turkish historian of architecture and professor of Ottoman architecture, as well as the founding president of Boğaziçi University. After graduation from Robert College, he received his bache ...

, ''Mimar Sinan'' (Turkish), Hürriyet Vakfı Yayınları, Istanbul, Turkey (1986) * Aptullah Kuran, ''Mimar Sinan'', (English), Washington D.C.: Institute of Turkish Studies, 1987 * ''Ara Güler'in Sinamacıları'', (Turkish) Hil Yayınları, Istanbul, Turkey (1989) * Halkarnas Balıkçısı (Cevat Şakir Kabaağaçlı), T.C. Dışişleri, ''The Sixth Continent'', Bakanlığı Kültür Dairesi, Ankara, Turkey (1991) * John Freely, Augusto Romano Burelli, ''Sinan: Architect of Suleyman the Magnificent and the Ottoman Golden Age'', (English), London: Thames and Hudson, 1992. *

Stephane Yerasimos Stephane may refer to: * Stéphane, a French given name * Stephane (headdress) A stephane (''ancient Greek'' στέφανος, from ''στέφω'' (stéphō, “I encircle”), '' Lat.'' Stephanus = wreath, decorative wreath worn on the head; cro ...

, ''Living in Turkey'', (English), London and New York: Thames & Hudson, 1992 * Stephane Yerasimos, ''Demeures Ottomans de Turquie'', (French), Paris: Albin Michel, 1992 * Stephane Yerasimos, ''Turkish Style'',(English), Singapore: Archipelago Press, 1992 * ''Eski İstanbul Anıları'', (Turkish), Dünya Şirketler Grubu, Istanbul, Turkey (1994) *'' A Photographical Sketch on Lost Istanbul'', (English), Dünya Şirketler Grubu, Istanbul, Turkey (1994) * ''Bir Devir Böyle Geçti, Kalanlara Selam Olsun'', (Turkish), Ana Yayıncılık, Istanbul, Turkey (1994) * ''Yitirilmiş Renkler'', (Turkish), Dünya Şirketler Grubu, İstanbul, Turkey (1995) * ''Yüzlerinde Yeryüzü'' (Turkish), Ana Yayıncılık, Istanbul, Turkey (1995) * ''Babil'den Sonra Yaşayacağız'', (Turkish) Aras Yayınları, Istanbul, Turkey (1996)

Awards

* 1962: Master of Leica *

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

, France *1999: "Photographer of the Century", TurkeyNimit Seker, "A City, Beautifully Blemished", review of ''Ara Güler's Istanbul''
Qantara.de, 26 August 2010 *2004: Honorary doctorate,

Yıldız Technical University Yıldız Technical University ( Turkish: ''Yıldız Teknik Üniversitesi'', often simply referred to as YTU or Yıldız) is a prominent public technical university dedicated to engineering and natural sciences, as well as social sciences recentl ...

, Istanbul *2005: Grand Prize of Culture and Arts, Turkey *2009: Lucie Award for Lifetime Achievement, New York *2016:

Leica Leica may refer to: Companies * Ernst Leitz GmbH, later divided into: ** Leica Biosystems GmbH, a cancer diagnostics company ** Leica Camera AG, a German camera and optics manufacturer ** Leica Geosystems AG, a Swiss manufacturer of surveying and ...

Hall of Fame Award

References

;Additional sources * *Orga, Ateş (16 January 2019)
ARA GÜLER In Memoriam
''Turkish Area Studies Review'' No 33, Spring 2019, pp. 67–71.

External links

*
Ara Güler's biography

Ara Güler
at fotograf.net *
"Vintage Istanbul - in pictures"
at ''The Guardian'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Guler, Ara 1928 births 2018 deaths People from Beyoğlu Turkish people of Armenian descent Ethnic Armenian photographers Magnum photographers Officers of the Legion of Honour Turkish photojournalists Photographers from Istanbul Istanbul University alumni