Bedri Baykam is a

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

artist.

Early life

Baykam was born in Ankara, Turkey. Baykam's father, Dr. Suphi Baykam, is a deputy in the Turkish parliament, and his mother, Mutahhar Baykam, is an architectural engineer. Baykam studied at Sorbonne University in Paris from 1975 to 1980 and earned an MBA degree. During this time, he studied drama in L'Actorat, Paris. He lived in California from 1980 to 1987, studied painting and film-making at

California College of Arts and Crafts California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the mo ...

, in Oakland. He returned to Turkey in 1987 to live in Istanbul. Baykam played tennis throughout the 70s placing well at the Turkey Tennis Championships.

Career

He had solo exhibitions in many countries, in addition to participating in group shows.

Author

As of 2018 he had authored eighteen books, five on art (one in English), and eleven on politics. ''Monkeys' Right to Paint'' (published in Turkish and English), documents the plight of non-western artists and criticizes the western art establishment for its western-biased art history. Baykam wrote a controversial novel ''The Bone'', published in December 2000. A turn of the Century novel it ranged through sex, death, philosophy of new sciences, technology and spying. ''The Bone'' was published in English in 2005. Baykam published a two volume

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

. In it he claims that as a child he was seen as "the creator of the 21st century school of art". Baykam claims that he was compared to artists like

Klee Paul Klee (; 18 December 1879 – 29 June 1940) was a Swiss-born German artist. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. Klee was a natural draftsman who experimented wi ...

, Matisse, Dufy, Saul and Steinberg. He refers to this book as "The most detailed autobiography ever written on earth" and compares himself to

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

Artist

Baykam is a pioneer of the Neo-Expressionism movement and of multimedia and photo-painting political art. Beginning in the 1980s, he directed 16 mm short films and has acted in Turkish feature films.

Associations

He works with associations such as the

Association for the Support of Contemporary Living Association for the Support of Contemporary Life ( tr, Çağdaş Yaşamı Destekleme Derneği) is a non-profit NGO in Turkey. The main office is in İstanbul and there are 103 branch offices nationwide. The association helps girls across Turkey to ...

and

Atatürkist Thought Association The Atatürkist Thought Association ( tr, Atatürkçü Düşünce Derneği; ADD) is a secularist organization that espouses the ideas of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey. It was founded by Hıfzı Veldet Velidedeoğlu, Muamme ...

. He is one of the founders of the UNESCO-AIAP-IAA International Association of artists Turkish National Committee. On 18 October, Baykam was elected as the World President of UNESCOIAA/AIAP.

Politician

Between 1995 and 1998, he was an elected member of the Party Assembly of the

social-democratic Social democracy is a Political philosophy, political, Social philosophy, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocati ...

Republican People's Party The Republican People's Party ( tr, Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi, , acronymized as CHP ) is a Kemalist and social-democratic political party in Turkey which currently stands as the main opposition party. It is also the oldest political party ...

. Baykam was a candidate for the Presidency of this Party in October 2003. He is one of the most outspoken defenders of

Kemalism Kemalism ( tr, Kemalizm, also archaically ''Kamâlizm''), also known as Atatürkism ( tr, Atatürkçülük, Atatürkçü düşünce), or The Six Arrows ( tr, Altı Ok), is the founding official ideology of the Republic of Turkey.Eric J. Zurche ...

Journalist

Baykam founded and directed the monthly art magazine ''Skala'' between 2000 and 2002. He writes for the daily '' Cumhuriyet'', and art and political magazines. He frequently wrote for the left-wing

Turkish Left ''Turkish Left'' (in Turkish: ''Türk Solu'') was a weekly nationalist and socialist magazine and the official organ of the Turkish Left (in Turkish: ''Türk Solu'') group in Turkey. It is the continuation of ''Yön'', an influential political ma ...

. He heads the Patriotic Movement. He showed at Alphonse Berber Gallery and Broadway Gallery.

Film

Baykam is the founder of the film production and publishing compan
Piramid and Piramid Art Center
both based in Istanbul.

References

External links

Official website"Interview with Bedri Baykam", ''Bak Magazine''Atif Unaldi - Bedri Baykam 1
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baykam, Bedri Living people California College of the Arts alumni University of Paris alumni People from Ankara Turkish painters Turkish former Muslims Turkish atheism activists Turkish male tennis players Stabbing survivors Turkish victims of crime Turkish expatriates in France Turkish expatriates in the United States Year of birth missing (living people)