Uşak Atatürk Monument
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The Uşak Atatürk Monument is a
cape A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment of any length that hangs loosely and connects either at the neck or shoulders. They usually cover the back, shoulders, and arms. They come in a variety of styles and have been used th ...
d Atatürk sculpture in
Uşak Uşak () is a city in the interior part of the Aegean Region of Turkey. It is the seat of Uşak Province and Uşak District.Gürdal Duyar Gürdal Duyar (20 August 1935 – 18 April 2004) was a Turkish sculptor who is known for his monuments to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Atatürk and his Bust (sculpture), busts of famous people. His art is characterized as having a Modern sculpture, ...
that was inaugurated in 1965. The sculpture was one of 8 Atatürk monuments erected after winning a competition initiated by a campaign of the ''
Milliyet ''Milliyet'' ( Turkish for "''nationality''") is a daily newspaper published in Istanbul, Turkey. History and profile ''Milliyet'' came to publishing life at the Nuri Akça press in Babıali, Istanbul as a daily private newspaper on 3 May 1950 ...
'' newspaper. It is one of the best-known early examples of Gürdal Duyars' style of modern figurative sculpture, and is one of Turkeys first modern figurative Atatürk monuments. It was originally created for its initial location on a high plinth in a park called government square in front of the governors building, but has since been moved to a new location onto a new-lower plinth near the Uşak railway station.


Sculpture

It was originally erected in a park in Uşak where Gürdal Duyars' Monument to the Unknown Soldier (1964) was also located. This was the same location as, or it was later moved to, the government square in front of the governors building. Its current location appears to be near the Uşak train station where it was moved to without its original plinth. The new, lower, base has a plaque with a quote from
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Mustafa Kemal Atatürk ( 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish field marshal and revolutionary statesman who was the founding father of the Republic of Turkey, serving as its first President of Turkey, president from 1923 until Death an ...
about the railways ''Demiryolu refah ve uygarlik yoludur'' meaning "Railways are the way of prosperity and civilization."


Style

The way that the Uşak Atatürk sculpture plays with mass and texture are important. It diverges from typical Atatürk monuments of the time which were of a more established academic style. It depicts a caped Atatürk with his left hand raised and right hand in motion. The monumental sculpture towers at . The spatial design around the area of the monument was designed by Erhan Demirok. Its original place was in the same park that also contains Gürdal Duyars' Monument to the Unknown Soldier (1964).


History


Campaign

The ''
Milliyet ''Milliyet'' ( Turkish for "''nationality''") is a daily newspaper published in Istanbul, Turkey. History and profile ''Milliyet'' came to publishing life at the Nuri Akça press in Babıali, Istanbul as a daily private newspaper on 3 May 1950 ...
'' newspaper, following the coup of 27 May 1960, initiated a campaign to erect Atatürk monuments in 11 provinces where there were no Atatürk monuments. The campaign succeeded in raising 429,856
Lira Lira is the name of several currency units. It is the current Turkish lira, currency of Turkey and also the local name of the Lebanese pound, currencies of Lebanon and of Syrian pound, Syria. It is also the name of several former currencies, ...
.


Competition

28 sculptors participated in the competition.
Gürdal Duyar Gürdal Duyar (20 August 1935 – 18 April 2004) was a Turkish sculptor who is known for his monuments to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Atatürk and his Bust (sculpture), busts of famous people. His art is characterized as having a Modern sculpture, ...
who was the youngest, was among sculptors including Hakkı Atamulu, Şadi Çalık, Hüseyin Gezer, Hüseyin Anka, Zühtü Müritoğlu, Mustafa Nusret Suman, and İsmail Gökçe to sign up for the competition. The competition went on from 3 March to 14 May 1964. On 26 May 1964 the organisation of judges met at the ''Beyoğlu Development Institute''. The jury, headed by
Rudolf Belling Rudolf Belling (26 August 1886 – 9 June 1972) was a German sculpture, sculptor. His work was part of the Art competitions at the 1932 Summer Olympics#Sculpture, sculpture event in the Art competitions at the 1932 Summer Olympics, art compe ...
was met with 29 design proposals. However they were met with 28 1 meter tall Atatürk sculpture proposals, and one bust by Gürdal Duyar. The jury decided unanimously that they would be choosing a sculptors and not their design proposals to be erected per se, and that the sculptor should be suited to the place that the given Atatürk sculpture would be erected, and that the sculptor would make a design based upon the surroundings of the place where the sculpture would be erected. The designs were reduced to 18 which were inspected and a further 10 passed onto the next round. Then the jury removed two more for only 8 sculptors to remain. Gürdal Duyars was one of the remaining 8. The results were that
Nusret Suman Nusret Suman (21 March 1905, Veria – 15 August 1978, İzmit) was a Turkish sculptor and painter. He worked especially on portraits and monuments. His last work is the Hittite Sun Course Monument, which was the symbol of the city of Ankara in ...
, Hakkı Atamulu, Şadi Çalık and
Zühtü Müridoğlu Zühtü Müridoğlu (26 January 1906 – 21 August 1992) was a Turkish people, Turkish sculptor and one of the first sculptors of the Republican generation. He attended the Sanayi-i Nefise Mektebi, and was a student of İhsan Özsoy, there from ...
were selected unanimously and
Gürdal Duyar Gürdal Duyar (20 August 1935 – 18 April 2004) was a Turkish sculptor who is known for his monuments to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Atatürk and his Bust (sculpture), busts of famous people. His art is characterized as having a Modern sculpture, ...
, Hüseyin Gezer, İsmail Gökçe and Hüseyin Anka Özkan by a majority vote. The jury then decided to move forward by giving these sculptors suggestions for the creation of the new designs. Gürdal Duyar was allocated to
Uşak Uşak () is a city in the interior part of the Aegean Region of Turkey. It is the seat of Uşak Province and Uşak District.Nusret Suman Nusret Suman (21 March 1905, Veria – 15 August 1978, İzmit) was a Turkish sculptor and painter. He worked especially on portraits and monuments. His last work is the Hittite Sun Course Monument, which was the symbol of the city of Ankara in ...
to
Bingöl Bingöl (; ; ), known as Çapakçur before 1944, is a city in Turkey. It is the seat of Bingöl Province and Bingöl District,Hüseyin Gezer to
Tunceli Tunceli (, , ) is a municipality (belde) in Tunceli District and capital of Tunceli Province, Turkey. The city has a Zaza majority. It had a population of 35,161 in 2021. Name During Ottoman times, the settlement was called ''Kalan'' or ''Ma ...
, Hüseyin Anka Özkan to
Van A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. There is some variation in the scope of the word across the different English-speaking countries. The smallest vans, microvans, are used for transporting either goods or ...
, Şadi Çalık to
Bitlis Bitlis ( or ; ) is a city in southeastern Turkey. It is the seat of Bitlis District and Bitlis Province.Mardin Mardin (; ; romanized: ''Mārdīn''; ; ) is a city and seat of the Artuklu District of Mardin Province in Turkey. It is known for the Artuqids, Artuqid architecture of its old city, and for its strategic location on a rocky hill near the Tigris ...
,
Zühtü Müridoğlu Zühtü Müridoğlu (26 January 1906 – 21 August 1992) was a Turkish people, Turkish sculptor and one of the first sculptors of the Republican generation. He attended the Sanayi-i Nefise Mektebi, and was a student of İhsan Özsoy, there from ...
to
Muş Muş (; ; ) is a city in eastern Turkey. It is the seat of Muş Province and Muş District.İl Beled ...
, and İsmail Gökçe to
Giresun Giresun () is a city in the Black Sea Region of northeastern Turkey, about west of the city of Trabzon. It is the seat of Giresun Province and Giresun District.Tunceli Tunceli (, , ) is a municipality (belde) in Tunceli District and capital of Tunceli Province, Turkey. The city has a Zaza majority. It had a population of 35,161 in 2021. Name During Ottoman times, the settlement was called ''Kalan'' or ''Ma ...
(Gezer),
Uşak Uşak () is a city in the interior part of the Aegean Region of Turkey. It is the seat of Uşak Province and Uşak District.Muş Muş (; ; ) is a city in eastern Turkey. It is the seat of Muş Province and Muş District.İl Beled ...
(Müridoğlu). The proposals for
Mardin Mardin (; ; romanized: ''Mārdīn''; ; ) is a city and seat of the Artuklu District of Mardin Province in Turkey. It is known for the Artuqids, Artuqid architecture of its old city, and for its strategic location on a rocky hill near the Tigris ...
(Gökçe),
Bingöl Bingöl (; ; ), known as Çapakçur before 1944, is a city in Turkey. It is the seat of Bingöl Province and Bingöl District,Bitlis Bitlis ( or ; ) is a city in southeastern Turkey. It is the seat of Bitlis District and Bitlis Province.Giresun Giresun () is a city in the Black Sea Region of northeastern Turkey, about west of the city of Trabzon. It is the seat of Giresun Province and Giresun District.Van A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. There is some variation in the scope of the word across the different English-speaking countries. The smallest vans, microvans, are used for transporting either goods or ...
(Özkan) were deemed inappropriate, and were given suggestions on what to improve. At the second gathering of the jury on 7 April 1965 the remaining proposals were passed, and all the sculptors were given the go-ahead to create the life sized versions of their sculpture designs. These life sized sculptures were gathered in the garden of the
Galatasaray High School Galatasaray High School (, ), established in Istanbul in 1481, is the oldest and Selective school, highly selective high school in Turkey. It is also the second-oldest Turkish educational institution after Istanbul University, which was establi ...
and were again inspected by a jury on 15 June 1965. The jury accepted the design for Tunceli (Gezer), rejected the design for Giresun (Atamulu) and provided further suggestions for the remaining proposals. The remaining sculptures were again inspected on 23 June 1965 and were accepted.


Erection

Gürdal Duyar's Uşak Atatürk Monument was erected on 10 November 1965, and the other sculptures were also erected through 1965 and 1966.


Reception

The Uşak Atatürk Monument was Duyar's first major breakthrough on the road to gaining recognition as an established sculptor. The sculpture became known colloquially as the ''hükümete 5 çay heykeli'' because of a phrase Atatürk had said when he visited
Uşak Uşak () is a city in the interior part of the Aegean Region of Turkey. It is the seat of Uşak Province and Uşak District.1965 sculptures Monuments and memorials to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in Turkey Buildings and structures in Uşak Outdoor sculptures in Turkey Sculptures by Gürdal Duyar