Mari Gerekmezyan

Mari Gerekmezyan ( Armenian Մարի Կերեքմէզեան ; born 1913 in Talas , Turkey ; died 1947 in Istanbul , Turkey) is considered to be the first female sculptor in Turkey. She was the partner of the Turkish poet and painter Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu .

biography

The Armenian origin Mari Gerekmezyan was in the village of Talas in Kayseri born. She attended the local Armenian primary school Vart Basrig. Mari Gerekmezyan moved to Istanbul , where she attended the Armenian Yesayan School. While studying at Yesayan, Gerekmezyan had the opportunity to meet the Turkish writer Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar . Tanpınar inspired Gerekmezyan to study philosophy. She continued her studies at Istanbul University. Gerekmezyan became a visiting student in the sculpture department of the Güzel Sanatlar Akademisi (Great Art Academy). In the academy she was made by the German sculptor Rudolf Belling informed.

Gerekmezyan also worked as an art and Armenian teacher at Getronagan High School and Yesayan Armenian High School.

Gerekmezyan died of tuberculosis at the age of 35 . She lies on the Armenian cemetery of Sisli buried.

Works

Much of Gerekmezan's work has been lost. Her remaining works are in the İstanbul Resim ve Heykel Müzesi (Museum of Painting and Sculpture) and in the private collection of the Eyüboğlu family - there is also Gerekmezyan's famous bust of Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu . The most famous works of Mari Gerekmezyan include:

• Bust of Prof. Neşet Ömer (1943)
• Bust of Prof. Şekip Tunç (1943)
• Mask by Patrik Mesrob Tin (1944)
• Bust of Yahya Kemal Beyatlı (1945)
• Bust of Bedri Rahmi

Awards

Gerekmezyan was awarded the Ankara Sculpture Exhibition Prize for their busts by Professor Neşet Omer and Professor Şekip Tunç. She received First Prize at the Ankara City Art Exhibition for her bust of Yahya Kemal Beyatlı.

Relationship with Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu

While Gerekmezyan was a visiting student in the sculpture department of Güzel Sanatlar Akademisi, she met Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu. Through the 1940s, Gerekmezyan Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu assisted in his artistic work. The two fell in love. Their relationship is compared to that of Auguste Rodin and Camille Claudel . Gerekmezyan made several busts of Eyüboğlu and Eyüboğlu drew many sketches of Mari. Eyüboğlu wrote his famous poem Karadut (Mulberry) for Mari Gerekmezyan after her death:

Turkish
Karadut
Karadutum, çatal karam, çingenem
Nar tanem, nur tanem, bir tanem
Ağaç isem dalımsın salkım saçak
Petek isem balımsın ağulum
Günahımsın, vebalimsin.
Dili mercan, dizi mercan, dişi mercan
Yoluna bir can koyduğum
Gökte ararken yerde bulduğum
Karadutum, çatal karam, çingenem
Daha nem olacaktın bir tanem
Gülen ayvam, ağlayan narımsın
Kadınım, kısrağım.

Translation:
Mulberry
My black mulberry, my split dark one, my chrysanthemum,
my pomegranate seed, my light core, my only one;
I am a tree, my limbs, a vestibule with grapes,
I am a beehive, you are my honey, my bitter honey,
my sin, my interchangeable fever,
tongue made of corals, teeth made of corals, thighs made of oysters,
I gave you a life , my wife.
At the bottom I found what I was looking for in heaven.
My black mulberry, my split dark one, my gypsy,
how much more will you be for me, my counterpart, strange,
my smiling quince, my weeping pomegranate,
my baby, my mare, my wife.

The first time he read the poem in public, Eyüboğlu cried. It is believed that Eyüboğlu loved Gerekmezyan until the end of his life. The poem became known after it was set to music by the Turkish rock musician Cem Karaca .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Vercihan Ziflioğlu: Exhibit marks Turkey's first female sculptor. In: Hürriyet . December 12, 2012, accessed January 11, 2017 . 
2. ↑ ^{a b c} Müjgân Halis: Bedri Rahmi'nin 'kara dutu' Mari için sergi. In: Sabah. December 9, 2012, archived from the original on April 14, 2013 ; Retrieved January 11, 2017 (Turkish). 
3. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Mari Gerekmezyan. First female Armenian sculptor. In: İstanbul Kadın Müzesi. Retrieved January 11, 2017 . 
4. ↑ Gülenay Börekçi: Türkiye'nin Camille Claudel'i . In: Habertürk . 2012 (Turkish, [1] [accessed January 12, 2017]).
5. ↑ ^{a b} Ca Düdar: 'Yüzyılın Aşkları' belgeselinde Bedri Rahmi var. In: Milliyet . March 9, 2004, archived from the original on March 9, 2004 ; Retrieved January 12, 2017 (Turkish). 
6. ↑ Bedri Rahmi'nin Mari'si bir sergiyle anılıyor. In: kitapbiti.com. October 12, 2012, archived from the original on March 4, 2016 ; Retrieved January 12, 2017 (Turkish). 
7. ↑ KARADUTUM, ÇATAL KARAM, ÇİNGENEM. In: Birleşik Basın . December 12, 2012, archived from the original on February 14, 2013 ; Retrieved January 12, 2017 (Turkish).