The question of abstract sculpture in public space in Turkey

The question of contemporary abstract sculpture in public space in Turkey, which is shaped in the boundaries of ruling ideology, is at the center of this study. In this study, sculpture, in the context of production in western art and from the Ancient Greek period to present, is dealt as a means of indoctrination, which functions as a cultural apparatus under varying social, historical, and political conditions. The influence of change in planning and meaning of thus produced sculptures on the evolution of spectators is also dealt with. In the context of urban interventions of Istanbul Municipality, such as Cumhuriyet'in 50.Yılı Heykel Projesi (Sculpture Project for the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Republic), Açık Alanlara Üç Boyutlu Çağdaş Sanat Yapıtları Yerleştirme Etkinliği (Event for Installation of Plastic Contemporary Artworks) (1992) ve Ulusal Kurtuluş Savaşımızdan Günümüze Laiklik ve Demokrasi Şehitleri Anıt Parkı Yontuları (Martyrs for the Secularism and Democracy from the Turkish War of Independence to Present Memorial Park Sculptures) (1994), the lack of an organic relation between spectators and the sculptures, which are produced by central or local authorities alone, resulting with the failure of such sculptures to become a constant in formation of a public space is analyzed. It is noted that the symposia, which was functional in contacting abstract sculpture with people, gradually decreased in number to a point where only a few remained, while site specific context question is dealt by examining the case of Akdeniz. The idea that destruction is also related to sculpture is presented with examples both from Turkey and abroad, and it is argued that individual or mass destruction may improve the relation between the sculpture and the spectator. Through reviewing of a variety of interdisciplinary works, this study argues that establishment of the idea of public space is vital in introducing sculpture to public. It is also argued that the undefined presence of sculpture out in the open, in contrast to the examples in the West, is the result of a lack of a framework for sculpture in public space and inability to get site specific works produced. Keywords: Sculpture, Abstract Sculpture, Site Specific Sculture, Monument, Public Space.