Image of women in the contemporary Turkish painting (1960 - 1980)

Woman image has been one of the themes of the art of painting of almost every era and every culture. Although women's tasks, responsibilities and status differ according to the period and the community they lived in, women literally could not take the position they deserved. Artists have always been influenced by the dynamics of the communities they lived in as well as by the political events and flow of ideas. Therefore, in their works it is possible to see traces of social change. New woman model profile drawn by the Republican intellectuals after "Çallı Generation" also began to appear in the paintings of 'the Independents' and "D Group" artists. Women got free of 'fleshy' appearance, 'eye liner' was removed from their eyes. Skirt length became shorter, lines thinner, pose upright. They were no different than western fellow creatures of the same sex. However, while longing to become like westerners, to look western, urban women started slowly moving away from their own culture. During this period, Turkish intellectuals began to think that art, which was more and more jammed in Istanbul, started to break away from the country's realities. State administrators organized series of events in order to pave the way for art and to bring together artists and Turkish citizens. While on one side "State Painting and Sculpture Exhibitions" and "Domestic tours" would support the artist, on the other side, the state would provide the reflection of the state realities on the canvases; in this way art would become localized. Changes occurring in our country and in the world since 1950's would also change the priorities of the center. Woman of the Republic ceases to be a symbol of westernization. Economic development, industrial progress and concepts of democratization started to become indicators of modernization. The mechanization process also started a change of the living conditions in rural areas. The value of agricultural products decreased by the decrease of the need for human labor and this situation forced people from rural areas to migrate and look for work in other areas. Newcomers who migrated to the towns formed an arabesque model of live by synthesizing distinguishing traditions of the village. Along with the economic development and rising skyscrapers and modern buildings in the town, shanty towns also started to spread. There was the increasing social unrest and political tensions were rising. From the 1960's some artists became very interested in social issues making paintings dealing with village life and realities of migration and shanty towns. Even though in these works of art a woman figure took the leading role, the main theme was poverty.