The importance and artistic applications of Dürdane Ünver in kati' art

The works designed with illumination, miniature, calligraphy, binding, and katı' art branches within the Traditional Turkish Book Arts reflect the style, color, technique, and composition characteristics of the period of their time. These arts continue to be used today, and the works continue to be created by artists to pass on to the next generations. Like other book decoration and ornamentation arts, Katı' art is a field that continues to be productive and evergreen, and both studies and art practices are produced to enhance its popularization. In the Islamic world, katı' art was seen on book bindings in the 14th century. Following that, the artist Abdullah Katı was recognized as the first and essential representative of this art in the 15th century. Today, Katı' art production and creation continue with contemporary and classical artists. As one of these artists, Dürdane Ünver is the fourth generation of Katı' artists after Süheyl Ünver, Gülbün Mesara, and Azada Akar. She combines katı' art in her works with illumination and miniature training she received from Azada Akar, Cahide Keskiner, Melek Antel, Semih İlteş, and Gülbün Mesara at Topkapı Palace Embroidery House that is under the directory of Ord. Prof. Dr. Süheyl Ünver. The artist has participated in many solo and group exhibitions in Turkey and abroad, and local and foreign collections have collected her works. She not only contributed to the art of Katı' through her artistic creations but also prepared a curriculum program to be taught as a course to explain the details and subtleties of this art to new and future generations in non-formal and formal education institutions in cooperation with the Ministry of National Education in 2006. In this study, the details and subtleties of Katı' art and the details about the steps to be applied in the creation stages were explained through the works of the artist Dürdane Ünver. For this reason, Dürdane Ünver was interviewed to highlight information about her life, technique, perception, and approaches to Katı's art, which will support future generations about this art. In this study, with the inspiration taken from the artist's works, the subject of "Legends of Antalya" was examined. Seven publicly well-known legends were researched through electronic resources, books, and literature reviews, and seven related works were created using Katı' art, miniature techniques, and watercolor techniques.