The exhibition narrates the extraordinary figure of Arif Hikmet Koyunoğlu, a prominent character from the late Ottoman and early Republican periods, through photographs taken from the 1900s, particularly during the 1920s and 1930s. The photographs, which provide glimpses into the architect’s personal and professional life, encompass a variety of scenes from his student years at the Sanâyi-i Nefîse Mektebi to his military service in Erzurum, family life, and his work at the Underground Photographic Studio, showcasing the landscapes, architectures, and people of cities such as Ankara, Istanbul, Bursa, Nevşehir, and Kırşehir.
Coming from a prominent Ottoman family, Arif Hikmet Koyunoğlu completed his education intermittently in Istanbul at the Sanâyi-i Nefîse Mektebi. He was one of the young individuals raised in the high Ottoman culture who embraced the young republic emerging from wars. He became known as an architect who constructed the first monumental buildings of the new regime. His works, inspired by traditional Seljuk, Beylikler, and Ottoman architecture, also reflected the quest for national identity and modernization over time. The Turkish Hearth Building and the Ethnography Museum in Ankara became his most recognized structures.
He was also a great adventurer. A talented artist, an audacious soldier, an energetic athlete, and a keen traveler, he practiced 31 different professions ranging from gallery owner to transporter throughout his 89 years of life. He became a loving family man. He loved to live, work, and have fun. He never shied away from any task; he was the architect and hero of modern times in every sense. With his ever-present camera, he captured the last days of the empire, the burning Balkans, lost provinces, and refugee camps. He documented occupied Istanbul, remote Anatolian villages in border regions, the cultural heritage of these lands, their faces, and their future forms.
https://www.iae.org.tr/Sergi/Maceraperest-Bir-Mimarin-Fotografhanesi/213