The Art of Ayse Erkmen within the Context of Space and Object

Abstract

After 1960’s, art has allowed the development of different art fields in parallel with social changes, and artists to adopt new expressions in order to express themselves. Concepts and thoughts have begun to replace the descriptions of aesthetic pleasure and beauty. As a result of mental and physical process, the reshaped art object has started to express itself through new experiences and places. Settling in ‘areas’, art went beyond the gallery and it also showed its existence through the unity of space and perception. The discipline of sculpture started to be questioned and interpreted by today’s contemporary art approach. The conceptual sculpture has been reshaped by benefiting from social, sociological, and philosophical facts which exist in bordered interior or public spaces. In this context, it is aimed to examine the relation of Ayşe Erkmen’s works, which she produced in different times and for different places, with space. In this study, the literature about Ayşe Erkmen’s works has been collected, reviewed and interpreted, within the context of space and objects used. With this research, Ayşe Erkmen’s one of the contemporary Turkish artists who reinterpreted the sculpture based on space- art perception and her approach to art object and space have been examined over her works. It is concluded that the works of the artist, which she produced in harmony with space and cannot be exhibited outside the space, are bringing up questions like: Is it possible to define the works of the artist that she produced in accordance with space and which cannot be exhibited outside the space, at the same time as art? Or is it not possible? Are they permanent? Or temporary? They interact with the audience and bare a pioneering understanding that inspirits the audience to think about the works.