Ara Guler, the Eye of Istanbul, at the Georgian National Museum

The works of Armenian-Turkish photojournalist Ara Guler are on display in Tbilisi, Georgia, from 16-31 October 2015. The exhibition will be held at the Dimitri Shevardnadze National Gallery, part of the network of the Georgian National Museum.

The photographs – about 100 of them from the 1950s to 1970s – are from Guler’s personal collection. The works of Ara Guler (1928-) are all black and white photographs, sectioned into three halls: (1) Portraits, (2) Istanbul, and (3) Light and Color.

My favourites are from the Light and Colour period, in which Guler describes light as ‘magical paint’ shedding light on one part of a scene. For example the photo of Tarlabasi, Istanbul (1956) shows an illuminated street, whereas the photo from Beyoglu, Istanbul (1964) shows the light of a cigarette reflected in a man’s face. The photo of Beyoglu (1954) captures three youth, two with wicker baskets.

Guler was often referred to as 'The Eye of Istanbul.' The photographs of Istanbul are scenes of streets, pavements, ferries, buses, buildings, and people at work, mostly from the 1950s and 60s. It was a time when the buildings of the Ottoman era were decaying and the country was in the process of Westernization, yet retaining its traditional lifestyle. Photos show Zeyrek (1968), Eminonu (1954), the fish market of Eminonu (1957) - top photo, and Divrigi (1970).

The Portraits section are of celebrities, mostly from the 1950s to 1970s, with some from the 1980s. These include singers, artists, actors, playwrights, and other well-known photographers. Guler would’ve liked to have taken the portraits of Charlie Chaplin and Albert Einstein, but he was unable to. He took photographs of French author Jean-Paul Sartre in cafes in Montparnasse, but would’ve liked a professional photo-shoot of him. Below are his photographs of French actor/director Jean Renoir (1962), Greek soprano Maria Callas (1957), Georgian filmmaker Sergei Parajanov (1989) and Italian actress Sophia Loren (1957).

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