Hayati Boyacıoğlu is a Turkish-German cartoonist. His cartoons frequently deal with issues of integration and cultural relations.
Hayati, in the past weeks you posted several cartoons showing couples – most of them very unlikely ones. Where did that come from?
You will see couples anywhere you go – on the subway, at a doctor’s office.. That’s when I start wondering what they do, what they tell each other, how they found each other, why him, why her… There’s hardly any subject more rewarding for a cartoonist than relationships.
Was there any particular couple that started the whole thing?
Yes. Back in 1995 I published a book that had a couple on the cover page – a punk and a Turkish woman with a headscarf. I saw those two sitting on a bench at Moritzplatz. In a city like Berlin these kinds of things are actually quite frequent.
You make up names for all of your couples…
Yes, but I only started doing this recently. It adds a certain warmth to a cartoon. I also want to add a common element to my couple drawings: it’s meant to show that we are all human beings, even though some people have a hard time accepting that.
For example, I did this cartoon about “Heidemarie and Ali”. In that one Ali cuts both their names into a tree. These kinds of things just have to happen if you take into account that the first Turkish migrants came to Germany in 1960. It’s well possible that a Turkish man who arrived back then fell in love with a German. But in everyday life you see these things way too rarely.
You were born in Istanbul and your wife is from Bremerhaven. Does you own experience influence your couple cartoons in any way?
Sure. We have known each other since 1978, when she was 14 and I was 17. I asked her to teach me German… She still does.
You also do political cartoons, say, about famine in Somalia..
There is a kind of scheme behind that. I will draw a number of “bourgeois feelgood cartoons” and then I will do one about starving Somalian children.
Do you draw it in that order or do you keep back the grisly ones to use them in the proper moment?
Sometimes I think about trying to control this.. but there’s no real need to. Life does that by itself. I will draw something about couples switching clothes and all of a sudden my routine is interrupted by a sinking ship with 20 refugees aboard and other people doing nothing. You just have to draw something about that.
Is there any agenda behind your cartoons?
Dario Fo once said that if you want to make people understand something you have to make them laugh. Because that’s when their brains will open up and you can add knowledge.
The problem with toonpool.com is that the audience is composed of artists, of satirists. There’s no need to teach each other. On Facebook, for example, I will get very different reactions to my cartoons.
Several of your political cartoons deal with Turkish issues, for example with the recent elections. Can you tell a bit about Turkish cartoons in general?
In Turkey, the newspapers’ headquarters are mostly based in Istanbul. Except for about four pages of the international issues, everything’s produced there.
So, those international issues will hardly produce their own editorial cartoons. Perhaps because it’s hard to control editorial cartoons. In effect, most editorial cartoons deal with Istanbul issues and hardly ever with things happening anywhere else.
Are there any differences to German cartoons when it comes to humor?
Yes. There are basically two types. The first one does not really exist in Germany. It’s satirical magazines that are very cheap. Examples would be Leman or the now-defunct Gırgır.
German Titanic or Eulenspiegel cost 4 Euros each and, if you want to understand them you have to be well-read, know a thing or two about satire, etc. It’s not for everyone.
The Turkish magazines cost something like 25 cents and they are not too “high-brow”. Satire should be folksy and accessible for everyone – populist in a good way. I am trying to keep things simple, even though it doesn’t always work. Maybe that’s a point where I’m influenced by Germany.
Isn’t there a danger that populist cartoons can very quickly turn to propaganda?
I don’t think so. Readers would notice this very quickly. And they will punish magazines by simply not buying them the following week.
How about the second type of cartoons?
Those are more artistic and don’t use captions. That’s one thing that sometimes poses problems for cartoonists from Yugoslavia, Romania, Bulgaria, and the like. Germans always use captions. Even on toonpool.com you need to fill in a title but, you know, the drawings are supposed to speak for themselves.
Where is this type usually published?
Artists will publish books or display them at exhibitions. There were a couple of more sophisticated satire magazines, but those never really worked.
Are you still in contact with cartoonists from Turkey?
Yes, I am. Thanks to toonpool.com, among others. I started drawing back in school, when Gırgır was still around [editor's note: Gırgır was originally published between 1972 and 1989].
I met a lot of like-minded people then. Some of them – like Erdogan Karayel - I met again in Germany. Others I found online. And, of course, I met a lot of new people.
What are the main differences in opinion between “exiles” and artists back in Turkey?
It always depends on how long you have been abroad. If you left only two or three years ago you can live here as you would have back in Turkey. You don’t really speak the language and you can stay at home and watch Turkish television. If you have been here for 20 or 30 years, though, if you keep your eyes open, you will change.
Which of your own attitudes, would you say, have changed?
I see some things differently. Some things that would be taboo over there, I don’t really mind anymore. When the Turkish military’s chiefs of staff resigned, mine was one of very few cartoons on this topic.. and it applauded the fact that they gave in to the power of the people. I hardly got any reactions on that one from Turkey.
Thanks for your time!
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Menekşe some weeks ago
1. Which movie/TV character you see yourself as and why?
I think “Maggie” in “City of Angels” was the character I found myself resembling with, because some of her personality traits and thanks to the extremely convincing acting of Meg Ryan.
2. Next plans or ideas?
I have an unpublished album. I will publish it as soon as possible. Also I’m planning my second personal exhibition for the next year, maybe in Istanbul or Ankara.Apart from these, if I had a red-white mini-cooper, I would never forget where I parked it.
3. Your food today?
Spinach with a little bit of meat and plenty of yogurt.
4. Do you like your place or would you like to live somewhere else?
I’m in love with Izmir. When I had to leave it for the first time, at 21, because of the teachers rotation, I thought I will die in that new place. No sea, no smell of iodine and seaweed, no Jewish patty (Boyoz… a special desert that it’s only found in Izmir), no house made wine from the delicious grapes of the Aegean Sea… But I like very much to travel, to see new places and to meet new people… with the condition of returning to Izmir in the end. Also, I would like not to live, but to have a long holiday on a desert island, away from any kind of technology.
5. What was the huge mistake in your life you (unfortunately) never did?
Unfortunately, I never tightly thumped on the nose of any person who annoyed me up to despair.
Sini Kosk"-favourite restaurant thanks to a good menu, service and live music
Enjoying cold Efes-Beer at the Aegean Sea
6. Who are your neighbors?
I have a neighbor on the opposite side of the road who is constantly watching what I’m doing… and upstairs, the other one who is cleaning his house at very early hours on Sunday.
7. Tell me the shortest joke you know
A man has fallen asleep on the PC and he got sick the very next day. Why?? – Because forgot the “Windows” opened…
A teacher affects eternity. One can never foresee where their influence go.
The school where Menekse teaches. The flags were celebrating the Republic Day.
8. Tell me the biggest prank you did on a friend.
When I was 12 years old, we (me and my cousin) wanted to make a joke on my brother’s expense. He was on a swing and we have made him to become tangled in the ropes by turning the swing… and later we left it. The swing rapidly began to turn in the other direction side… turned… turned… and suddenly the rope broke.
My dear brother was tossed to one side and the swing to the other side. When he came back home from hospital he had sutures on his head. We had disappeared for 24 hours. (He is a surgeon now)
9. How to ruin your vacation?
If I did not go…
Working table. Usually Menekşe lights up the room
40 steps away from Menekşe´s home
Menekşe celebrating with some friends the toonpool.com exhibition hold in Izmir
10. In 1977 NASA has sent orbiters Voyager 1 and 2 into space which will never stop to fly through the universe by gravity. They contain the Voyager Golden Records with many testimonials of the whole mankind, greetings in 55 languages introduced by US president Jimmy Carter (“This is a present from a small, distant world, a token of our sounds, our science, our images, our music, our thoughts and our feelings….”). The Golden Records with a lifespan of 500 million years at least are including drawings of a naked man and woman, detailed genitalia, many scientific graphics, sounds of planet earth and music by Bach, Beethoven, Mozart – and Chuck Berry:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3haYAbqKjA
Maybe aliens out there will be shocked in some million years! But in case such a NASA mission will be replayed: which (1) of your artworks should join it?
I think I have a suitable hero for such a NASA mission.
snail
11. Please give us an answer to a question we didn’t ask!
It’s the best question that one could not ask!
Credits to Nicoleta Ionescu for talking with Menekşe Çam
]]>Since several toonpool.com members are from Turkey, there is a number of cartoons on the issue. As always with the more tragic topics, I feel somewhat ambivalent about the cartoons. Of course artists feel a need to express their feelings and newspapers need cartoons. But isn’t it an editorial cartoonist’s job to criticize the wrongs of the world by exposing their funny side? There’s hardly anything funny about a mining accident and, since this time it doesn’t seem as if safety regulations were violated, there isn’t really anyone to blame. Consequently, only one cartoon actually criticizes someone (Premier Erdogan for not showing up at the mine). The other cartoons mostly mix images of miners and death (1,2,3,4,5).
To be honest, I don’t feel comfortable about these five cartoons. If there’s nothing to criticize, funny drawings seem inappropriately jolly or, at times, campy. But what, then, is the right way to deal with situations like these? Should cartoonists keep their fingers off of them? Search harder for something to criticize? Stick with the emotional pictures even if they might seem like kitsch to some people? If you have any opinions on this, please tell me.
Introducing…
D
an Reynolds works for reknowned magazines like Reader’s Digest. It might be only me being a Gary Larson fanatic, but, once again, I would describe Reynold’s works as ‘larsonesque’ in terms style and humor. And they’re funny, too. Among my favorites are the ‘beanie baby bathrooms’, ‘reverse psychology’, Reynold’s heartwarming take on global warming and the ‘Keep Your Age a Secret” booth. There’s also a direct reference to Larson’s “Know your Insects” … with extra speed.
Cartoons of Interest
This week’s favorite is Mr. Hugh Jarse’s caricature of Meg & Jack White. It’s always amazing how Jarse manages to reduce features to their most basic forms and retain recognizability. I especially like Meg’s face and the way the artist did Jack’s sickly eyes. And, boy, are they sickly.
I would also like to point out a new cartoon by Till Mette, which I though was funny and a series of soccer caricatures by Pincho (e.g. Henry, Puyol & Ronaldinho). Keep in mind that it’s less than a month until the World Cup starts.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s visit to Turkey wasn’t really Easter related. Then again, these days nothing is not Easter-related. Most cartoons emphasize the meeting’s potential for conflict which, admittedly, had been instrumentalized by both Merkel and Erdogan (here, here & here).
Introducing…
Evandro Alves is a promising new toonpool.com member from Brazil. Of his cartoons, I liked “standing ovations for a snake charmer” best. Note how the lower left part of the audience seems to be mesmerized by something outside of the panel, perhaps a giant video screen. I also liked the “smoker’s trophies” – reminded me of a skater I used to be friends with who kept his broken boards. Although the trophies in the cartoon are probably supposed to be his family’s lungs. The “Noah’s arc” one is a bit moralizing too, but it has animals with gas masks. And they look cute.
Cartoons of Interest
I can’t really tell why I like this cartoon by Mattiello. It’s about easter and dangereous eggs and it makes great use of the white space and vectorized color fields.
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"Eurotürkin" by Hayati Boyacıoğlu
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Berlin, 11. August 2009 – Dünyanın en büyük, profesyonel karikatür sitesi „toonpool.com“ artık üyelerine „Hoşgeldiniz“ diyerek Türkçe de sesleniyor. İki yıl önce hizmete sunulan portalın Türkçe’yi de devreye sokarak dünya pazarındaki yerini sağlamlaştırması ve büyüme hızını arttırmaya devam etmesi hedefleniyor.
„toonpool.com“ da şu anda 140 ülkeden 1200 çizerin 45.000 çalışması sergileniyor. Berlinli Karikatürist Bernd Pohlenz ve ekibi her gün çoğu profesyonel karikatür sanatçıları tarafından çizilerek siteye yüklenmiş 100 çalışmayı toonpool.com’da karikatür meraklıları ve gazete ve dergilerle buluşturuyor.
"Shoe" by Menekşe Cam
by Menekşe Cam
toonpool.com’da Türkçe’nin de devreye girmesiyle kullanılan dil sayısı Almanca, İngilizce, Fransızca, İspanyolca, Yunanca olmak üzere altıya çıkmış bulunuyor. „Geo-Locating“ coğrafi yer belirleme sistemi sayesinde Türkiye’den siteye giriş yapan kullanıcılar otomatik olarak Türkçe anasayfaya giriş yapıyor olacaklar. Siteyi bir başka dilde izlemek isteyenler için ise altı ayrı ülkenin minik bayraklarından seçilenine tıklamak yetiyor.
"Dilenci Cocuk" by Şevket Yalaz
by Şevket Yalaz
"Dog" by Hicabi Dermici
toonpool.com’un Türkçe atağıyla ilgili bir açıklama yapan Bernd Pohlenz „Toonpool.com’un Türkçe olarak da yayın yapması, atılması gereken mantıklı bir adımdı“ diyerek, moderasyon çalışmalarında, sitenin en fazla iletişim kuran çizerlerinin de Türkler arasından çıktığını gözlediklerini sözlerine ekledi.
toonpool.com’da ayrıca Almanya’dan ve Avrupa’nın diğer ülkelerinden de pek çok Türk kökenli çizgilerini sergiliyorlar. Bernd Pohlenz: „ Özellikle geleneksel yaşam tarzıyla, modern çağı buluşturan ve değişik teknikleri deneyen sanatçıların çok başarılı ve farklı ürünlere imza attıklarını gözlediğini dile getirerek Türk kökenli sanatçıların dünyanın diğer ülkelerindeki meslektaşlarıyla iletişim kurma konusundaki becerilerinin de dikkat çekici olduğuna işaret ediyor ve örnek olarak Norveç’de bir dağ evinde felsefi boyutu olan çalışmalarıyla göz dolduran Firuz Kutal’ı ve uçuk çizgiler ve parlak renklerle başarılı ürünler veren ve „Juice“ gibi Hip-Hop magazinlerde çalışmaları yayınlanan Berlinli genç yetenek, grafik-desinatörü Sedat Ademci’yi örnek gösteriyor.
Sitede çalışmaları yer alan karikatürcüler arasında Türkiye’den Erdoğan Başol, Şevket Yalaz, Oğuz Gürel, Menekşe Çam, Hicabi Demirci, Dr. Halis Dokgöz, Ercan Baysal, Almanya’dan Erdoğan Karayel ve Hayati Boyacıoğlu da bulunuyor.
"Sea" by Ercan Baysal
by Ercan Baysal
"First Aid" by Şevket Yalaz
by Şevket Yalaz
toonpool.com hakkında:
Uluslararası bir karikatür portalı olan „toonpool.com“ tam 140 ülkeden 1.200 sanatçının çalışmalarına yer veriyor Sitede, günün 24 saati, çizerler karikatür, grafik ve ilüstrasyonlarını kendi kendilerine yükleyebiliyorlar., Sitenin sayısı günde on binleri bulan ziyaretçileri ise çalışmaları saniye saniye izleyip, dilerlerse yorum yapabiliyorlar. www.toonpool.com/shop adresinden girilen ticari bölümde ise sanatçıların sitede de sergilenen çalışmalarıyla süslenmiş, internetten sipariş yöntemiyle ve belirli sayıda ve kısa sürede hazırlanabilen baskı ve tekstil ürünleri sunuluyor. www.toonagent.com adresiyle de dünyadaki tüm gazetelere, en güncel karikatürler en yüksek çözünürlü olarak servis ediliyor. Dünyanın her tarafından siteye giren yayın yönetmenleri, gereksinim duydukları karikatürlere arama motorları ve anahtar sözcüklerle rahat bir şekilde ulaşıp, çizgileri indirebiliyorlar.
"Waiting" by Firuz Kutal
by Firuz Kutal
"Ceza" by Omer Cam
by Omer Cam
"Endangered Animals" by Ali Sur
by Ali Sur
"Adams and Eves" by Piyale Madra
by Piyale Madra
"Termometer" by Hüseyin Alparslan
"11" by Faruk Soyarat
"Devolution" by Metin Yilmaz
by Metin Yilmaz
"Angelina Jolie" by Eniz Özger
by Eniz Özger
By ABDÜLKADİR DEMİRHİNDİ
"Muzzles" by Erdogan Basol
"Border" by Eray Özbek
by Eray Özbek
"Nasrettin Hoca" by Sedat Ademci (fubu)
by Sedat Ademci (fubu)
"Euroturko" by Hayati Boyacıoğlu
"Michael Jackson" by Menekşe Cam
by Menekşe Cam
"Patron" by Şevket Yalaz
by Şevket Yalaz
"Smile" by Ercan Baysal
by Ercan Baysal
"The Wall" by Erdogan Karayel
"Gift" by Hicabi Dermici
"Art Movie" by Firuz Kutal
by Firuz Kutal
"Hospital" by Erdogan Basol
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Berlin, 11. August 2009 – „Hoşgeldiniz“ („Herzlich willkommen“) heißt es ab sofort bei toonpool.com, dem größten professionellen Cartoon-Portal der Welt. Mit der Bereitstellung des Portals in türkischer Sprache folgt das vor knapp zwei Jahren gegründete Berliner Unternehmen konsequent seiner auf die Erschließung eines weltweit wachsenden Marktes gerichteten Expansions-Strategie.
Das Portal bietet derzeit mehr als 45.000 Bilder von 1.200 Künstlern aus rund 140 Ländern. Rund um die Uhr pflegt das Team um den Berliner Karikaturisten Bernd Pohlenz die täglich bis zu 100 neuen Werke ein, die vorwiegend von professionellen Zeichnern, aber auch Hobbykünstlern aus der ganzen Welt selbst hochgeladen werden.
Mit dem Launch der türkischsprachigen Version ist das Portal jetzt in sechs Sprachen navigierbar: Deutsch, Englisch, Französisch, Spanisch, Griechisch und Türkisch. Per Geo-Locating gelangen User in der Türkei automatisch auf die türkische Startseite. Mithilfe des Flaggen-Icons lässt sich überall auf dem Globus jede andere der verfügbaren Sprachen einstellen.
„Die türkische Version war der nächste logische Schritt“, so Pohlenz, „denn aus unserer Moderation der interaktiven Features des Portals wissen wir, dass die türkischen Künstler und User zu den agilsten Teilnehmern weltweit gehören.“ Hinzu kommen viele Zeichner mit türkischem Hintergrund aus Deutschland und anderen Ländern. Bernd Pohlenz: „Künstler im Spannungsfeld zwischen Tradition und Moderne erleben wir als besonders kreativ und experimentierfreudig.“ Darüber hinaus sind kulturelle Verschmelzungen bei türkischstämmigen, in anderen Teilen der Welt arbeitenden Zeichnern bemerkenswert, zum Beispiel bei dem philosophierenden Maler-Cartoonisten Firuz Kutal, der in einer häufig verschneiten Berghütte in Norwegen arbeitet, oder dem jungen Grafik-Designer Sedat Ademci aus Berlin, der seine eigenwillig schrillen Motive auch in Hip-Hop-Magazinen wie „Juice“ veröffentlicht.
Über toonpool.com
Als internationales Cartoon-Portal mit über 1.200 Künstlern aus 140 Ländern sammelt, fokussiert und ordnet toonpool.com rund um die Uhr Cartoons, Karikaturen, Illustrationen und Grafiken aus aller Welt, die von den Zeichnern eingestellt werden. Besucher können diese Werke auf der Website anschauen und kommentieren. Im kommerziellen Bereich bietet der toonpool.com Shop Print- und Textilerzeugnisse mit Cartoon-Motiven in On-Demand-Herstellung. Der Toon Agent steht professionellen Bildnutzern tagesaktuell als Bildagentur mit Suchmaschine und Schlagwortsuche offen, die hoch aufgelöste Motive zur Nutzung und für den sofortigen Download anbietet.