The guest of this episode of With Eylül Aşkın, hosted by Eylül Aşkın and filmed at the Bohem Apartment on Lüleci Hendek Street, was poet, writer, and painter Durmuş Ali Gültekin. We discussed with him the definition of an artist, poetry, painting, art in Turkey, and his upcoming projects.

Inspired by Goethe!

Durmuş Ali Gültekin shared that he first encountered Goethe’s words, “Ah, God! Art is long, yet life is short…” during his high school years and was profoundly affected by them. “I still remember the day I read that line,” he said, emphasizing how much these words have inspired him throughout his artistic journey.

“I taught myself to paint.”

Explaining that he couldn’t receive formal training due to limited resources at the time, Durmuş Ali Gültekin said, “When I came to Istanbul in 1982, I took a basic art class. I wanted to study fine arts, but due to financial reasons, I ended up studying economics.”

“An Artist Must Keep Reading.”

Durmuş Ali Gültekin shared that he’s often asked, “How can I become a writer?” to which he responds, “Read a lot. Read a lot, write a little.” Emphasizing that he follows current events closely, Gültekin added, “An artist is also a sociologist, an anthropologist, a philosopher… Without these, or without strong observational skills, an artist remains incomplete in self-development.”

“Creativity is Declining Day by Day.”

Durmuş Ali Gültekin pointed out that imitation works have recently become increasingly common in both poetry and painting. “Creativity is declining day by day, and this limits an artist’s growth. When an ordinary painting attracts attention while an extraordinary one goes unnoticed, it diminishes the artist as well,” he commented.