This was the decaying nature of Istanbul's working-class neighborhoods. Centuries earlier, the city had surpassed Rome as the world's most powerful capital. In the 50s and 60s, it was photographer Ara Güler who captured it during his time as a correspondent in the Middle East.
Güler knew the crooks and crannies of the city in which he was born and lived. He captured the faces of the humble, from laborers to fishermen. He had a special ability to make art out of the quotidian.
SILVIA TELMON
Museum of Rome in Trastevere
“He had a strange formation. As a young man, he worked in theater, in the world of spectacle, and as a matter of fact, the characters of theater. In fact, these characters are part of the exhibition.”
Güler also captured celebrities of his time, from Picasso... ,Winston Churchill and Sophia Loren, to Pope Paul VI.
SILVIA TELMON
Museum of Rome in Trastevere
“He was the first Turkish photographer to be accepted by the World Association of Photography.”
The British Journal named Ara Güler one of the top seven photographers in the world. This exhibition includes 80 shots selected from his portfolio of over two million photos. Güler died in 2018, and since then, his work has made its way around the globe. The exhibition in Rome will be open until Sept. 20.
Javier Romero
Translation: Claudia Torres
