THE ALLEGORICAL UNDERSTANDING OF GULSUN KARAMUSTAFA’S WORKS ON PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SOCIO-CULTURAL DEGENERATION

Abstract

In Turkey, there has been intense migration from villages, even from outside of its borders, to cities since the 70s. The city of Istanbul, which has a glorious historical background, has been affected by these migrations. As a result of these migrations, different cultures have caused the formation of a hybrid culture. The composition of historical facts, identities and the high culture that integrates those with the hybrid culture brought the psychological and sociocultural changes with it. In today's societies, the better understanding sociocultural images, experiences, and behaviors and keeping those alive are provided by the art and artists. At this stage, allegorical conception reveals the vast difference between what the artist wants to express and what she does. Gülsün Karamustafa, who dealt with the psychological and the sociocultural degeneration in her works, based her sense of humor on the phenomenon of kitsch. While the existing style (experience, appearance) of the phenomenon of kitsch is categorized by an artwork that is a lower copy of it, she also makes references to sociocultural differences. The artist used the existing sociocultural indicators of her society together with the allegorical kitsch phenomenon by including her own figurative meanings. In this study; psychological and sociocultural degeneration based on the allegorical conception of the artist is analyzed and interpreted in ten of her works.