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Poroy's cartoon keyboard
What distinguishes Semih Poroy among his peers is the prevalence of humour in his drawings, writes Tan Oral. Poroy's special connection with the literary world adds another dimension to his work and is depicted through critical, humorous and ironic observations by a cartoonist truly enjoying the world of letters.
In Turkey, the 1980s were a time when the cartoonists of the '50s continued to run their traditional political humour strips in the press. Younger cartoonists, however, were either casting humour aside and getting involved in harsh political critique, or abandoning style and content for slapstick. This was the time Semih Poroy began to appear in the press. What I believe distinguished him among his peers was the prevalence of humour in his drawings. This, coupled with his powerful drawing, brought him closer to the generation of cartoonists from the fifties. This is also apparent in his preference for old symbols and traditional analysis. His sensitivities and perseverance soon took him to other areas of the art of cartoon drawing.
Eurozine Gallery
The Eurozine Gallery features visual artists from all over Europe with series of photographs, paintings or other types of art works.
Current exhibition:
Semih Poroy
Without words
[Autumn/Winter 2010-2011]
Previous exhibitions:
Barbara Holub
Three chapters for a future of the unplanned
[Summer 2010]
Anna Meyer
Heisszeit
[Spring 2010]
Daniel Knorr
Stolen history (and other projects)
[Autumn 2009]
Leonhard Lapin
Suprealism
[Summer 2007]
Cecilia Parsberg
The wall
[Summer 2006]
Josef Schützenhöfer
Art comes from labour
[Spring 2006]
Mircea Stanescu
Airbag
[Autumn 2005-Spring 2006]
Poroy's smooth and vivid artistry sometimes takes him to more graphic styles. His depiction of the urban landscape catches your attention and makes a lasting impression. However, there is no balance of supply and demand between the cartoonist and the publishers for these particular illustrations.
He is also a truly skilled portrait artist. But as much as he enjoys doing this type of drawing he does not like to be called a portrait artist – in spite of having written a book on the subject!
Many of the cartoonists of the '50s were close friends with literary critics and men and women of letters, a relationship you could always sense in their drawings. When looking at Poroy's art, his contact with the world of literature reveals that very dimension. His Feklavye (Turkish [F] Keyboard) series display colourful, critical, humorous and ironic observations by a cartoonist truly enjoying this literary connection.
View Semih Poroy Without words
Published 2010-12-02
Original in Turkish
Translation by Sila Okur
First published in Eurozine
Contributed by Varlik
© Tan Oral / Varlik
© Eurozine
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